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!
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.
Big student drumming and Boomwhacker event at University Of York, North Yorkshire
Big student drumming and boomwhacker event at University Of York, North Yorkshire
We had an absolutely fantastic drumming session this month working with the University of York Student Admissions and Recruitment service. They organised a special residential for prospective students at the York University campus and called on us to provide a fun and exciting drumming activity to help the young people interact and get to know each other. For this event we provided our special Boomwhacker Challenge session.
This Boomwhacker Challenge involves everybody coming together to learn the basics of Boomwhacker playing and rhythm making before splitting up into smaller teams to devise a short rhythm, chant or choreographed piece. The teams return to play together again with each team showcasing what they have achieved. The final outcome is the creation of a musical piece, built up from the ‘core’ rhythm and each group’s unique compositions.
The groups came up with some absolutely brilliant ideas! Here is what some of the students had to say about the event:
Student Comments
“Absolutely loved it! I went away tapping the rhythm after the session. It was so fun.”
“The tune built up well, and it was great that we could split off into groups to make our own little thing, and then showcase it in front of 50+ people. A very fun and useful session”
Amy Clow – Widening Participation Officer Student Recruitment and Admissions The University of York
The Boomwhacker session was wonderful. Unbeatable Energy were full of energy and enthusiasm, which was infectious. Most of the students were complaining about being tired before this session, but the Boomwhackers woke them up and got them excited.The students enjoyed learning the rhythms and working in their groups to produce their own work. Highly recommended!
Find out more about the fantastic events Unbeatable Energy provide for Colleges and Universities.
