- Continue Shopping
- Your Cart is Empty
How Drumming Can Improve School Culture & Educational Outcomes
Peeking through the door of the music classroom, drumming may appear to be a fun diversion, like recess or free play, however, while we're drumming, we're working across multiple levels of intelligence. The "fun" layer is the part that engages students and gets them to embrace the experience with enthusiasm. The deeper layers are about creating connections, not only to academic areas, but to each other and to our community of peers. Drumming can help fulfill a basic human need: community and connection. That's why we say that drumming creates happy students, and happy students create...
View full article →Dancing Drum on YouTube!
Come visit Dancing Drum at YouTube! Our channel features many videos of Dancing Drum programs, products, and adventures over the years. Follow us and you'll receive updates whenever we post new videos.
https://www.youtube.com/user/dancingdrum/videos
New Early Childhood Percussion from IQ Plus!
We're pretty excited to try out these new samples from IQ Plus Music! Created by the same company that makes the Dancing Drum BoomBa Series and our Signature Series of djembes and djuns, these are high-quality instruments for early childhood music classrooms and family play time. Learn more at
https://dancingdrum.com/collections/iq-plus
Fundraising with Donors Choose
Every school year, we field many requests from teachers who would like to fundraise for a set of drums and/or in-school programs from Dancing Drum. Donors Choose is a popular and effective platform for crowd-sourcing funds for this type of project. View full article →What Makes Dancing Drum Djembes Special?
"We were able to source wood from sustainably managed plantations, wood that's grown and harvested on a 7 or 8 year cycle." This would be a much more eco-friendly option than using 100+ year old hardwoods. "We worked with Tycoon to design a djembe shell that would use a traditional shape inside and out, using a staved construction. Our goal was to create a drum with a very traditional sound and feel, using responsibly harvested wood, and offering it at an affordable price point."
View full article →
AOSA Conference, Nov 8-11, Ft. Worth TX
Dancing Drum’s Musical Director, Steve Campbell, will be presenting 2 hand-on sessions combining drums, xylophones, movement, and voice, based on our new “The Rhythm Is Here!” curriculum. You’re sure to gain some new ideas, arrangements, and inspiration to share with your music students! View full article →"Drumming Up Character" in the new school year
As we zip towards the beginning of a new school year, we like to remind ourselves why we do what we do.
Drumming is not only about making music, it’s also a medium through which students can work together to build school community, learn to focus in a dynamic environment, and enjoy creative self-expression.
Drumming can be the "hook" that grabs students' attention as we seek to teach them lessons about good character and how to be a better person. That's the inspiration behind "Drumming Up Character". Through drumming, dancing, and good character raps, we're turning a subject that many students previously thought of as "not cool" into a vibrant, exciting, high-energy experience and exploration of life skills.
We love this program and we are always thrilled to hear feedback from schools that have implemented "Drumming Up Character" with their students.
In fact, we just came across this link to a news story from last fall, where Dancing Drum's Musical Director, Steve Campbell, brought Drumming Up Character to schools in Mequon, WI. This was a School Drum Day program, where he saw the entire school in workshops throughout the entire school day.
And here's a link to the full article.
Are you "Drumming Up Character" at your school this fall? What strategies have worked for engaging your students in character education?
Announcing the Asheville Community Drum Ensemble (AC/DE)!
Drumming enthusiasts in the greater Asheville/Western North Carolina area are invited to join us for a new program called Asheville Community Drum Ensemble (AC/DE)!
Some years ago, we started a Community Drum Ensemble in Santa Barbara, which went on to play some really fun events like parades, concerts and festivals. Lots of new friendships and connections were born from the experience rehearsing and practicing at our studio on the Eastside of town. We even wrote a book with some of our favorite community ensemble arrangements!
Now that we're based in Asheville, North Carolina, it's time to resurrect Community Drum Ensemble. We hope to provide a new type of drumming experience that can be enjoyed by everyone from beginners to experienced drumming pros and drum circle regulars.
The CDE format provides both structure and room for improvisation. We focus on rhythms that are heavy on groove and designed to make people dance! We'll cover some world rhythms and some original beats. Multi-part polyrhythms, drum breaks, and solo opportunities abound!
Everyone is welcome, ages 12 and up. Bring your own drum (djembe or ashiko) or use one of ours. More info at this link:
https://dancingdrum.com/pages/community-classes-events
Here's a video of the Santa Barbara Community Drum Ensemble in action!
And here's a look at some of the music that we'll cover and the instructors for our sessions:
We hope that you can join us for the NEW Asheville Community Drum Ensemble (AC/DE)!!
Steve & Lindsay
Tuning Your Rope-Tuned Djembe
Some of your drums may have gathered a bit of dust over the summer if you had them in storage in your classroom. Lonely drums sometimes loose a bit of their tuning. Not to worry! It's easy to pull the ropes and tune your djembe back to its fullest sound. Here's a video with Dancing Drum's Musical Director, Steve Campbell, that shows you exactly how to do it:
Have you tried to tune your djembe? Let us know how it goes!
FMEA 2016
This week, we're presenting and exhibiting at the FMEA conference in Tampa, FL. Booth #3040. Hope to see you there! DD
© 2025 Dancing Drum. POS and Ecommerce by Shopify
