Into the Rhythm

What do you think of when you think of playing drums? You probably think of going to a concert, maybe playing Rock Band on your gaming system, but for Amber Hall, it means bringing people together.

Hall has been a part of the Northeast Florida drumming community for 25 years, and knew that the instrument could be used as a tool to help the community, so she started Into the Rhythm, a program providing different groups the ability to come together and learn new skills while also creating feelings of self-worth and tackling other internal issues like anger and anxiety. 

“I think of drums as a tool,” Hall tells me. “I can take people from zero to 100.”

Through her work, Hall has visited a number of places including schools, nursing homes and even prisons. Over time, she says she has seen her work make even the most disagreeable children unite to make music and says she has even seen elderly people come back into themselves once they hear a song from their youth.

“I once had a nurse tell me that a patient hadn’t spoken in three months,” Hall says. “Once that patient heard a familiar song, though, they started singing along.”

Going into the school and prison systems, Hall says the main goal is to help “create leadership to foster agreement and build self-esteem and connections.”

Partnering with a number of well-known musicians, Hall is able to take incarcerated kids, some of which have never even heard live music, to see and speak with bands like Medicine for the People and Dispatch, but one of the coolest experiences some of these kids have been able to attend was performing for Nelson Mandela at TIAA Bank Field.

Overall, Hall says her goal is to bring in positive, uplifting music and influences into the lives of children who may have never had positive people to look up to.

To learn more about Into the Rhythm, and to book your own drum lesson, you can visit their website:  intotherhythm.com