Day 3 of the 3-Day ICDC training, on its own

1-Day Gentle Drumming Facilitator Training

Learn to calm a room in a single day.

Spend one day with the frame drum, the bowls, the flute and the voice, and learn the practices that calm a room and help people settle. You don't need to lead a full drum circle or play complex rhythms. Come as you are, and leave with a practice you can use on Monday, in your own setting, within your own scope. It is Day 3, Sunday, of the 3-Day ICDC Facilitator Training, and you can take it on its own, in Calgary, or in Edmonton when a cohort fills there.

Next date: coming 2027 date open

No public dates are set yet. The day runs as the third day of each 3-Day cohort; the waitlist hears first.

Next date: Sunday [JULIEN: date] 2027, Calgary, [JULIEN: venue]. Early bird until [JULIEN: date]. [JULIEN: n] seats left.

$345 + GST, early bird $320 + GST.

Join the waitlist See the day
Register Take all three days
Illustration of a Rhythm Cradle: people resting on cushions while others play frame drums and a didgeridoo over them, in red and gold
Learn to lead the Rhythm Cradle and the Drum Wash.
10 hoursone full day plus two coaching calls
Certificateof completion, and the Gentle Drumming Training Manual
Day 3 of 3counts as the Sunday of the 3-Day ICDC training
Built for
Your investment

Date, price and registration

One fee, in Canadian dollars, plus GST. One day, the manual, two coaching calls and your certificate included.

No public dates set yet Registration open

No public dates are set yet. The day runs as the third day of each 3-Day cohort; the waitlist hears first.

Next date: Sunday [JULIEN: date] 2027, Calgary, [JULIEN: venue]. Early bird until [JULIEN: date]. [JULIEN: n] seats left. [JULIEN]

1-Day Gentle Drumming Facilitator Training

Sunday, 9:00 to 4:30, Calgary. No drumming experience needed.
Fee$345+ GST
Early bird, save $25$320+ GST
  • One day, the manual, two coaching calls and your certificate included
  • Every instrument for the day is provided
  • Tea, coffee and light snacks; lunch is yours
Register Join the waitlist

The full 3-Day

This day is Day 3, Sunday, of the 3-Day ICDC Facilitator Training, Level I.
Level I, three days$845+ GST
  • Friday you watch a community drum circle being made, Sunday you lead one
  • The ICDC Training Manual, two coaching calls, a certificate for 30 hours
  • This gentle day is inside it as Day 3
See the 3-Day program
Fees plus GST, paid by card at registration; payment plans on request. Your receipt shows the GST so you can expense it.
Cancellations: full refund less a $50 admin fee up to two weeks before; 50% inside the two weeks; transferable to another person for the same date.
Lunch is yours; kitchen and fridge on site. Tea, coffee and light snacks are provided.
Organizations: private ICDC training at your site, year-round.
The second half of a circle

What gentle drumming is

Every drum circle builds up and settles down. The big rhythms, the call and response and the laughter lift the room. Gentle drumming brings it back down: the frame drum played soft and slow, crystal bowls, the didgeridoo, the flute, the voice in chant, and the practices Circles of Rhythm calls the Rhythm Cradle and the Drum Wash, where the group holds a steady pulse around one person at a time. Gentle drumming slows the breath and settles the body, and the benefits are real: lower stress, a lifted mood, and a felt connection to the people around you and to yourself. It is a wellness practice, not treatment. In this 1-Day training you learn to lead that part of the circle.

Every gentle exercise is described before it starts, with simple signals for stop, soften or louder. Choice comes first, for the people in your circle and for you.

Illustration of a table of small percussion: shakers, maracas, a guiro frog, a frame drum and a jar of egg shakers on a patterned cloth
When the big rhythm ends and the room goes quiet, you will know exactly what to do next.
The frame drumA steady pulse, played soft and slow. Every exercise of the day starts here.
The Rhythm CradleThe group holds a pulse around one person at a time, with frame drums, bowls and voice.
Holding a calm circleOpening, settling and closing a gentle circle, and offering chants and simple rituals without pressure.
Sunday, in Calgary

The day

One full day in one hall in Calgary; the venue is announced with the dates.

Illustration of trainees seated in a circle playing frame drums with soft mallets, seen from behind two participants
Frame drums with soft mallets: you play them all day.
  1. Day1

    Sunday: gentle drumming8:40 registration; 9:00 start

  2. The frame drum, the pulse, holding the spaceOpening and settling exercises, basic rhythms on the frame drum.
  3. Lunch and free timeUntil 1:00. Bring your own; kitchen and fridge on site.
  4. Bowls, flute and voiceThe Rhythm Cradle and the Drum Wash, and leading a gentle round yourself.
  5. Certificates and goodbyesUntil 5:00.
Illustration of a training cohort seated in a row with djembes, tubanos and frame drums while a bearded facilitator leads
Friday and Saturday are the first two days of the 3-Day ICDC Facilitator Training.
  1. Days1-2

    Before your SundayPart of the 3-Day ICDC Facilitator Training

  2. The foundationWhat an ICDC is and how it works, and the first rhythms, on the drum in front of you.
  3. LeadingFacilitation skills in small groups: reading the room, weaving a theme, and planning a circle you will lead.
  4. The two evenings beforeOptionalFriday's community drum circle and Saturday's sound bath are open to you as our guest when they run.
See the 3-Day training

How it is taught: you experience the practices led by the facilitators, watch them modelled, practise in small groups, and lead a gentle round of your own before the day ends.

Skills

What you learn

  • Holding the space: opening, settling and closing a gentle circle
  • Exercises that settle the body and quiet the mind
  • Chants and simple rituals, and how to offer them without pressure
  • Accessible instruments, so everyone finds a way in
  • Basic rhythms on the frame drum, and playing techniques on the bowls, the flute and more
  • The Rhythm Cradle and the Drum Wash
  • A grounding in Indigenous drumming and cultural appreciation
What's included

What it includes

  • One full day of gentle drumming training with practical experience (8 hours)
  • Two personal phone coaching sessions after the day (2 hours)
  • A printed copy of the Gentle Drumming Training Manual
  • A certificate of completion recognising 10 hours of training
  • Guest teachers who join some sessions
  • The Friday Night Drum Circle and the Saturday-night sound bath of the same weekend, as our guest, when they run
  • Preferred pricing on the drums you buy through us
  • Tea, coffee and light snacks; lunch is yours
People who take this day

Who it's for

Counsellors, social workers, chaplains

A quiet practice you can hold within your own scope.

Recreation and care staff

Gentle, seated, accessible: bring in the person who was not going to join. Care teams with a whole staff to train: see the 2-Day Seniors and Adaptive training.

Yoga, wellness and sound practitioners

Rhythm and the frame drum alongside what you already offer.

Teachers, and anyone with a room of people

Close a long day with something calm your whole room can do together.

Anyone who wants to bring rhythm and sound into their personal and professional life, focusing on the frame drum. No drumming experience needed.

What graduates say

"To witness the heart opening & connection in our circles is beyond words! Thank you for the guidance in the training as it gave me the courage to start the weekly circles!!"

ICDC graduate who now runs a weekly gentle drumming circle in central Alberta

"Taking the facilitator training gave me the Courage to make a difference in many peoples lives caring for patients in Hospitals & Care Centres in Alberta."

ICDC graduate who now brings the drum to hospitals and care centres
Illustration of a facilitator with arms open leading a seated drum circle, trainees on djembes and tubanos around them, in red and gold
Going further

This day is Day 3 of the 3-Day ICDC Facilitator Training.

Take this 1-Day training on its own now and come back for the whole method, or take the 3-Day ICDC Facilitator Training and have this one inside them. Gentle graduates who go on to Level I get a $100 credit off the full Level I fee (it does not combine with the early bird); we send you the code.

The Rhythm Cradle you learn here is the same practice Circles of Rhythm offers as its own event: see the Rhythm Cradle workshop. Care teams have the 2-Day Seniors and Adaptive program; organizations have private ICDC training at their site, year-round. All training options: ICDC facilitator training in Calgary and Edmonton.

Who teaches it

Your instructors

The day is led by two experienced ICDC facilitators from the Circles of Rhythm team, joined by guest teachers for the sound work.

Lead ICDC trainer

A Circles of Rhythm trainer with the ICDC since 2010 and the company's director since 2017. Leads the day and the coaching calls after.

Guest teachers

Sound, Indigenous drum traditions, singing bowls: guests by craft, who join some sessions.

Mentorship team

The facilitators who take 3-Day graduates into real rooms as student co-facilitators, and debrief every one.

Circles of Rhythm is a team of trained ICDC facilitators, and every engagement is delivered to the same standard regardless of which facilitator leads. 500+ ICDC facilitators have trained with us since 1997.

Questions people ask before registering

1-Day Gentle Drumming FAQ

Do I need drumming experience?

No. Gentle drumming is the easiest place to start: all the frame drum asks of you is a steady pulse.

Are instruments provided?

Yes, every instrument for the day. Bring your own frame drum if you have one.

Is this sound therapy, or a sound-healing certification?

No. It is a one-day professional development training in a wellness and community practice, with a certificate of completion for 10 hours. It is not a health credential and not a therapy training.

Can I do this before the 3-Day?

Yes, and many people do. It is the third day, Sunday, of the 3-Day program, and gentle graduates who go on to Level I get a $100 credit off the full Level I fee (it does not combine with the early bird); we send you the code.

What is the refund policy?

Full refund less a $50 admin fee up to two weeks before; 50% inside the two weeks; transferable to another person for the same date.

Register Join the waitlist for the next date Join the waitlist Private training for your organization Ask a question

Prefer to talk? Call 403-479-6968.

Land acknowledgement. Circles of Rhythm is rooted in Mohkinstsis, where the Bow and Elbow rivers meet, now called Calgary. We gather and drum on the traditional territories of the peoples of Treaty 7: the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Piikani and Kainai), the Tsuut'ina First Nation, and the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations (Chiniki, Bearspaw and Goodstoney). This land is also home to the Métis people of the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, Districts 5 and 6. The drum was heard here long before us. We are grateful to the Elders and knowledge keepers who share their teachings with us, and we work to honour them in every circle.Circles of Rhythm programs are recreational and community wellness experiences. They are not therapy, counselling, or a regulated health service, and are not a substitute for professional mental health care. ICDC facilitator training is a professional development program and leads to a certificate of completion. All training options: ICDC Drum Circle Facilitator Training.