The Science of Rhythm

“The main catalyst for the project was that I felt there was something missing in young people’s lives - that the focus was on young people’s disabilities rather than on them as people… The spirit of rhythm knows no boundaries. Drumming is the tool that helps people to connect and can also be used to achieve specific goals such as improving communication, mood and self esteem.” Biant Singh Suwali, founder of The Science of Rhythm

The Science of Rhythm project was set up in 2009 by Biant Singh Suwali, an experienced social worker and percussionist, and Transitions Coordinator for the Mansfield Community Learning Disability Team. Aware that the focus of disability support was all too often on young people’s disabilities rather than on them as individuals, Biant was inspired by the visual approach to person centred planning used by Helen Sanderson Associates. He felt that drumming and rhythm could make a significant contribution to the Person Centred Review process and person centred thinking with regard to supporting young people on the autism spectrum.

Biant set out to turn the standard transition process on its head by engaging young people on the autism spectrum in an activity that not only absorbs them, but also is about them and for them. Once they are relaxed and confident in this environment that is centred on them, they can then move comfortably into a person centred planning and transition process that works.

“I have always felt that there was something missing in my life.  I thought this was because I was disabled. Now I realise I didn’t know much about who I was as a person.  Everyone was so concerned about my disability, they forgot to help me find the real me.” The Science of Rhythm student

The Science of Rhythm sessions now run in 12 special and mainstream schools across North Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands for young people aged six to 18 who are on the autism spectrum and who have associated learning disabilities. The project was initially only open to Year 9 students and up, however participating schools were keen for sessions to be available to younger children so after-school clubs – ‘Rhythm is One’ – were also set up. This enables Biant to make more comprehensive assessments when the young people move into transition because he has already established a relationship with them. He can then continue this relationship through their Year 9 reviews until they leave school.

Sessions are also run within the voluntary sector through Mansfield based charity APTCOO (A Place to Call Our Own). Here Biant is able to access those people who are not necessarily on the social services radar as their condition is not severe, but who still have very real support needs.  www.aptcoo.co.uk

The project has also been the starting point for developing a Transitions Pathway for Independent Life Skills programme and toolkit. As part of the project young people create personal identity maps, looking at their family and community and helping them to discover a sense of who they are. Objects of personal reference such as a photograph, their grandad’s pipe or a piece of family jewellery are used as a catalyst to create a narrative for their lives and as a template for their own cultural reference. This is incorporated into The Science of Rhythm sessions as a creative approach to discovering self-awareness and identity.

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“It’s amazing to be there and to drum with these young people who have such a passion about drumming, who are so engaged. To be able to be a part of that is a privilege.”  Biant Singh Suwali, founder of The Science of Rhythm

The Science of Rhythm interactive drumming and rhythm sessions range in size from five up to 40 people of mixed disability. Ages range from 6 through to 18 years old, though members within a group are usually of a similar age. The groups have a strong ethic of inclusion, with no fear of disability. The sessions last around two hours and usually run for six to eight weeks depending on funding. 

Biant leads the first sessions, introducing percussion and the West African Djembe drum that is used. Each member of the group has their own Djembe and Biant teaches the students how to explore rhythm using the basic foundation sounds ‘bass, tone, slap’.

Sessions begin with using the drum as a heartbeat to correspond with their own. Everyone synchronises their beats providing a unique lesson in equality and inclusion – everyone as one. Rhythms are then developed into time cycles of three or four beats and move on to games and songs around the individuals, for example using the students’ names.

“The sessions are a fantastic percussion discussion – everyone listening and playing together, developing their communication, eye contact and social awareness skills with every beat. It is a very organic process.” Biant Singh Suwali, founder of The Science of Rhythm

Biant has developed a toolkit so that teachers or other members of staff can lead the sessions once the basics have been established within the group. The enthusiasm that is engendered through the process of drumming means that the groups become self-sustaining, with the young people themselves helping to facilitate the sessions.

There has been scepticism about the project from some professionals who feel that children with profound disabilities do not gain any benefit from drumming. In considering the requirements of those with more complex needs, Biant considered how to maximise the experience for those with sensory impairments. As part of the Aromatic Beat Project, essential oils are put onto the drums at many of The Science of Rhythm sessions and the aromas are released as young people drum.

The young people who do not benefit at all from drumming are those who are very sensitive to sound. With these young people other forms of expression such as art or poetry are used to meet the same ends; enabling them to explore themselves as people before they address the issue of transition.

A new group for siblings has also recently been established – The Suitcase Project. Sessions focus on identity with links to the government’s Every Child Matters Five Outcomes of being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic well-being.

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“When they drum they get it ‘right’ and they feel good in themselves. They feel and hear ‘yes I can’ in every groove, and lose the fear of making mistakes, which allows them to make fewer mistakes. It strengthens their role within the group, as well as their values and vision, and gives them a confidence to look forward and think about the future.” Biant Singh Suwali, founder of The Science of Rhythm

The Science of Rhythm uses drumming to build self-confidence and break down barriers and inhibitions for young people on the autism spectrum. This in turn allows participants to explore new ways of communicating, thinking and problem solving and relating to each other.

Biant believes that drumming digs deep into human potential and that the confidence and increased self-esteem that it gives to young people on the autism spectrum is invaluable in enabling them to take a full and active part in their own transitions. It also helps them to lose the fear of making mistakes because with drumming there is no right or wrong way – there are many ways. There may only be three notes, but a whole range of tones and rhythms can come from these.

“There was a young man who said to me ‘Biant, when do I get the groove?’  I said ‘You’ll know when you get it.’  A few weeks later he shouts to me across the shopping precinct -  ‘Biant I got it, I know what the groove is.’”   Biant Singh Suwali, founder of The Science of Rhythm

The young people who participate in the sessions often haven’t engaged with other services before, but they do successfully engage with The Science of Rhythm. Biant has also received feedback that some non-verbal children have begun to vocalise rhythms as a result of their involvement in the project. He believes that drumming has a special resonance for children whose verbal skills are limited, enabling them to communicate and hold their own with other people. 

“They are all starting at the same point, all playing their own rhythms.  They bring to the world ‘yes I can’. When they hit the drum, you can hear them say ‘yes I can’, that’s what the rhythms say. It’s incredibly positive. Drumming releases endorphins, connects you with other people when language might be difficult.” Biant Singh Suwali, founder of The Science of Rhythm

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Title          The Healing Drum: African Wisdom Teachings
Author       Yaya Diallo and Mitch Hall
Publisher   Inner Traditions Bear and Company,1989
ISBN          9780892812561
Abstract    The Healing Drum traces the extraordinary cultural legacy of the Minianka 
                  tribe of West Africa, for whom music serves a sacred, healing function for 
                  the individual and society. It explores the Minianka view of humanity, music, 
                  and the cosmos relative to work, celebration, herbal medicine, dance, trance, 
                  initiation, and death.

 
Title          The Drummer's Path: Moving the Spirit with Ritual and 
                  Traditional Drumming
Author       Sule Greg Wilson
Publisher   Inner Traditions Bear and Company, 1992
ISBN          9780892813599
Abstract    Drummer, dancer, and folklorist Sule Greg Wilson introduces the principles 
                  behind African and Diaspora music, including breath, posture, and 
                  orchestration.

Title          Planet Drum: A Celebration of Percussion and Rhythm
Author      Mickey Hart, Fredric Lieberman, D.A Sonneborn
Publisher  Acid Test Productions, 1998
ISBN          978-1888358209
Abstract     Mickey Hart's companion to his bestselling Drumming at the Edge of Magic is
                   a captivating chronicle of our global fascination with drums and the primal 
                   rhythms and spells of percussion, illustrated with 350 photographs and 
                   illustrations.

Title          The World Is Sound: Nada Brahma: Music and the Landscape of 
                  Consciousness
Author       Joachim-Ernst Berendt
Publisher   Inner Traditions Bear and Company, 1987
ISBN          978-0892813186
Abstract    One of Europe's foremost jazz producers explores a world of musical traditions
                  and the effects of sound on consciousness.