Lets learn an African Song - 'Sunumba' from the Sunu rhythm, Mali
Lets learn an African Song - 'Sunumba' from the Sunu rhythm, Mali
Fancy learning an African drumming song? This was one I learnt a couple of years back after attending an African Drumming course with UK teacher Hans Sutton. Watch and listen to the song here:
I have transcribed the words against the Sunu dundun rhythm as follows:
The X = bell beat; circle indicates open dundun beat; a ‘C’ indicates a closed dundun beat; / = space in pattern.
Disclaimer: Transcription does not account for the subtleties of the sunu swing.
According to Hans Sutton, the song translates as:
Ah, where’s Sununba? Eh, Sunun can’t be found. Suffering isn’t your enemy; death is your enemy.
Eh, there is no God but God, Eh, and Mohammed is his prophet, Eh, In the name of God, Eh, In the name of the prophet, Eh, Who must we thank? Let the great man Sununba be thanked.
Ah, to reach old age is sweet, Eh, Jeneba Tera; Suffering isn’t your enemy; Dearth is your enemy.
Sunu is a rhythm played by the Kagoro people in Kaarta, Mali, West Africa. The original source is from Ibrahim Sarr, “Porte 386 Medina Coura.
Enjoy the song! Find out more about our African Drumming classes here.
Teenagers in crisis - what can we do to help?
Teenagers in crisis - what can we do to help?
As a parent, this week’s ‘Panorama: ‘Kids in Crisis’ made me worry about the future for our children when they reach their teenage years. With pressures from school, social media, family strains and the general fast pace of life, the programme highlighted that more and more teenagers need access to extremely overstretched mental health services. There was a big focus on prevention and early intervention leading to better outcomes than later, emergency measures. So what can parents and adults working with young people do to help try and prevent young people suffering from mental health issues?
One thing is to allow children and young people access to a range of group activities that allow them to focus on the activity in hand and working productively with people in the group, and not on external pressures and what other people may be thinking about them. Different activities will suit different young people and include sport, drama, music and organised groups such as the Scouting movement and the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.
The Radio 4 series (aired in July), ‘Storm and Stress: New ways of looking at adolescent mental health’ featured Jack Drum Arts based in County Durham.
To quote the presenter
“Drumming isn’t necessarily the first thing that comes to mind, but for some young people, an organisation based on drumming has been a life-saver”.
Here at Unbeatable Energy we have a long track record of providing drumming workshops to children and young people through schools, youth groups and the scout and guiding movement. Young people are also welcome at our Sheffield evening classes. We find that group drumming brings people together and often levels the playing field so that the quieter individuals really shine.
Residencies at schools can provide an excellent opportunity for longer-term engagement and progression. One of our ex-students, Amy Cawthorn, participated in such a residency in Rotherham back in 2012. She is now the leader of the community group ‘Rotherham African Drummers’. Here is Amy’s account of what African drumming meant for her as a teenager and what it continues to mean today:
“As a teenager African drumming gave me a sense of focus. It helped me to stay calm and it was (and still is) a brilliant way to relieve my stress – especially during exam time. Sometimes, as a teenager (and even now as an adult) I find drumming relaxing, an outlet, a way to express my emotional state when I’m on my own, and – as a group – it’s a good way to share something with people. A shared experience can help bring people together and I think this is what I’ve taken from my teenage years.
“African Drumming is a great way for young people to meet others and build their confidence and self-esteem through participating in a group activity. Measuring goals both on musical and personal levels can really help people of all ages, backgrounds and beliefs to create meaningful relationships, build support networks and to have an outlet for all kinds of emotional relief.
“I can have the worst day in the world but get me on an African djembe drum and I feel miles better!”
Like this story? You might also like our scout camp article here.
For more information on how we can we can bring some Unbeatable Energy to the young people you work with, see our community page or call us on 0114 2747527.
A big boomwhacker event with added 'wow' factor!
A big boomwhacker event with added 'wow' factor!
Yes, that’s right, that really is a concorde plane in a giant hanger with people playing boomwhackers underneath!
Leading a corporate boomwhacker session for 700 people under a Concorde has always been on my bucket list and now I can tick it off – hooray! Alright, not really – who knew such a thing was even possible? I was incredibly excited when I heard about this potential gig via the Out There Events company and had to visit the venue on a recce to see it with my own eyes. A genius idea to turn a redundant but world-famous aircraft into a venue! With carpet, seats, a buffet and everything else you may expect from a regular conference venue, but UNDERNEATH A CONCORDE – this was a fantastic venue to get people playing boomwhackers.
I love leading big gigs like this. They are incredibly exciting and a little scary. In fact I need an adrenaline hit like this every once in a while – I really thrive on the challenge. And there are challenges with such large gigs. The layout of the boomwhackers must be carefully planned to ensure musical equality and harmony on the day. I need a large team and they need to know exactly what is going on. Inevitably, on the day things can change and numbers of people can fluctuate, but not to worry – we always pack spare boomwhackers for this reason. The biggest challenge with such a large group is how to facilitate the live music being made as there can be a time delay between one side of the room and the other. There are various plans we put in place to mitigate this potential issue – careful planning of the location of the colours and positioning team members on stage to lead colours both really help. However, I need to really put my trust into the participants as well – I facilitate the music, but actually they are the ones who self-correct if the pulses start to go off-time. It is a real testimony to the power of teamwork that when a big group of people really focus on a task they are able to come together in synergy and synchronicity – the success of this event really proved this theory. There is more to these corporate events than you would originally think!
We would like to thank Out There Events for enabling this unique opportunity. They understand all the planning that goes in to such an event to make it work. We would also like to thank the Concorde Conference Centre – we would love to return! And finally, a big thank you to all the willing participants who made this one of our most memorable gigs yet.
If you have a conference event coming up and would like to make it a highly memorable success we’d love to hear from you. To book an event or discuss your requirements please contact us – we will be delighted to help!
African drumming circle challenge with Royal Mail Team
African Drumming Workshop With For The Suzuki Violion Group
We have just received some wonderful footage from a big drum circle session last month with staff from Royal Mail. It’s just too good not to share!
The video is the culmination of a workshop where the entire group of 110 delegates split up into 5 smaller teams to device their own rhythm composition. Their compositions were then incorporated into one big group drumming piece.
The drumming session was part of a leadership programme facilitated by People Create. We loved working with People Create – they provided a great brief before the session. The whole leadership programme was about evaluating success not by one’s own personal achievements, but instead by your ability to help colleagues acquire the same level of expertise.
The team break out part of our drumming session was a superb way to bring this to the fore. In team break outs there is always a mix of skill levels in the area of music, drumming and rhythm. As the session progresses, people with either a great idea or skill become the natural leaders in the session. It is their responsibility to communicate their idea in a way that everyone can understand and put effectively into practice. This can be tricky and just having a real flare for music and rhythm does not necessarily mean you will automatically be good at teaching and instructing those around you. What really helps is if a leader is able to empathise and relate to another person’s level of expertise and think flexibly of ways in which that person can understand, overcome obstacles and progress to their same level of acquired expertise.
The video shows some wonderful ideas. We were very impressed, not just by each team’s imagination and energy, by most of all by the way they managed to include everyone! We do hope we can work with People Create and Royal Mail again in the future.
If you would like further information on the sessions we offer, please get in touch.
Free boomwhacker rhythm for primary school teachers
Free boomwhacker rhythm for primary school teachers
It’s nearly Christmas and we like to be organised! So here is a present to all the primary school teachers who might need some inspiration for their class music sessions or impending school concert. Here is a video with a break down of parts from one of our new boomwhacker rhythm pieces:
The rhythm consists of eight rhythm parts and in the video we outline the colours and notation so you get the right harmonic mix. With a bit of practise an upper KS2 class should be able to compile all the parts, but you can take some of the musical dialogues in isolation to provide ample fun music material for younger children. So if you are a teacher from a primary school with a neglected boomwhacker set sitting in your cupboard collecting dust – now is a great reason to take them out and get your children boomwhacking!
We hope you are inspired by this piece. If you are, please feel free to ‘share’, ‘comment’ and ‘like’ the video. In the meantime we have lots more rhythms and tips to share, so do get in touch if you need some Unbeatable Energy action with boomwhackers at your school. We would love to help!
A creative way of teaching Songs: the song helmet
A creative way of teaching Songs: the song helmet
What do you need if you wish to hold up a banner to teach a group the words to an African song, but want to use the same hands to play a backing rhythm on a djembe? Well, you need the new ‘Song Helmet’ of course! Made with only the most authentic materials acquired from the local skip, this is the must have for any self-respecting drum teacher in 2015. Make your order now!
What do you need if you are a drumming teacher and you wish to provide a banner to teach a group the words to an African song , but want to use the same hands that are holding up the banner to play a backing rhythm on a djembe?
Baga Gine
The song being taught was Baga Gine, a West African song by Famadou Konate. It’s a song about a woman who hears some music and can’t help but dance!
A boron ma? Ma boron ma? Yee!
A boron ma? Ma boron ma? Yee!
A boron ma? Ma boron ma? Yee!
E laila! Baga Gine
Fare boron ma woto kui! Eee!
If you would like any more inspiration, please get in touch!
Watch 200 rainbows playing boomwhackers!
Watch 200 rainbows playing boomwhackers!
On Sunday we went down to the gorgeous Trentham Estate in Staffordshire to a host a giant boomwhacker workshop. There were five sessions in total, with 200 rainbow guides and staff there on the day.
This might sound like an enormous number, but in fact everybody did fantastically well and it sounded incredible. As we explained on our last blog, the larger a drumming group is, the easier it is for everybody to stay in time. So the more the merrier!
We were happy to receive thankful comments from the staff!
We had a fantastic time overall, as you can hopefully tell from this picture! All the rainbows and staff loved learning how to use the boomwhackers, and we have to say we’re very happy with the effort they put into their safari-style costumes. Very fitting for an African drumming workshop!
5 reasons to have an African drumming team building event at your conference...
5 reasons to have an African drumming team building event at your conference...
If you’ve never been to one of our workshops before, you might never have considered why a drumming workshop could be a useful thing to have at a conference.
Here’s five reasons why they can help make your conference a success:
1. They reduce stress hormones
Blood samples taken before and after drumming sessions show that stress hormones had been significantly reduced. When stress is high, the body’s ability to create cells for the immune system is decreased – so reducing stress boosts your defenses and improves your overall health.
This effect is immediate, so it makes drumming a great way to quickly refresh a large group of people: just what’s needed at the start of a conference!
2. They ground you in the present moment
Drumming is all about timing and co-ordination. It also requires a different way of thinking to our general daily thought processes. These factors force the participant to be focused on the present, which is highly therapeutic. It’s a great way to eliminate the build-up of negative feelings from a stressful morning. It also helps to diminish anxieties about the future. This can really help to relax delegates who may be feeling agitated!
3. They release endorphins
Simply put: drumming is fun. It has been shown to release endorphins in the brain, which trigger feelings of happiness and euphoria. It’s a great way to get rid of boredom, restlessness and disinterest in conference delegates. We always find that delegates are far more engaged, enthusiastic and responsive in conferences following a workshop. If you don’t believe us, just look at the before and after responses participants gave us after a recent corporate event.
4. They boost physical energy
As well as giving a great mental boost, drumming gives your body a good wake up call. It’s a physically demanding activity that increases your blood flow and adrenaline. As well as feeling refreshed, delegates often tell us that they enter a conference feeling tired and then feel completely energised. That’s why we think a drumming session after the lunch break in a longer conference is a great idea: no more afternoon slump!
5. They build a sense of community
Over the years, we’ve received so many comments from people who were at first skeptical of the team-building power of drumming workshops. They had all changed their minds! Group percussion has been a part of worldwide traditions for thousands of years for a good reason: it’s a great community builder. It teaches us to work together, to listen to each other, and achieve common goals, and provides the shared reward of an exhilarating musical sound. It’s a way of illustrating that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Individual rhythms may sound strange or disjointed, but together they create a rich, powerful sound. A great metaphor for working life!
Our drumming workshops rely on co-operation. This helps promote a sense of equality between delegates on different managerial levels, and builds relationships between workers who might not usually interact. In fact, drumming is much easier as a group. It may seem a big challenge to ask delegates with no musical experience to take part – but as more and more rhythms are added, the music can start to sound more stable and become easier to play!
We often show people what happens when a large group plays just one rhythm together. Invariably, the rhythm speeds up and turns into a ‘musical stampede.’ Different rhythms are needed for the music to work. Steve loves bringing this to the forefront in conference ice breakers (especially with boomwhackers) because it shows how individual roles in business organisations have a purpose for the wider organisations’ achievements. It offers a really powerful motivational message!
We’ve been doing this for over 20 years. If you have a business event coming up and think we could help, we’d love to hear from you!
Contact Us or visit our main Corporate Events page to find out more.
How to inspire a rebellious pupil through African drumming!
How to inspire a rebellious pupil through African drumming!
As we’re sure the teachers and parents reading will understand, inspiring children to co-operate doesn’t always go quite to plan!
At a recent drumming workshop for year 2 students, I very soon realised that one pupil was a heckler. I don’t have a set method for dealing with these situations, but I am determined to work positively with pupils whose agendas may be different to mine! This time I really managed to turn it around.
This pupil was typically rebellious and defiant. While the class were trying to keep in time to a rhythm, he was playing something completely different. When everybody stopped together, he would tumble some stray beats which would spoil the clean finish. Of course, this could be an innocent mistake – but after trying the exercise a few times, the pupil’s grin made it quite clear it was deliberate.
Getting through to him…
I wasn’t cross. I told him, “The drumming isn’t about you, it’s about all of us.” Instead of scolding him, I explained that his desire to stand out was making things difficult for others, and that his contribution was essential to make the rhythm work. He then played really well and in time with all of us!
Then it all got tricky again. I introduced some arm choreography to the drumming rhythm, which he did in a very ‘crazy manic’ way. Again, I explained to him that we needed him ‘back with us’ instead of drifting into his own world. He seemed to think this an intervention too far and I was worried! I actually liked his crazy wild spirit – I just wanted to find a way to channel that into playing with the group, not against it.
Different means of expression!
For a while I’d lost him. He disengaged, fed up with being picked on. I hoped the dancing might bring him back, so I asked the whole class to stand up and dance freestyle while I played. He sulked for a few minutes and then started doing punches and karate kicks. I let him be, trying to avoid any more interventions.
Instead, I spoke to the whole class and asked if anybody wanted “to express themselves through their dance in the middle of the drum circle.” The pupil spoke up, saying, “like being angry?”
This was fantastic! He was back. I said that as long as he didn’t hurt anybody, he could be as angry as he wanted… so he did a very enthusiastic ‘angry dance’ in the circle. This inspired other children to have a go at expressing themselves. I think once he realised that it was fine for him to be angry, he could express other feelings too.
So what can we learn from this?
Firstly – everybody brings different stories and feelings with them to their drumming workshops. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they can’t fit in. This kid was like a storm, but it was great we found a way together for him to channel his feelings into a productive part of the session. It helped him realise that he could be other things apart from being angry and rebellious, and helped him to feel less like the ‘outsider.’
It was also a learning experience from our perspective. It’s easy to get frustrated with a rebellious member of a session like this, but rather than forcing him to co-operative (which definitely would have failed) it was far more effective to keep calm and find a way to appeal to him.
Read more about our educational workshops.
Mass boomwhacker ice breaker for Eden Academy Conference
Mass boomwhacker ice breaker for Eden Academy Conference
A small magical clip from the joyous Boomwhacker session we shared with staff from the Eden Academy in Ruislip London this month. The venue set up was beautifully simple – no slick lighting or needing to manoeuvre around power point projectors and screens. Just a big theatre with beautiful acoustics and a very enthusiastic group! Thank you everyone from the Eden Academy – we hope you were all buzzing with ‘unbeatable Boomwhacker energy’ for the rest of the day – I know that we were!
