'Rubbish Rhythms' Reaches a Milestone: Transforming Music Education
Rubbish Rhythms Reaches a Milestone: Transforming Music Education
Last month, I had the thrilling experience of delivering our new Rubbish Rhythms workshops in four primary schools in Rotherham, marking a significant milestone for this project. This workshop is now fully refined and can be offered to all year groups in Key Stage 1, 2, and 3, making it more versatile and accessible than ever before.
Seeing children engage with the workshop in a way that was both playful and deeply creative was an incredible moment - Watch Here!
The energy in the room, the way their faces lit up when they discovered the rhythms hidden in everyday objects—it reaffirmed everything I set out to achieve with Rubbish Rhythms. This was not just another workshop; it felt like a breakthrough, a true coming of age for the project.
Since 2023, I’ve been on an exciting and unexpected journey with 'Rubbish Rhythms', a project that started as a playful experiment on my YouTube channel and has grown into something much bigger. The original idea was simple: could everyday household objects be transformed into musical instruments? I started my 'Will It Drum?' series, testing everything from cereal boxes to yogurt cartons, exploring the sounds they could make. Watch the series here. 
But what started as a bit of fun quickly turned into something more significant—something with the power to change how people, especially children, see the world around them.
The first real test of the concept came with a teacher training workshop in Aylesbury. This was an opportunity to introduce educators to the idea, demonstrate its potential, and see how it resonated with them. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Teachers saw not just the musical potential but also the creative and environmental value of the workshop. This led me to refine the format further, gearing it towards children in schools, ensuring it was engaging, accessible, and adaptable for different age groups.
https://youtu.be/Zr35TlKJmB0
A trial day with Year 6 students followed, and this was a real turning point. It gave me the chance to see how the workshop worked in practice with a full class, allowing me to make crucial refinements before rolling it out more widely. One of the key lessons was how different materials offered different challenges and opportunities.
Finally, in January 2025 we ran a 4 day project for primary schools at Wickersley Academy Trust in Rotherham and everything came together – with new additions to the mix! Broadband cable tubes, for example, produce fantastic, resonant tones. Water cooler bottles, donated by Eden Springs, are incredibly versatile and function as both hand drums and bass tones. Even the sturdy and crinkly sounds of 'Bags for Life' shopping bags have found their place as percussion instruments, offering an unexpected but effective addition to the ensemble.
Each session has become a journey of discovery, not just for the children but for me as well. What made it even more exciting was that the objects we were playing weren’t just substitutes for normal instruments—they had their own unique qualities, producing funky, rich sounds that stood apart from traditional percussion.
The workshop wasn’t just about making do with alternative materials; it was about celebrating their distinct musical voices. One of the biggest joys of the project has been watching children shift their perspectives on what an instrument can be. Seeing their excitement as they create rhythms from objects they might otherwise throw away has been incredibly rewarding. It’s not just about music; it’s about mindset—challenging the idea that something is ‘rubbish’ just because it’s no longer needed for its original purpose.
Using everyday objects as musical instruments is nothing new—many of the instruments we know today originated from repurposed materials. In the Malinke culture of West Africa, the large wooden mortar and pestle—called ‘Kolan’—is often used as a percussive instrument. In fact, the African Djembe drum itself is believed to have evolved from a refashioned Kolan, taking on a new form as a dedicated musical instrument over time. This connection between everyday activities and music is something I find deeply inspiring.
Beyond the musical aspect, I’ve also been reflecting on the broader themes that Rubbish Rhythms touches upon. While it’s not a recycling workshop in the traditional sense, it does encourage a more thoughtful approach to materials and waste. It invites children to appreciate objects for their potential beyond their intended use, fostering creativity and resourcefulness—two qualities that are invaluable, not just in music but in life.
With the success of the initial workshops, I’m now looking ahead to the next steps. I’d love to take Rubbish Rhythms into more schools, develop it further for different age groups, and perhaps even bring it into corporate settings as a unique team-building experience. The journey so far has been incredible, and I feel like we’re only just getting started.
If you’re a teacher, educator, or someone working with young people and you’d like to bring 'Rubbish Rhythms' to your school, I’d love to chat. Let’s explore how we can inspire the next generation to see music—and the world—a little differently. Get in touch to bring Rubbish Rhythms to your school.
Breakthrough Moments: African Drumming with early years children at Walkley Primary
Breakthrough Moments: African Drumming with early years children at Walkley Primary
Yesterday was one of those days where everything seemed to come together. Teaching African drumming to very young children at Walkley Primary School brought a real sense of pride and excitement, as I rediscovered techniques that worked brilliantly and saw the children engage in ways that were both inspiring and deeply rewarding.
Working with very young children is always a challenge, but it’s also where breakthroughs can happen. Every class is unique, with its own energy and rhythm. I’ve been teaching this age since 1997, and while I’ve learned a lot through trial and error, every session feels like a fresh adventure. Yesterday reminded me just how much I love this work.
With very young children, traditional teaching methods—such as providing rigid guidance and expecting immediate compliance—rarely work. Instead, it’s all about creating an environment where they feel free to explore and learn naturally. At Walkley, I was able to give the children a total learning experience of African music without relying on forced instructions or corrections. It was about guiding them through play and letting their natural curiosity and energy lead the way.
One moment that stood out was using a simple game of chase to draw the children in. This wasn’t just about getting their attention—it gave me a way to gently guide them into position, exactly where I needed them to be, within seconds. Joining in with their play, running alongside them, and matching their excitement created a sense of trust and engagement. Once that connection was in place, the drumming became something we experienced together, not just something I was teaching.
Teaching children to appreciate the spaces in music is another challenge that became a breakthrough yesterday. Children don’t need to be taught how to make a sound on a drum—that comes naturally. What they need is to understand the importance of the silent spaces in music, that it’s not about playing all the time. This can be especially difficult to teach very young children. My method yesterday wasn’t to try and stop them from playing. Instead, I joined them in making noise. I experienced the magic of their perspective, connected with them, and built a sense of rapport. When that connection was strong enough, I could simply stop playing, and because they were so tuned into me, they stopped too. It was such a powerful moment of shared understanding and rhythm.
The day also reawakened techniques I hadn’t used in a while, reminding me of the power of play-based learning and empathy. It’s not just about teaching skills; it’s about helping very young children discover the wonder of music and the joy of creating together.
For infant schools and Key Stage 1 teachers looking for an inspiring and engaging cultural experience, we’d love to bring this energy to your school. Let’s create those special moments together. Get in touch to discuss how we can tailor a drumming workshop for your children and make it an unforgettable experience.
An Orchestra in 15 Minutes? Boomwhacker team building in Brighton.
An Orchestra in 15 Minutes? Boomwhacker team building in Brighton
Many companies and organisations are going through a substantial period of change. Our latest client, an international household name in the food and drink industry, was no different. With many well-known products and brands in their expansive portfolio, the client was centralising its operations. This meant that all their brand teams, with very different people, career backgrounds, skill sets, ethnicity and ages would need to work more closely together.
Events company Top Banana organised a whole two-day event with the client to help them with this organisational change and we brought in our team from Unbeatable Energy to kick off the Culture session. Our brief was to demonstrate working together and embracing differences, whilst also providing something high energy in only 15 minutes and repeat this with four different groups of 150 people! We were not fazed by this challenge, as Unbeatable Energy have the perfect tools for this job – tuned acoustic tubes called Boomwhackers. We provided these instruments for all our participants to play, as well as our team providing a high-tempo back up on West African drums.
Steve Rivers led the Unbeatable Energy team, assisted by me and Justine Hart. While I provided accompaniment on the bass drums, Steve and Justine’s effortless djembe playing was a joy. The sound we made blended well in the room’s acoustics. The ceiling was high, but the sound was tempered by the copious seasonal decorations, lights, trees, massive baubles and the natural acoustics of the room. This meant that the sound travelled well to the people further back. Being a promenade venue by the Brighton seafront, the sun from the beach shone in to the room space creating a lovely warm light and ambience.
After a brief introduction, Steve announced that we were all going to have an “Orchestra in fifteen minutes”. Huh? I beg your pardon!? Yes, that’s what he said! Without any further ado, everyone was guided on playing and creating sounds from each of the differently coloured tubes.
A top tip was ‘More technique; less strength helps get the best sound’. Each participant found their own way soon enough and quickly understood Steve’s ‘conducting’ from the stage.
About five minutes in, everyone was making a reasonable noise, but had someone mentioned an orchestra?
So, a couple of colours were introduced to set a basic tempo. Then one by one, other colours were included with their own rhythmic patterns, which all combined to create quite a ‘funky’ groove. Justine and I helped any sections if things went a bit sideways (as they are bound to) but soon each part started to fit in again with the other rhythms. At times the rhythms started to speed up – at one point Steve even had to stop the music, explain that it was racing, and start again. This was okay as learning to recognise what needed changing and then adapting was all part of the learning process.
Steve then modified the original tempo, and the sound patterns were developed and transformed. Despite the complexity, the playing and syncopation then remained remarkably fixed and steady.
The rhythms had started, developed, and finished with a glorious crescendo! No one could resist cheering and applauding what we had all achieved together. It may not have been ‘The Proms’, but it was orchestral, and yes, in less than fifteen minutes! Encore, encore!
What can we learn about the dynamics of effectively working together in a short 15-minute percussion music activity? A 15-minute team building activity is like a microcosm of how a diverse team can work together.
Our sessions were followed by the facilitators presenting the new company ethos and culture guidelines. The experience of everybody playing, listening, getting ‘it’, losing ‘it’ a bit, and then getting ‘it’ back again resonated with the presentations. The cooperative morphing nature of the rhythmic tune demonstrated how disparate groups can still work (and joyfully play) with little effort.
The learning points that Unbeatable Energy and the client’s delegates drew from the sessions were:
How we act is more than what we say
We all play a part, intentionally or not
We can change what we do, but we do need to spot when to adapt
Coming together creates something new.
We would welcome the opportunity to work with both the client and Top Banana again and we are pleased to have played a small part in that ‘something new’.
By Demetri Dourambeis
Planning a company event soon? Talk to us about how we can raise the morale of your team (or your client’s team) with drumming and percussion team building.
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.
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!
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!
Boomwhacker energiser at the Pepsico conference, King Power Stadium, Leicester
Boomwhacker energiser at the Pepsico conference, King Power Stadium, Leicester
This February kicked off with a fantastic Boomwhacker Energiser for the Pepsico UK and Ireland Conference at the Leicester City King Power Stadium. Given that this was one of the windiest days of the year, you would be relieved to know that we weren’t out on the pitch, but safely warm and dry in the stadium’s conference room. There might have been a hurricane outside, but there was a rhythm whirlwind inside as 200 delegates played the Boomwhacker tubes to create a fast, buzzing, multi-part rhythm tune! Pepsico (or specifically the Walkers Crisp division of the group) were looking for a fresh way of demonstrating team achievement through their cores value themes – ‘Simplify’, ‘Standardise’ ‘Connect’ and ‘Leverage’. We thought the Boomwhacker activity was a great metaphor for these values. Here’s why:
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The coloured Boomwhacker tubes are an incredibly simple yet effective instrument (basically a coloured plastic tube). Very simple rhythms are combined in a particular way to create a tune which (ironically) becomes rich and complex.
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There is a sense of group standard set, because everyone can feel the common pulse which pulls all the parts together – everyone knows what to follow and everyone knows what’s expected of them.
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There is a strong sense of group connection that takes place in the activity. It doesn’t matter whether you are playing on a table right at the very back of the room – table number 1 still feels connected to table number 33!
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Leverage? – well I guess this is the moment when an entire group of delegates can hear what they have achieved. Initially, as each team concentrates on playing their part competently, it might be hard to hear the entire musical sound and the way one’s part contributes to the whole. But as everyone becomes more relaxed and competent, the realisation kicks in that-”actually, this is starting to sound really good”! Everyone can hear the complete sound with all the combined parts playing in musical synergy. In a nutshell – it’s the sound of team success!
Big thanks to Anna Davies -Talent Sustainability Manager at Pepsico UK and Ireland for the following glowing testimonial:
“The Boomwhacker Energiser was a tremendous success at our recent PepsiCo UK Operations Conference. Not only did it create high levels of fun, energy and team spirit in the room, it reinforced our theme of Simplify, Standardise, Connect and Leverage in a very memorable and engaging way.”
And a very big thank you to Arran Mitchell from Sunburst Events for allowing us to use these photographs from the event.
Boomwhacker Ice Breaker With a Difference at the RailStaff Awards Event, Birmingham ICC
Boomwhacker ice breaker with a difference at the RailStaff Awards Event, Birmingham ICC
The enormous Boomwhacker Ice Breaker session for the RailStaff Awards at the Birmingham ICC involved 1000 guests participating. You might be mistaken for thinking that the sheer scale of this event was what made it so unique – well how about dressing all the guests as school children; encouraging them to act like school children (pea shooters provided) and dressing our lead facilitator Steve Rivers as a music teacher!
Not quite unique enough? Okay – how about adding to this bizarre set up a school band to accompany music teacher Mr. Rivers (care of the the Unbeatable Energy team in costume), who provide a pre-session performance of the ‘Grange Hill’ theme tune on glockenspiel, ukelele, casio keyboard, kazoo, floor tom tom and crash cymbal! I think you must agree – this event would easily win first prize for Most Bespoke Event!
So the question begging to be asked is why? First answer – why not. Second answer makes perfect sense:
The RailStaff Awards started in 2007 with an aim at recognising the great work that the people working in the rail industry do. A few years ago, as a result of becoming tired of the usual corporate ‘black tie’ dress code, they chose a fancy dress theme as a great way of creating fun for their guests – many of whom would feel under pressure to cover the cost of buying or hiring expensive ‘black tie’ dinner ware. Their first awards event was themed as ‘Halloween’. They weren’t sure if any of the guests would take to the idea but it was extremely successful. Blown away by how well the guests had embraced the idea, they continued into the next year with an Al Capone style Prohibition theme. Finally this takes us to this year’s RailStaff 2013 Awards with the ‘Back to School’ theme.
Can you imagine what it must be like to teach a class of 1000 students? It’s not easy! But ‘ah,’ you say, “they were not real school children but adults dressed up!” Wrong – we reckon everybody is a school pupil at heart and these guests seemed to have no trouble fitting into their character roles! The photos of the atmosphere and fun of the occasion says it all!
Unbeatable Energy would like to thank RailStaff and Rail Media for involving us in their fantastic unique event. Rail Media were an absolute pleasure to work with throughout the preparation process and on the final day!
