Frame Drummer

The Ancient Tools of the Bee Priestess
with  Layne Redmond & Tommy Brunjes.
Location: The Barn At Valhalla, Chapel Hill, NC

Join us for this Wed. night through Sunday retreat! 
There will be beginner, intermediate and advanced levels of frame drumming.

We’ll be working with Middle Eastern style tambourine, tar and knee position styles of frame drumming, including techniques from the Middle East, Azerbaijan, North Africa, Brazil and India. There will be extensive work on split hand technique and the chirt mah snapping traditions and an emphasis this season on Egyptian and Moroccan rhythms. 

Advanced drummers will also work on Seven Sent and Translucent Path.

Purchase DVDs here:

Seven Sent and Translucent Path DVDs Together $49.95

Translucent Path:  $29.95

Seven Sent:  $24.95

Therapeutic Rhythmic Integration Techniques – Every morning all levels will meet to work together on entrainment-rhythmic synchronization exercises for developing a powerful sense of time, abilities to work with odd meters while walking a pulse in four and as a therapeutic tool for synchronizing mind and body.  

Make your whole mind and body your groove!

Play For Your Whole Life:  Keeping Our Shoulders, Arms, Hands, and Fingers Strong and Conditioned for Playing

Every Afternoon before drumming sessions all levels will meet together to work on these physical exercises. A musician must stay fit in order to perform well. Our hands and arms are the most used and abused part of our bodies. Finger exercises, along with hand and arm stretches are important in maintaining your ability to perform on your instrument throughout your entire life. Layne has studied yoga for 39 years, chi kung for over ten years and she studied Isometric Muscle Rebalancing with Charlotte Vandegrift. A variety of techniques will be taught with the aim of tapping the body’s innate intelligence in maintaining optimal conditioning for hand drumming. Not only will these exercises keep you healthy they will improve your speed and dexterity.

Evening Session: When The Drummers Were Women:
The Birth of the Frame Drum in the Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations

Come and immerse yourself in the study of Layne’s lectures from her incomparable slide archive of the ancient goddesses, women and men who played the frame drum.  In the ancient Mediterranean world, the frame drum is associated primarily with women and in particular with the Bee Priestesses, called the Melissaes in Greek or the Deborahs in Hebrew. They served the Bee Goddesses: Aphrodite, Artemis, Cybele, Demeter, Persephone, Neith, and later the Virgin Mary. Many of the bee priestesses functioned as oracles, a highly valued and honored position. The drumming, humming, and breathing practices were traditionally used to develop the oracular aspect of the mind, along with healing physical and emotional imbalances.


We will explore the ancient transformational sound tools by: 



*  Learning the buzzing humming bee breath practices that realign the entire nervous system, brain, and body by intense vibration of the vocal chords.

  And chanting the mantras of Bhramari Devi, the bee goddess from India.

*  Creating sacred space through ritual with the frame drum, Brazilian overtone whistles, Tibetan bowls, and bells.



*  Thinking mythically and working ritually, seeing what was, what is, and what can be.



Rituals are collective actions that access and influence the deep resources of the unconscious mind. Using sacred symbols, sound, and energy, rituals open communication between different dimensions of our being and between the human and the divine. What we feel, care for, and imagine together influences the innermost resources of the unconscious mind. Our shared energy and emotion transforms our drumming, breathing and sound practices into the path of self-realization.

Registration Information for Frame Drumming Retreat 2012, Chapel Hill NC, July 11-15

Retreat costs:

$320 — Registration includes all sessions, presentations, and hand-outs, plus 3 locally-sourced vegetarian dinners, daily snacks, and herbal tea.  No lodging.

Options to add breakfasts & lunches and onsite dorm accommodations (very limited)

$404 — Registration, plus 4 breakfasts & lunches and 3 locally-sourced vegetarian dinners, daily snacks, and herbal tea.  No lodging.

$420 — Registration, with 4 nights onsite dorms including linen (limit 12 people, first come, first served) and 3 locally-sourced vegetarian dinners, daily snacks, and herbal tea.

$504 — Registration, with 4 nights onsite dorms including linen (limit 12 people, first come, first served), plus 4 breakfasts & lunches and 3 locally-sourced vegetarian dinners, daily snacks, and herbal tea.

Camping, showers and bathrooms on grounds:

$360 — Registration, with 4 nights on-site camping (bring your own camping gear)  Registration includes all sessions, presentations, and hand-outs, plus 3 locally-sourced vegetarian dinners, daily snacks, and herbal tea.

$444 — Registration, with 4 nights on-site camping (bring your own camping gear), plus 4 breakfasts & lunches and including 3 locally-sourced vegetarian dinners, daily snacks, and herbal tea.

Full refund, less $50 processing fee, for cancellations received by July 1st; no refunds after July 1st.

Registration:  Farrunnissa at NurLuna@aol.com or 919 361-2383.

Transportation to or from the Raleigh Durham International airport (RDU) is available by previous arrangement for $25 per person each way.  Please arrange to arrive before 5:00 PM Wednesday July 11 and depart after 3 PM Sunday July 15.  Contact Farrunnissa at NurLuna@aol.com or 919 361-2383 to sign up.

Hotels are located within 15 to 20 minutes drive.  Map and hotels.  Search online to find the location and price that works for you.

Limited community housing is available in the Chapel Hill and surrounding areas (some is couch or floor space); inquire separately to Farrunnissa at NurLuna@aol.com or 919 361-2383.

DOWNLOAD REGISTRATION FORM
(Look for it in your downloads)