Tempo and Rhythm by Rob Dufour

A few days ago my roommate Todd and I had a bit of extra time between classes to chat it up for a bit. I began talking with him about the drum circle that took place a few days ago and we got into a big discussion about how important the idea of tempo and rhythm can be in a social setting and what it can symbolize and the power behind it. He brought up a movie he had watched a few years ago that represented the importance behind these concepts – he said the director of this movie was primarily focused on the movement of people and nature. At one point it shows a tribe from either India or Tibet that is performing an exorcism on a possessed man. The tribe formed a huge circle around the man, over 100 people, and they were all swaying back in forth in unison while humming and chanting to get the spirit to leave the man. Todd said it was incredible to watch how the entire tribe moved as one. I could envision them as if they were all blades of grass in a field being blown by the wind and the similar whisper that could be heard. I assume the purpose of this is to stress the unity of the group and to show the spirit how strong they were as a group. I imagine this could compare to a school of small fish – how they all swim together and move as a group to intimidate predators. They are safe because of their united whole, just as the tribal group probably felt safe as a group moving as one and chanting as one to intimidate the spirit and show to it their power in numbers. I was thinking of other instances where tempo and rhythm are very representative of life, such as the beating of a heart or the movement of waves in an ocean. This type of beating lets you know there is life among us. Between the example of the tribal exorcism and the experience I had with the drum circle, tempo and rhythm not only signify life but when in sync with others its powers are immense. I remember thinking about what it must look or sound like for a jogger that was running by the drum circle, and I could only imagine the beats coming together to sing “We are alive.”