Marble Falls drum circle offers good vibrations

Bongo drums beat out a rhythm, while wooden instruments such as guiros, cuicas, maracas, and crickets buzz, croak, rattle, and chirp. Put it all together in a drum circle, and Johnson Park in Marble Falls vibrates with the sounds of a jungle under the oak and pecan trees along Backbone Creek.

The phenomenon happens at 6 p.m. on the last Saturday of every other month when Hill Country United Methodist Church hosts a public musical event in the park featuring a variety of percussion instruments with weird names and a professional drum leader. 

“What we do in the park with the drum circle is a fellowship experience,” Pastor Cody Logan said. “We hope for our church to present a different face of the church to the community. Maybe we can sit down and see we are not as different as we think we are.”

Musician and trained facilitator Kevin Cooley of San Antonio brings the instruments and the expertise to keep the beat going for 90 minutes of sound that crescendos in enthusiasm and participation as it progresses. As the owner of Drumming Around, Cooley works with retirement homes, addiction groups, and special-needs communities. He also leads corporate team-building events.

“Music has the power to bring people together and to heal people,” he said. 

This was exactly what the newly formed Methodist church was looking for as it built its congregation. The church holds most of its worship services in the Marble Falls Senior Activity Center at 618 Avenue L.

The Sunday after a Saturday drum circle, the church holds a Praise in the Park worship at Johnson Park.

The upcoming schedule includes: 

September

• Drum circle from 6-7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27
• Praise in the Park at 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 28

October

• Drum circle from 6-7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25
• Praise in the Park at 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 26

Congregant Holly Morris of Kingsland first heard the beat of the drum circle on a visit to Asheville, North Carolina, a little over a year ago.

“I looked up fun things to do there, and turns out that Asheville is known for its drum circles,” she said. “I don’t think they invented it, but it’s a big deal there, and it was a blast. So I threw it out there: What if we had a drum circle in Marble Falls?” 

Drum circles became a passion project for congregant Jerry Watkins of Marble Falls. He found Cooley during his research, and the church signed him up. Church members beat the bongos regularly during drum circles at Gateway Villas retirement home in Marble Falls and hope to expand to other local senior facilities soon.

“I call it a drum ministry, but it is not at all a church service,” Watkins said. “But you’ll feel it. There’s a spiritual thing going on. The unity and harmony that’s happening is evident. I love anything that brings us together and gives us a common purpose and an opportunity to make a joyful noise together.”

Drum circles in the park and at Gateway Villas have been going on since last October. This summer, the church also held circles at the community Juneteenth celebration in Westside Park and the Back to School Blast at Marble Falls Middle School.

During a summer drum circle, about 25 people gathered in lawn chairs under the shade trees on the west side of Johnson Park. Participants chose a bongo and, depending on its style and size, held it between their legs, under an arm, or on their laps. Some took up drumsticks, but most depended on the slap of skin on rawhide.

Cooley started the session with shakers, a lesson on how to put your own creative touch to the music.

“I call it monkey see, monkey do,” he said. “Let’s see who can come up with a new way to play the shaker.” 

As everyone kept a single beat, one at a time, each person in the circle put their own spin on shakers, taking the maraca overhead, arms to the sides, and behind their backs. Cooley then had everyone switch hands and do it again.  

“Notice anything about what we’re doing?” he asked.

“It worked!” several shouted. 

Then, the drums came out, followed by a few warmup beats and brief instructions.

“I’ve been telling you what to play, but, starting now, you make it up,” Cooley said to drum up enthusiasm. 

He later explained the resulting flow of sound and tempo to this reporter, who, during the drumming, was pounding a bongo with the other budding musicians. 

“It will begin to sound chaotic, then your ear picks up on an underlying beat and it makes your chest shake with sensation,” he said. “Your hands fall into a rhythm on the drum, like stepping into the sound and becoming part of it.” 

I couldn’t have written it better.

He stops the beat with a “four, three, two, one, stop.” After a few slow breaths, he shouts: “One, two, back to the groove!” and everyone picks up where they left off. 

Musicians exchanged drums with each other or picked new ones from the impressive collection in the center of the circle. After a few more upbeat rounds, out came the small, wooden percussion instruments designed to sound like insects and frogs. Johnson Park quickly filled with sounds of a night in the wilderness, drawing in some passersby, who joined the circle.

Amy and Alex Oliveira of Corpus Christi brought their daughter, Paige, into the circle to play. 

“This is her first time, but we go to a drum circle in downtown Corpus Christi that we love,” Amy said. “We are here visiting and had no idea this was going on. We just decided to come to the park.” 

After another “four, three, two, one, stop,” instruments were laid aside, and Cooley began to clap. 

“Now, play the drums the good Lord gave you,” he said, drawing the evening to a close. “This just works, doesn’t it? And it’s because of y’all. And that’s a wrap for what I’m doing. Stick around as long as you want and get to know each other.” 

As the crowd helped clean up and began to chat in groups, Pastor Cody explained why his congregation embraced the idea of a drum circle. 

“Drum circles are used by all sorts of different communities for all sorts of different purposes and all sorts of different ends,” he said. “Ultimately, it is about bringing people together in what can sometimes start off as a chaotic cacophony of dissonance and polyrhythm, or a rhythm, and eventually starts to find some harmony together. It starts to find some uniformity together, and it starts to show how, no matter where we come from, we can make a joyful noise together.”

Pick up the beat yourself from 6-7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at Pavilion 1 in Johnson Park, 230 Avenue J in Marble Falls. Hill Country United Methodist Church meets on Sundays at 9 a.m. for small group studies and 10:15 a.m. for worship service. 

For more information about Drumming Around, visit drummingaround.com.

suzanne@thepicayune.com