You are not signed in. Sign in.

List Books: Buy books on ListBooks.org

Healing Power of the Drum » (1st Edition)

Book cover image of Healing Power of the Drum by Robert Lawrence Friedman

Authors: Robert Lawrence Friedman, Shi-Hong Loh
ISBN-13: 9780941677875, ISBN-10: 0941677877
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Pathway Book Service
Date Published: August 2000
Edition: 1st Edition

Find Best Prices for This Book »

Author Biography: Robert Lawrence Friedman

Book Synopsis

The Healing Power of the Drum is an authoritative yet easy to read book that shows how everyone can achieve health benefits from the increasingly popular activity of hand drumming. The raison d'etre for the book is to raise awareness of the hand drum from merely a musical instrument to a tool that can be used by individuals to attain psychological, physiological and spiritual well-being.

The book explores the drum from a multidimensional perspective, explaining the drum's ability to release anger, create joy, alter brain rhythms, induce trance, and create empowerment. Research and anecdotal reports provide validation of the benefits of personal drumming.

The Healing Power of the Drum provides a springboard for readers to use the drum in exciting and innovative ways to enhance their own wellness. The book reflects the very qualities of drumming. It is easy to read and non-technical, fun, and yet it provides depth, meaning and purpose for the reader. As the drum provides seemingly limitless ranges of emotions from deep relaxation to extraordinary aliveness, the book accordingly explores the vast range of experiences offered by drumming, from its ability to create euphoria to its deep and sacred power to heal.

Contributors of world renown include:

  • Dr. Michael Thaut, Director, Center for Biomedical Research and Music, Colorado State University.
  • Dr. Kenneth Aigen, Co-Director of Research for the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy at New York University
  • Dr. Connie Tomaino, Director of the Department of Music Therapy, Institute for Music and Neurologic Function, affiliated with Albert Einstein Medical Hospital, Bronx, New York
  • Barry Bernstein, Music Therapist
  • Christine Stevens, Music Therapist
  • Jim Greiner, Latin Percussion artist and drum facilitator, who shares some of the most eloquent stories of the hand drumming experience ever written.
  • Heather MacTavish, founder of New Rhythms Foundation, who discusses how hand drumming helped her survive and heal from Parkinson's disease.
  • Arthur Hull, leading drum circle facilitator.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgmentsvii
Forewordxii
Part IThe Limitless Healing Drum1
Chapter 1Hand Drums and Healing3
Psychological and Physiological Applications4
The Symphony of Rhythm5
Who Should Read This Book?6
Chapter 2My Journey to the Drum9
There's a Baby on the Drummer's Path9
Drumming Away My Mother's Migraines10
My Fifteen Minutes of Fame...Ouch11
You Did What With Bobby McFerrin? Sing?? Why???12
Omar Hakim, and Me, or Whose Concert Is it, Really?12
The Experiment Begins14
The Drum Unites Parents and Children15
Drumming and Oneness16
The Drum, So Powerful--Yet So Simple17
Chapter 3The Ancient Calling18
Words from a Master Drummer--An African Perspective19
The Hungry Soul21
Rhythm, Both Within and Without23
In the Beginning, There Must Be Rhythm24
Shifting the Sands of Time25
Rhythm is a Given26
Chapter 4The Personal Experience of Drumming28
Finding Your Drum28
Drumming Alone29
Drumming in a Group29
Your Joyful Inner Child30
Drumming and the Family35
The Psychology of Drumming36
Intuitive Drumming41
Entrainment42
The Discovery of Entrainment43
The Unifying Quality of the Drum46
The Alchemy of Drumming50
Part IIComplementary Medicine and Rhythm55
Chapter 5Drumming and Physiological Conditions57
Alzheimer's Disease57
Cancer65
Multiple Sclerosis--Two Personal Stories66
Paralysis70
Parkinson's Disease70
Parkinson's Disease Research75
Speech Problems77
Stroke78
Chapter 6Drumming and Psychological Conditions80
Addictions80
Disabilities84
Psychiatric Rehabilitation86
Stress Management88
Chapter 7Drumming for Specific Populations91
At-Risk Adolescents91
Drums Not Guns93
Corporate Employees95
The Corporate Tribal Meeting98
Prisoners and Detainees100
Drumming Detainees102
Senior Citizens104
Vietnam Veterans106
Chapter 8Drumming and Children111
Healing Children's Grief Through Drumming111
The Drum Helps a Distraught Child Choose Life114
Autism115
Down Syndrome122
William's Syndrome123
Rhythm Profiles124
Chapter 9Skeptics and Visionaries130
Counterpoint132
Visionaries and Rhythm132
Physioacoustics134
The Future of Drumming140
An Ancient Healing Instrument Meets the Future141
Part IIIBringing Drumming Into Your Life143
Chapter 10Practical Techniques and Rhythm Exercises145
Chapter 11Drumming Exercises from Music Therapy158
Chapter 12Conclusion167
References171
Rhythm and Percussion Resources174
Index188

Subjects