Watch Steve Rivers’ APPEARANCE on Channel 4 Steph’s Packed Lunch
This month I was live on air on Channel 4 Steph’s Packed Lunch sharing the joy of drumming with the nation!
The experience was amazing and I can now put in my record book the shortest drum workshop ever delivered - 40 seconds!
Watch the interview and drum workshop here - and join in with the beat!
In the interview, I talked to Steph about the therapeutic benefits of group drumming. 🪘
Steph’s Packed Lunch programme is just that - a programme packed full of different current affairs and discussions, so the challenge was to summarise what is a very broad subject into 3 minutes. ⏱️😯
In the interview, I talked about the way drumming can make us feel energised, release stress and calm the mind.⚡
I mentioned different groups we have worked with, such as:
Work teams, where the experience of drumming gives colleagues a chance to interact in a real way - particularly remote teams who normally interact with each other through a video screen.
Bereavement groups, where the social and empathic experience of group drumming helps people cope with their sense of grief and loneliness.
Neuro-divergent group, where the drumming experience can help participants gain confidence in social situations.
“Let’s all Play The Drums!”
Then came the 40-second workshop! Yes - you really can have a group playing a rhythm within seconds.
Fortunately, I already knew a rhythm which everybody could play instantly.
The rhythm is normally called ‘Clave’ and while its origins are from the beats of Cuba and African Highlife, this pattern is played in many popular tunes in Western culture.
In the programme, I chanted it as ‘Let’s..All..Play…The.Drums…!’
Very soon the whole TV studio was playing the beat - the presenters; the studio audience and even the broadcasting team!
It amazes me how immediate drumming can be! You wouldn’t think it in the clip, but almost every person who participated said they had no rhythm. By the end of the 40-second workshop, they were amazed at what they’d been able to play in such a short space of time. It just goes to show how accessible and inclusive drumming is and what a powerful activity it can be in bringing people together.
While TV studios are a high-energy, ‘full-on’ environment, it was such a fantastic experience and one which I would love to repeat on a future occasion!
If you would like to organise a drumming workshop for your team, or community group, why not give us a call? We would love to tell you more! Contact us here or call us on 0114 274 7527 / 07810406501.