Testimonials

"I want to thank you for all you've shared with me. Before I studied with you I could barely clap my hands consistently....."  

"...the greatest benefit of your classes and CDs came to me as a salsa dancer, by improving my ability to hear and understand the Clave. ... this has made my enjoyment of salsa music and dancing that much better. Thank you again!"

"I just wanted to thank you for actually caring to develop a simple yet enormously powerful teaching method that has transformed my music playing, listening and also speaking ability. Coincidentally, its also helped me run further without being as tired....I think its due me being able to feel and attend to each step I take more like a rhythm than a battle, and maybe it's because I've been stepping the pulse - when I practice speaking the rhythms - in an oval around my room"

"I really appreciate the way you have broken it down and shown how all the parts interweave. It's a great way to get the whole rhythm into a non-left-brain part of my body."

WOW... Kim!! I spent about two hours enjoying and learning from your CD.. I was TRULY impressed with the format and success it gave me and will give others... YOU DID IT!

"I've had some great fun and learning from Kim Atkinson's CD's. Bembe, Makuta, Nigerian Highlife and others are great sets of rhythms I was glad to add to my repertoire. It was helpful to really get inside clave rhythms too. Kim knows his stuff, makes it clear and accessible... and he rocks!"

"The uses for this are vast. One thing that came to mind is how easy it would be to teach Afoxe' to an ensemble using this disk as a guide. Also this disk can be used by people of various skill levels. It's also is a great way to illustrate, from a culturally/historically point of view, how ancient rhythms have been passed down verbally as well as practically on instruments especially for non-music teachers."

"I often teach my students that if you can "say it", you can "play it".  In his Speaking of Rhythm series, Kim takes this concept to the next level. Using spoken syllables and playing drums, each part is explored separately and then in every possible combination with each other, and against both the underlying pulse and Clave. These highly effective CDs accomplish what could only otherwise be done by having a multi-track recorder available for every class. (Except of course they are MUCH easier to use, and work in your car!)

Another extremely useful feature is that a different syllable is assigned not only to each different drum sound, but also to each hand making the sound. Thus, by learning to speak the rhythm, students also learn the proper "sticking" at the same time.

I enjoyed the arrangements so much that I even adopted the Afoxe rhythms for use with my Brazilian Bateria. We now play the same Afoxe patterns on Surdos, Repeniques, and Caixas."

"I am very excited to have a group of students coming to the festival this year specifically to look for your class. My students all loved your class and I am certainly on my way to an even greater understanding of the Afro-Cuban music we love, thanks to your CDs! Thank you Kim! "

"I very much appreciated both your immense skill in presenting the rhythms and historical context of music from the African Diaspora as well as your professionalism prior to, during and after the event. The participants gained immense insight into the depths of African rhythm through your clear and concise presentation. You were able to coalesce a great deal of information into two days of presentations, giving music teachers more than enough material to present in their classrooms for years to come. Prior to this experience, I felt you were a solid educator; now I believe you are one of the very best rhythm educators in the country. Thank you for your wonderful contributions to the 3rd Annual Seattle Summer Rhythm Institute."

... Kim breaks these rhythms down in every way possible and keeps your attention, while making listening and playing along to the different parts less like practice and more like fun.  He then builds the rhythms back up again in such a way that you get to hear every relationship between each of the parts played by the different instruments.  The best element in the series is his unique vocal adaptation of the different instruments played and sung in the rhythms. It is as entertaining as it is educational.

I thank Kim Atkinson for Sharing His Spirit with us in such a way that we can all become better players and facilitators

" Yesterday I heard thunder and saw lightning when you were talking about clave... Your teaching inspires stuff like this. This a way beyond normal teaching-learning. This a becoming spiritual exchange. It's big time and I'm ready."

"As some one who has played, studied, performed and recorded with Kim Atkinson for over 20 years, I can heartily recommend any thing that he puts out. His information is always impeccably clear and correct and he is one of the best teaching communicators I have ever seen. ...
I love his Clave Consciousness CD Volume one. It is a must for any serious player. And for the drum Circle facilitator it puts all universal rhythms into perspective."

"I got to see part of your Clave workshop in Seattle and it totally changed how I hear and teach drumming. "

"... your CD Clave Consciousness - Volume 2 is superb! I really enjoyed the learning experience. In fact, it led me to a greater appreciation for "Clave Consciousness - Volume 1" - Super material and instruction."

"Your CD is excellent. I'm beginning to understand Clave after all these years. Thanks!"

"I have been using Clave Consciousness for over two years with my conga students, and I highly recommend these CDs. By counting different ways and using the voice to make the accents, my students are able to both understand the clave patterns and learn the 'feel' at the same time."

"You're definitely a Gifted Teacher! … I've never been able to get any kind of music theory down when it comes to drumming, I've always just been able to pretty much play whatever rhythm you tossed at me. ... I listen to your Clave CDs on to my IPOD again and again and I'm gettin' it.  Thanks a bunch! "

"I am very excited to have a group of students coming to the festival this year specifically to look for your class. My students all loved your class and I am certainly on my way to an even greater understanding of the Afro-Cuban music we love, thanks to your CDs! Thank you Kim! "

"The lessons on this disk will enable just about anyone to master son clave and the 12 bell pattern if they take enough time. I can think of lots of applications for this, i.e: learning clave and bell to be part of an ensemble, to teach, to understand cross rhythms. This disk can be useful for beginners in percussion, those new at music or more advanced percussionists who are new to clave. The possibilities for its use go on and on."

"...the greatest benefit of your classes and CDs came to me as a salsa dancer, by improving my ability to hear and understand the Clave. ... this has made my enjoyment of salsa music and dancing that much better. Thank you again!"

It's a great bateria CD with lots of different rhythms. It's the next best thing to being in Brazilian dance class. The music is clear and it's easy to hear the instruments to practice playing along.

I have been looking for a c.d. with music that i can use for dance classes when i don't use drummers and it is often hard to find stuff without a lot of vocals. so, your c.d, was perfect for me - i loved it!
It was actually better than the one i had bought that same day!

"I have been to a few other drum circles/classes and nothing even comes close to what you are trying to do in Drummunity. You and Kim are clearly coming in through the Spiritual Door and other people are not offering that. Thanks for creating that space -- there are moments when it really does work so beautifully and it is so awesome! And every time I have come I have experienced healing on some level. I know this is true for my daughter as well. We have talked about it a lot. I hope you guys will hang in there and keep offering it!  Peace and love!"

"Drummunity: Kim Atkinson always delivers the grooves with his amazing ability to create a full drum circle that not just sounds like a "drum jam"; but an actual drum collage of beautiful musical textures that move the rhythmic soul. As a community drum leader and teacher,  Kim is one of Sonoma County's most revered musical treasures..."

"I cannot imagine more wondrous, enchanting, and fulfilling group experiences than your sacred Drum circles. Your gift of unifying hundreds of folk, most of them unknown to one another, in a cohesive, life-affirming exploration of community-through-rhythm is truly awe-inspiring.

Your PulseWave website alludes to your training in group dynamic psychology and 'tribal' spirituality. Your healing capacity transcends even this evident life quest. By experiencing your playfulness, acceptance, and pure joy in the moment, I believe every person who participates in your Spirit circle is encouraged and empowered to open the door to her/his own heart realm. This is inspiration at it's finest."

"Being there was such a soulful, heart-uplifting experience!
Your playful, bright spirit and rhythmic skill and enthusiasm had us all tapping into the pulse of joy of making music together. Everyone was rockin! It was so much fun! And we sounded great, too!  What a wonderful gift you gave to the community!  Bless you!"

"I attended the New Year's Eve drum circle and was really quite amazed at the experience. When it first began it seemed like chaos and I was wondering just how this might unfold. This was my first participatory experience of you, also.

I loved the way you used your intention, your sense of rhythym, your musical/rhythmic vision and your body/communication to guide and shape and coordinate the forces. As a singer/songwriter, and percussionist/multi-instrumentalist, and also classically trained musician, and having studied composition and conducting, I loved this experience in all of its traditional and new-age dimensions, and also as an experience of creative expression in the moment!"

"I feel like I got a part of my life back. It was that community feeling, like an instant loving community that I immediately felt a part of."

The drum circle made yesterday's special event even more special.
Thanks so much for enhancing our Family Get-Together.
It was a treat for me, and everyone agreed.

"I know that you are very sensitive to energy and that you pay attention. I appreciate your sensitivity. I am grateful to know people like you and to have the opportunity to move moods in a joyful way. Thank you so much, once again, for offering your healing art in the way that you so freely seem to do. Learning from you and creating music together has transformed my life in immeasurable ways and I'm filled with gratitude in knowing you."

"It was just fun playing and being in touch with our inner child.  I had a blast!"

"I enjoyed having fun with every one, I really enjoyed the drumming circle!"

"The drumming circle was amazing, communication without speaking.  Everyone was so in tune with each other, the rhythm just flowed!"

"Kim brings in sounds from the other world. It helps tune us to the larger sphere".

"Everyone at the wedding was so lucky to hear and dance to your beautiful sounds, and for Lew and I it was BETTER THAN OUR WILDEST FANTASY. It was hilarious to get to dance away from our ceremony with two huge puppets and your big, joyful sound. We will always remember that as a major highlight. "

"thank you for creating a lively and magical event at the plaza, your mastery and passion shines through you"

" You joined my home with grace, kindness, work, comfort, trust, teaching and joy!, Thank you for having held so many people together. Thank you for your heart creating a circle of sound that moves everyone in many ways"  regarding Birthday Party Group Music Experience

 

"You were the highlight of our party. Such life and energy! We were fortunate to have you."

"Thank you!  Great job at the Fashion Show, it was really fun and colorful!"

"I know that you are very sensitive to energy and that you pay attention. I appreciate your sensitivity. I am grateful to know people like you and to have the opportunity to move moods in a joyful way. Thank you so much, once again, for offering your healing art in the way that you so freely seem to do. Learning from you and creating music together has transformed my life in immeasurable ways and I'm filled with gratitude in knowing you."

"...You were very professional and pleasant to work with, returning calls in a timely manner,  and stayed within our budget restraints. You provided an upbeat and energetic atmosphere perfect for our graduation night event, arrived on time and needed no supervision. You were awesome and the kids loved you! You also interfaced with the fire dancers seamlessly, as if you have always worked with them. I can't thank you enough and I will recommend you to my friends when they need drummers!