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The Different Drummers Drum Circle of Yarmouth, Maine is an open, freestyle community drum circle. We drum on the first
Saturday and second and fourth Fridays of each month at 6:30 at the First Universalist Church, 97 Main St, Yarmouth, Maine.
Our Mission
"Ours is an open, freestyle community drum circle. We are a diverse group of people sharing a common experience. During
the process of creating music together we create community. Our emphasis is on intuitive, improvised, and emotive rhythms
rather than rehearsed or traditional ones. We welcome your 'voice' in our group song.
Drumming is fun. Drumming can
change your mood and connect you powerfully with others. Drumming can entrance and heal. Drumming can provide a vehicle for
expressing joy, frustration and peace. Drumming can raise energies and provide relaxation. Whether we participate for the
spiritual experience, the emotional experience, the musical experience or the social experience, drumming can bring a dozen
hearts and souls to a dozen destinations. Yet we journey together...as a community."
Rick Cormier
What To Expect
We are known for our positive energy and welcoming atmosphere. Most of our drum pieces end in either laughter
or silence. We encourage participation by novices. When you decide to check us out, it is very unlikely that you'll be the
only first-timer there that night. If you don't yet own a drum, I usually bring extras which I share for free. There is also
no charge for participation. Come when you can and leave when you must. We drum until the last of us goes home. Currently,
nearly 500 people consider themselves DDDC members. Some people drum with us 3 times a month while others may join
us 3 times a year. It's all good.
Though we average 25 to 35 drummers per evening, you won't drum with the same combination of people twice. Our participants
are commonly about 65% women. We have singles, couples and families who drum with us... children under 10 and seniors
well into and beyond their 80's.
Expect to see African djembes, Middle Eastern doumbeks, frame drums, ashikos, congas, bongos, cajons and all sorts of rhythm
instruments. We have created incredible percussive backdrops to flute, harp, cello, sax, mandolin, blues harmonica, didgeridoo
and vocals. We welcome dancers.
Anyone may start a beat. That person sets the tempo and the tone of the piece. That guideline keeps us from
slipping into the same rhythm patterns. It also keeps the "Testosterone Tangos" from dominating. It allows us to sound African,
Latin, Middle Eastern, Native American, jazzy and purely creative...all in one evening. It allows us to weave
delicate percussive tapestries in which every note is a significant event.
The DDDC has an email list which receives weekly reminders and announcements about DDDC and other local area drum circles
and percussion-related events and resources.
DIRECTIONS: 295 N or S to exit 15 Yarmouth. Go right at end of exit. Go 1/3 Mile and take a right
at the lights (Portland St.) Follow Portland St to the end. Universalist Church will be facing you. Use parking lot entrance.
10th
Anniversary...3/9/2013!!!
Ten years ago, this March, I offered a drum circle workshop to members of the First Universalist church in
Yarmouth. We had only moved into town 2 months prior. Twenty-two people took the workshop. When it was over I announced that
we would start drumming once a month. About a dozen people showed up. You can read all about our history on our website. Ten
years later, we drum three times a month in an attempt to keep our circle intimate. We average 25 - 35 participants each circle
with a record high of 100. More than 1500 people have drummed with us. About 575 currently consider themselves DDDC 'members'.
We have drummed with participants from about 25 countries, that I know of. Grace still holds the record of having been our
youngest drummer. (Those who remember Gracie will recall she actually kept a beat at 13 months old! She drummed with us until
she moved to Philadelphia at 19 months old.) Our most senior drummer is Ann, who turned 94 this past November. When I've invited
guest drumming teachers to lead a workshop, Ann hasn't missed an opportunity to learn some more drumming! I want to
mention Laura. Many of you who have drummed with us over the past year know Laura as a 'regular' on most Friday nights. Laura
was born with cerebral palsy and autism. We all see the trouble she has crossing the room and speaking, but when the drumming
starts, her 'handicap' disappears. Is anyone in the room having a better time than Laura? ...okay... Maybe me. ;-) ...But
if there is ever a time I wonder if hosting this drum circle for free makes any difference to anyone, I'll consider what it
means to Laura. We're a musically-creative bunch. We have drummed wonderful backgrounds to flute, blues harmonica,
dulcimer, saxophone, keyboards, oboe, clarinet, guitar, electric bass, upright bass, mouth organ, didgeridoo, berimbau, marimba,
harp, cello, steel drums, mandolin, kirtan, singing voices and poetry. We have had percussion instruments as diverse as a
folding chair, a saw, a washboard, a post-hole digger, a Ronco Garden Weasel and even an ocarina app on an iPhone! For ten
years I've sat at my computer each week and tried to convey information in an entertaining way... after having done this in
Massachusetts since the 90's. Do the math. Even I'm impressed! ;-) For ten years, a roomful of virtual strangers
with very little in common with one another have shared evenings making music together. Sometimes raucous, sometimes introspective,
sometimes incredibly beautiful, and sometimes ridiculously funny! Were you there the night the crowd started singing
"The Sound of Music" in the middle of a drum piece? Or the Wizard of Oz medley? I was. I get to be there three
times a month. And I'm not done yet. So help me celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Different Drummers Drum Circle on
Saturday, March 9.Potluck set-up 4:30 PM. Dinner 5:00. Bring what you would like to find to eat! Potluck is optional.
If you prefer just joining us for the drum circle at 6:30, that's fine. We'll talk about you at dinner. Consider joining
us. Rick Cormier
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Links
See our drum circle on YouTube!
To learn more about our drum circle and about freestyle drum circles, including guidelines, tips, news articles, and
poems, the link below will take you to the "Drum Circle" section of my webpage:
Link to "Drum Circles"
Rick's Homepage
Link to articles about the many benefits of group drumming.
JUST FOR FUN: Click here to see my son and I sharing an impromptu drum jam in a song.
Express Yourself:
SIGN OUR GUESTBOOK VIEW OUR GUESTBOOK
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DDDC News
January 1, 2013 5:30 to 10 PM. Rick will be drumming a kirtan with Eddy Nataraj and KC Solaris at
the First Hindu Temple in Scarborough, Maine.
February 1, 7 PM Different Drummers Joyful Hearts Club Band will be performing for "International Night"
at the DoubleTree Hotel in So. Portland for Maine's foreign exchange students and their host families.
Saturday, February 23, 7 PM Rick will be drumming a kirtan with Eddy Nataraj and KC Solaris at
"The Ranch" 1 Halls Hill Rd., Falmouth, Maine.
Saturday, March 2 7 PM Bluezberry Jam performs at the Village Coffeehouse in New Gloucester.
Saturday, March 9, DDDC's 10th Anniversary Bash Potluck 5PM, Drum Circle 6:30 PM. at The First
Universalist Church, 97 Main St., Yarmouth, Maine.
Saturday, April 6, 7 PM Bluezberry Jam performs at the U.U. church in Sanford.
Saturday, July 20, 4:30PM Different Drummers Joyful Hearts Club Band will perform at the Memorial
Green Stage at the Yarmouth Clam Festival.
Sunday, July 21, 1:30PM Bluezberry Jam will perform at the Memorial Green Stage at the Yarmouth
Clam Festival.
Saturday, August 24, 10AM to 6PM Eastern Mass. Rhythm Festival in Uxbridge, MA. A day of drumming,
dancing and hooping hosted by four community drum circles.
My book, "Freestyle Community Drum Circles." is available (See "My Book" link on far left)
on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and wherever fine books are sold. ;-) The news is that last summer it started
selling in Europe! How cool is that? There are loads of books available on facilitated drum circles but mine is
the first to advocate freestyle circles, the goal of "shared leadership", and the importance of allowing participants
to have their own individual experience, be it spiritual, creative, or community-building. Oh, and rumor has it it's
pretty funny, too. Anyone I drum with gets a reduced rate of $12. (Considerable cheaper than Amazon.com). See me at the drum
circle.
Every third Friday of each month, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM I host the Waterville Drum Circle
at REM on 93 Main Street, Waterville.
I have copies of my third (and favorite) book, "My Life Cracks Me Up", for sale at $15. each (They cost $19.99 on Amazon.com and anywhere fine
books are sold).
Also, see me at th drum circle for DDDC T-shirts or bumper stickers.
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