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!
