Rhythm For Good

Archive | September, 2011

Jim Greiner, Rhythm Renegade

By Kat Fulton on September 28, 2011 in Rhythm Renegades

I’m honored to introduce to you Jim Greiner, corporate team-builder and drummer extraordinaire. Jim is changing the world by encouraging others to keep that calm, inner pulse while the digital age flies by.

Please read more about Jim’s work and purchase his community drumming and shekere DVDs on his website Hands On Drums.

You are in for a treat! Here are some time markers in the video. Enjoy~

4:30 Jim’s way of life
6:50 Jim’s advice to new professionals
9:20 Jim’s shekere performance
10:45 Jim shares an intimate story about creating an inner pulse

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TaKeTiNa Rhythm Process

By Kat Fulton on September 21, 2011 in Drumming

TaKeTiNa. Yes. You *have* to try it.

I’m still reverberating from it. I went this weekend to Alameda, California for the third-year student training of TaKeTiNa.

Jokesters in Alameda, CA

John Fitzgerald of Remo generously offered to drive. I’m so grateful. Arturo Carrillo, a conguero, generously offered his place to stay. We met up with SUPER awesome, talented folks for dinner Friday night: Kathy Quain, Jeni Swerdlow, and John Niec. Look to the left to learn more about the jokesters I hung out with. Crazy times!

Now, let me paint you a picture of TaKeTiNa.

Imagine 3 hours of chanting, walking, and clapping in a repetitive drone-like fashion. Sometimes call and response, sometimes connecting with others through eye contact and high-fiving, sometimes sitting, sometimes lying down, sometimes walking. Everything happened in a nice, neat sequential way so as not to confuse our brains.

It was incredible. I kept dreaming of recording a video for you here on the blog, but it would not do it justice. You just have to try it in the flesh. We did 3 hours Friday, 6 hours Saturday, and 6 hours Sunday. Each third-year student had a chance to facilitate. Each session was special and beautiful.

The facilitators were from Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and the US. They all had unique talents to contribute to each experience.

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How do you stay healthy around toddlers?

By Kat Fulton on September 21, 2011 in Music & Wellness

If you’ve never seen Imagine, and you work in early childhood, then you are missing out! This awesome first-of-its-kind magazine is designed to serve music therapists who work with little ones. It’s so fun to turn the digital pages and roll the mouse around to read it.

Click here to visit Imagine: http://www.imagine.musictherapy.biz/

As I rolled the pages around, I couldn’t help but think: What a great resource! Fellow blogger and friend Rachel Rambach wrote an article on Building Your Own Business In Early Childhood Music Therapy. If you need some digital assistance with business, she’s your woman.

There is some fabulous information from all the usual suspects (Dena Register, Darcy Walworth, Helen Shoemark, Anita Gadberry, Blythe LaGasse, Barbara Reuer, and Carol Ann Blank). Also, if you’re interested in early childhood around the world, skip to page 70. I’m amazed.

I was honored to have contributed a video podcast of 8 music therapists who work (or have worked) in early childhood. They spoke on the topic of self-care. Click here to watch the video.

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VIDEO: Drum Tunnels and Gong Strikes, Painted Blue

By Kat Fulton on September 9, 2011 in Drumming

The major power-outage in Southern California yesterday disrupted my blogging, but we’re back now! It was nice to see people out and about on the streets, socializing, cooking BBQ, and relaxing with no TV or internet to glow on our faces. Congratulations to kids with no school today!

I’ve painted this post with a few meanings of blue. Find out why at the bottom—

Wednesday morning, I spent some time mentally preparing for a corporate team-builder. Here were the details:

Blue {Masculine} :: These were mostly grown men. 40 engineers. Men on drums. Men with rhythm. Men who were ready to rumble. And two lovely ladies.

Blue {Blue Skies & Ocean Blue} :: The venue was a beautiful resort on the San Diego Bay, in the resort’s grass area right next to the beach. People run, bike, roller blade, play volleyball, swim, and skateboard down the boardwalk. It is a gorgeous site, and perfect for a day of bonding with the team outside of the office.

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