http://www.drumcafe.ca/teambuilding.html

FIRST - We Break Down the Barriers

Welcome delegates into the meeting. Drumming has always been used as a gathering call. We establish a universal dialogue. Transcending the spoken word to quickly and effectively bring everyone ‘onto the same page’, allowing us to relate easily to one another and bridge the professional, functional, and personal gaps that may exist.

We level-set with a common language and turns the tables from an expected environment of ‘spectator’ to an engaged environment of ‘performer’. Collaboration/teamwork are evident as the group moves from dis-harmony to harmony.

Then we align the group

Alignment to a common purpose, mission, vision, values. It’s a statement of the group and the one beat / one voice that echoes around the company, region, country, world. Transcendence of disparities among delegates and emphasis one unified whole (shared ‘pulse’ or ‘beat’). Building on our collaborative achievements

Explore the diversity with in the group.

Recognition and Appreciation of Diversity of individual contribution and how those unique skillsn / talents can be combined to deliver a harmonious, synergistic result.. Explores unique manner / voice that each uses to support the global mission of the organization and emphasize the magic that results from our unique collaboration, no matter what division we work within

We close off with a celebration

By building a unique piece of music, never to be repeated, we recognize and embracing the individual voices and contributions with in the group through their contribution to the music.

Leadership emphasized through their contribution, listening, support and providing space for others to participate.

Participants are encouraged to show leadership when playing their instrument as well as contributing their unique individual voice to the music.

The Accountant Story

We arrive at the venue to prepare for the group drumming component of the conference. To the surprise of a waitress, we start unloading drum after drum and by the time we get to 50, she asks, "Who is going to play all those drums?" We say “200 accountants!”

We unpack the 200 drums and form a circle of chairs. The delegates are completely unaware that they are about to drum and are now beginning to arrive at the venue for their annual conference. We begin to play our drums announcing that the program is about to commence. When the accountants enter the room, they cannot believe their eyes.

In front of them, they find a drum set out on each seat. While they move through the room and find a seat, the music continues, filling the room and creating an electric atmosphere.

Tentatively, a few brave individuals start beating away on their drum. An enthusiastic person gets carried away with the energy in the room and leaps into the middle of the circle for a quick dance to the wild applause and cheers of the group. The rhythm becomes infectious and soon everybody is tapping on his/her drum. Then, without saying a word, our facilitator gets up and starts to orchestrate the group with a repertoire of body language signals, bringing the 200 entry-level musicians into perfect harmony. This is the beginning of the magic of the Drum Café drum circle… Participants are taught simple drumming rhythms through our successful methodology. We alternate drumming performances with the interactive parts to create a magical event where the audience themselves are the orchestra.

For an hour, participants are engaged in a co-operative activity that leaves them feeling energized and exhilarated both as individuals and as a group.

Note: We can combine the interactive drumming with boomwhacking, which is a wonderful follow-on from drumming as it introduces melody. Boomwhackers are brightly coloured plastic tubes that are tuned by length to musical notes. When hit on the hand, each colour boom-whacker produces a different tone. The facilitators split the group up according to colour of boom-whacker, and then give each group a different rhythm to play. These intertwining rhythms come together to produce a melodious musical composition and the group is taught to make music as one