The Japan Facilitator Playshop Training
Last year I did a "drum-about " in Japan. I visited six cities throughout the
country that have
well developed recreational drumming communities. These communities were started
nurtured and facilitated by Village Music circle Graduates who attended at least
one Hawaii DCFacilitator's Playshop.
This was our forth Village Music Circle program presented in Japan in the last
three years.
The training was held once again at the Buddhist Temple in the Village of
Oshino-mura at the foot of mount Fuji.
We had 32 participants in this program.
As I did the Demographics I generated a list of "Usual Suspects" that show up to
these trainings.
1 school teacher
1 drum teacher
1 music therapist
17 facilitators
4 special needs providers
2 spiritual facilitators
2 body workers
7 Drum Circle Facilitation Association members
When I ran out of Categories to demograph, I knew that there was a number of
people who had not identified them selves. So I asked who many people were
recreational drummers. We all got a big laugh when every one in the room stood
up. So then I asked how many people came to the playshop specifically because
they experienced a facilitated drum circle and came to be a facilitator.
I found the 8 people who had not fit into the usual categories. This is a new
paradigm shift in my training population, recreational drummers. Duhaa!
Something that I will pay attention to in other countries.
As in standard Hawaii Playshop style, the advanced participants, who had come
early, drummed at the entrance of the temple as the participants arrived. When
Shozen, the temple priest, would drive his van out to pick up a group of
participants at the village buss stop or train station, the greeters-players
would know that he would be back in 5 minuets with another load of guests and
they would get ready to play.
Once again my room was the tree-house in the forest behind the temple. I sat on
the balcony of my tree house writing, while listening to these short bursts of
happy rhythm greetings throughout the day. As more people arrived and joined the
greeters, each rhythm groove gradually became more powerful and lasted longer
until almost the whole group was out front, including me, drumming and greeting
the last arrivals.
My tree house is on the left, Mount Fuji on the right
We are starting to build a family of facilitators here in Japan. In
this VMC playshop population there were 7 Hawaii graduates, and 5
weekend playshop returnees. They are all in communication with each
other through out the year and work and cofacilitate with each other
in certain situations.
This was the best Japan facilitators training ever.
There were three major factors that made a difference;
#1 With REMO Sponsorship, we had all the equipment I needed to
demonstrate what the perfect drum circle orchestra could be. Japanese
DCs are notoriously high on djembes and low on medium pitch drums
and small drums like talking drums and Bongos. Japan DC's are also
usually low on bell and wood mixture as well as bell and wood sound
variety. With the new REMO Crown Gongquogi bells and plastic wood
blocks, we had a great percussion section with a wide range of tones,
timbers and pitches and a full range drum section. A fine selection
for a DC Orchestra.
The REMO distributer from Japan is now importing the Arthur Hull
Nesting drum and facilitator sound shapes that I have designed
specifically for facilitators. Now the Japanese DCFacilitators can
have a powerful variety of tools in their DC Kit to adapt to any
event and population scenario.
#2 the new Facilitator Book, and the curriculum that goes with it,
has sped up the training process. Now I can meet my training goals
with lots of extra time for jump time and play time for the students.
#3 The fact that we started the program at 2 PM on Friday, ( instead
of the usual after dinner start at 7PM), made a big difference in how
much we were able to accomplish on the opening day.
The curriculum map, triplicities orientation, Standing in the circle,
Body language, Start, Attention and Stop exercises were all completed
by dinner at 6 PM.
Full group intervention, rumbles, call and responses, Platform and
half circle sculpts were completed in the evening, after dinner. That
included advance jump time tasking in-between each activity. Every
thing I said had to be translated in Japanese. I wore out translators
like a race driver wares out tires. All of this was completed by the
end of the first day. A great start.
Shozen and his temple Bell from his mini Alter (behind him)
Rumble Balloon Visits Buddha
Kaoru then pulled out a balloon. She initiated a "Balloon Rumble" by tossing it
into the air. The group would rumble as the balloon floated into the air,
getting louder as it went up and softer as it went down. Then whey would stop
when she caught it.
After she tossed it and caught it a few times she tossed it to a player in the
circle, thus instigating a series of rumble tosses all around the circle. All
this happened over the chimes and voices. Once the balloon touched the ground
the rumbles stopped and Kaoru gently layered the drums back into a trance
groove. Such grace and beauty.
Now that Shozen has finally graduated from a full weekend FAC Playshop, he will
be holding regular community drum circles at his site Our annual closing drum
circle at the temple has started
creating interest in the Village. There are now drum circle facilitators on a
few new Japanese islands that had not yet been infected, or affected, by
percussionists.
The mission continues.
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