The Amazing Body Percussion List

The Body Percussion List

What to do with this list?  
I'd play an echo game

• you clap, they echo your clap
• you snap, they echo your snap
• it's an ear/eye training but it's playful...have fun!
• one day, I'll make a video...and post it in our Growing Grounded Kids Community!  (join us!)

listed in general from high pitches to low pitches

snap

tongue clicks

tongue clacks

full hand clap

2-finger clap

4-finger clap 
hand slide (clap with a slide) 

patschen (tap thighs)

alternate patschen (right leg, left leg)

tap top of hand

tap tummy

tap taut hollow cheeks

rub hands

rub thighs

rub face

rub arms

tickle
scratch
drag fingers - also try dragging hand upside down

drum fingers on a body part

stomp

drag feet

slide feet

hand to foot clap
slap foot

2-foot clap

B/P with a partner

partner clap (clap your partner's hands)
hip bump with a partner

Body Percussion Patterns
in 3 time, 5 time, 7 and 9 time. (a la Keith Terry)

1 = Clap

3 = Clap Chest Chest  (ladies may rather hit their stomach)

5 = Clap Chest Chest Leg Leg

7 = Clap Chest Chest Leg Leg Back of leg Back of leg

9 = Clap Chest Chest Leg Leg Back of leg Back of leg Stamp Stamp 




B/P patterns in 2 time 
(combine for 3, 4, 5, 6 time)


Z = rest

2 time 
clap  clap
snap snap
pat pat
stomp stomp
clap Z
snap Z
pat Z
stomp Z


clap snap
clap stomp
clap pat
Z clap

 

hands-on learning enriches language and motor development

Hands-on Learning  Enriches Language and motor development

Tapping rhythms (check out the body percussion posts) is important because when the hands are activated, there is more effective learning.


I encourage you ALWAYS to us the “hands-on” approach to learning.  

For instance, learning about eighth notes...how much more fun and experiential to walk the eighth notes...walk the quarter notes and then contrast with eighth notes.  Right away, we feel the difference!  



Movement and rhythm stimulate the frontal lobes and enrich language and motor development (Brewer & Campbell, 1991)....so that means move the rhythms you teach.  Find ways to feel the rhythm on your body, with your body, through your feet, using your hands, using a mallet.  


Be creative!!!

Playing handdrums

You need :)  a class set of hand drums.  


I invested in a large bin of small hand drums (20 drums each about 8 inches across) from Empire Music many years ago.  Now I have a hand drum for each child and each parent in my under 3's program.  And it's soooo much fun!

We play drums to:

1.  explore using our hands in a variety of ways to create a sound on the drum (tickly, rub, scratch)



2.  explore using various words to describe what our hands are doing (scrape, rub, knock, tickle, circle, tiptoe)



3.  explore using the drum in unconventional ways using our imagination (drag, roll, skate, fly, blow, wear it like a hat, eat from your drum, eat your soup, eat your cereal)

Tap, tap, tap your drum

Tap, tap, tap your drum

Tap, tap, tap your drum

and now let's stop!

9 Reasons to use Body Percussion

Why body percussion?

If you've ever been to an Orff workshop you'll know how integral body percussion is to the learning process.  I was taught (over and over) that you don't need the actual Orff instrumentarium to teach an Orff program.  Body percussion, speech and singing, improvisation and dance were really the foundational building blocks of an Orff program.

In my early days exploring these foundational building blocks I LOVED body percussion.  I used it everywhere and at all times of day in my classroom (I was a classroom teacher then).

If you were to ask me now why use body percussion (B/P) this is what I'd say...

1. It's fun!
2. It improves concentration abilities.
3. Children love to make sounds with body percussion.  
4. It can be an energetic or emotional release to perform body percussion.
5. Using body percussion helps children to get inside the rhythm.  
6. Once a rhythm has been internalized it can be expressed and played on their instruments with more ease.
7. Playing echo games with body percussion builds a rhythmic vocabulary in the body.
8. Playing simultaneous mirror games with body percussion improves ability to focus and increases awareness of subtle body movements.
9. You can use B/P to "conduct" instrument play with non-pitched percussion instruments.

 

with under 3 years:

1. use B/P to develop vocabulary for body parts (e.g. say "clap" when you "clap")
2. use B/P to bring awareness to the body's musical capabilities(e.g. clap a crescendo)
3. use B/P to build confidence (e.g. when we are all clapping together we create a feeling of fun and community and safety)

with 5 years and older:

1. use B/P to make texture in music (e.g.  some groups clap while others stomp and snap)
2. use B/P to learn a rhythm that is later applied to an instrument
3. use B/P to keep kids moving and interested in learning

The Boo! Curtain

Dressing up!

When you work with very small children dressing up at Halloween is not really an option.  There is always one little person that just doesn't like the teacher to look different.  So...I have never dressed up for Halloween at Musicalia...except for this year.  

After 18 Halloween seasons (could Halloween be considered a season?) I am dressing up at the request of my oldest group (ages 8-12).  They meet on Mondays and we're having a big Halloween party this year.

Last week I handed out invitations

I wrote Shakespeare-style then printed them out, rolled them up and placed each one inside a spider ring.  I addressed one for each child, writing each name on a crackly, rotting oak leaf.  The children loved them!

Double, double, toil and trouble...fire burn and cauldron bubble!

It's a busy party!

We will...

• dance the Harry Potter Dance
• perform the Dringo Bell creative movement piece (the kids LOVE this), 
• play Ghost Chickens in the Sky on guitar, 
• Old Joe Clark on fiddle, 
• then break into an Old Joe Clark band with fiddle, guitar, cello, singing original halloween verses about Old Joe Clark.  (scare ye well, old joe clark, scare ye well I say)
• perform Inchworm (what would Halloween be without worms??) as a Boomwhacker Orchestra
• singing Trolls and Goblins 
• eat pizza and play Halloween charades
• bob for poison apples

Last spring at our year-end celebration they asked me to be the "Evil Fairy".  My hairdresser was very helpful in creating the fresh-from-the-forest look.   She will not be available for my Halloween transformation however, so I've been busy gathering bits and pieces for my Scary Old Witch costume.    


There's a big hat, a wig, a dress, a cape, green paint for my face, hands and feet, a long nose, black nail polish and old black fingerless gloves and my Book of Spells & Potions (it a fake book hiding the treats!).    

Book of Spells and Potions

Hahahaha!  Spooky treats...choose carefully.....!

I created an old broom with an long branch from our garden, tying old lavender, moss and twigs to the sweeping end for magical effect!  I love this broom!

Witch Broom

Rockin' Scarecrow Party! (download recording for singin' dancin' boomwhackin' percussin')

The Scarecrow Family (ages 2-8)

The Scarecrow family likes to sway

On a windy autumn day.

When the stars come out at night

We dance with our friends in the pale moonlight!

Bow to your friend!

Call "Hello!"

Wiggle and shake and away we go!

(percussion orchestra)1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

Scarecrow Party is our newest favorite tune at Musicalia.  Kids and parents can sing, dance and play in the Halloween Band.

Free Download

Recording of Scarecrow Party (listen for the donkey jaw and the owl whistle)

Owl Whistle - so much fun:)

See the whistle hole on the back!

Teaching Process

1.  Scarecrows

Ages 2-3 with parents

Ages 3-4 without parents

We pretend to be scarecrows swaying in the fields while I sing the song.  No dancing, just swaying...stuck in one place like scarecrows on a stick.

When we get to the bowing and calling, we bow to our parents and call "hello!" with our parents.

During the counting to 8 we dance together as scarecrows in the field.

Ages 5-7 without parents

Need:  

• scarecrow stick puppets
• puppets to be dancing friends with the scarecrows (we use crows, raccoons, bat, ghost, cat, hawk, spider...you get the idea) 

1. Each child has 2 puppets.  One hand holds the stick puppet and the other hand has a hand puppet to be the scarecrow's friend (bat, cat, ghost, raccoon...).
2. Practise swaying, bowing, calling.  Bow with your puppets friends.  Call hello in the puppet friend's voice.   All of this can be rehearsed while sitting in a circle on the floor.
3. The children sway with their stick puppet during the verse.  At the bowing and calling, they show bowing and calling with their puppets.
4. During the counting (1-8) the puppets dance together.  At this point, the children will probably want to get up and go dancing around the room.  
5. When the verse comes around again, ask the children to sway in one spot like a scarecrow stuck on a stick.  They come off the stick during the bowing and calling and then dance again during the counting bits.

2. Percussion Orchestra

Ages 2-3 with parents

Ages 3-4 without parents
Ages 5-7 without parents
The percussion orchestra gets to play the dance music during the counting (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)

Donkey Jaw  - perfect for our Halloween Band!

Non-pitched percussion
Any non-pitched percussion will work for this band.  For the Halloween Band I gather the oddest looking ones first...

• scrapers (frog callers, donkey jaw)
• woods (any will do but we try to use strange looking ones)
• shakers (jingle loop, and anything rattley)

Pitched percussion

Orff instruments set up with only D and A are fun to add to the mix.  I use them with all ages.

Boomwhackers (D and A)  the purple and orange ones.  I mostly use these with ages 5 and older.

3.  Scarecrow Party Performance

Let everyone choose their favorite part...

• puppets(for older children), 
• dancing (all ages) 
• percussion orchestra (all ages) and can include Boomwhackers, Orff orchestra and non-pitched percussion.  

I usually play guitar (mostly D chord with a couple of A7 and G chords) and sing to keep the song moving along.  

The Most Amazing Giant Wooden Xylophone!

                             You will LOVE this! It's a xylophone built in the middle of a forest that plays a little Bach...enjoy!

Who's in Rabbit's House (part 3)

In Make Me Musical post 1 we read the story.  Click here to read part 1.

In post 2 we experienced each character through movement patterns and emotional expression. Click here to read about building characterization for the play in part 2.

Now....we're ready for the African orchestra.

As a group we sort through the giant collection of small percussion in my cupboards and learn which instruments are of african origin.

Xylophones are of african origin...metallophones are not!

Drums of many kinds are, of course, african in origin.

Shakers and hollowed instruments, thumb pianos are also of african origin.

Here is my humble collection!

Use all your big drums. I have 3 big drums and this is one of them.  On top of the conga you can see the "kids talking drum".  We spend time learning how to hold it and squeeze it to change the pitch."

thumb pianos - kalimba - interestingly, the round thumb piano is decorated with australian aboriginal design yet the tag when I bought it said it was made in Africa!

calabash and rabbit shaker

loop rattle and agogo bells made in Africa

Set up the xylophones in F pentatonic.  Take out the E's and B's (the Eggs & Bacon).  We did not specify exact bars to play.  I did specify the rhythm. (dotted quarter/eighth) 

I played the bass xylophone in a dotted quarter/eighth rhythm and other children and parents joined us to play this rhythm.  This is a fantastic rhythm to play while narrating the story.  I just play ever-so-lightly through almost the entire play and it creates an atmosphere of "Africa!"  

The small percussion are used creatively to make the sounds of the animals moving.

frog - hopping

jackal - running

elephant - stomping

leopard - leaping

rhino - chunky and charging

the long one - running (at the end of the story)

I let who ever is playing the small percussion decide how the sound will be made so it's entirely improvisational.  Small percussion players just play when their animal is moving.

The big drums are fantastic for the elephant sound but I don't insist on that if someone has an idea they'd prefer for the elephant.

I do ask that the big drums be played simultaneously in time with the words of the chant, "I am the Long One.  I eat leaves and trample on elephants.  Go away or I will trample on you!"

Tomorrow (part 4) I will have pictures of our masks.

  

It's not that easy to convey the simple complexity of this activity:)  Are you able to follow it?  I'm breaking it up into a series of posts so that each post is not miles long!  I hope it's useful/comprehensible!

Who's in Rabbit's House? (part 2)

The story of "Who's in Rabbit's House?" is a story about fear, friendship and community.  As the story begins, African villagers are gathering together to see a play prepared by other members of the village.  The actors don masks and the play begins...

The Process

1.  Read the story with your class.  This year's class is a real story-loving bunch and they were happy to sit and be captivated by this book.  That doesn't always happen!  Sometimes we have to act out the animals as they appear to give the wigglers some legitimate way to cope with listening to a story.

Get your copy of the book here at Amazon.com if you can't find one at the library! 

This year the 2 comments/questions that stood out for me were...

• "Why is their skin so black?"  (The illustrations show the African villagers with black-black skin...not the typical shade of skin we see everyday in our town.)  We talked about this, as we do with every country we visit this year, and how the skin colors are so varied.

• "I know what I'd do to get that bad animal out of my house!  I'd just open the door and grab him and throw him out."  (I would bring up the point that this is a story of how the rabbit was afraid of the bad animal and didn't have the courage to open the door.  It is a small moment to open a child's eyes to compassion or empathy.  We actually talked about how obvious it was to just open the door and see what was behind it...and how the story wouldn't have any drama if we did that!)

2.  As you are reading, involve the children in chanting whenever it repeats, "I am the Long One.  I eat trees and trample on elephants.  Go away or I will trample on YOU!"  (you really have to get your own copy of the story to see what I mean...and you will be happy to have it...it's a lovely story)



3.  Explore characterization/moving like each character in the story.  This year we didn't spend as much time on this part compared to years' past.  They were keen to get to the masks and the orchestra parts.

Rabbit - sitting on a log, cleaning up around the outside of rabbit's house/hoeing/sweeing/patting the roof/taking away sticks/emotions of sad and mad/being flung into the lake, laughing

Frog - hiding behind a tree, hopping, laughing and helping, rolling a giant-size jungle leaf into the shape of a bullhorn for calling through.

Jackal - fearful, gathering sticks

Elephant - heavy step, swaying trunk, stomping

Leopard - leaping and scratching

Rhino - charging

The Long One - big scary voice, fearful running away, crawling up into a tree

4.  Gather together the Orff Orchestra and small African percussion instruments for the musical accompaniment.
I will post more photos and detail about how we incorporated the instrument play in tomorrow's Make Me Musical post.

5.  Set the scene for the play with a backdrop, tree, house, log-seat, lake and animal masks.  

6.  Importance of masks in storytelling in some African cultures.  In a couple of days I will post some great close-up pix of the masks I made for use in our class.  The kids love them!

7.  Perform the play together.  I have a script written out based on the story.  It helps the story to move along more fluidly when we are in "play/performance" mode.  

 

Who's in Rabbit's House? An African StoryPlay (part 1)

Who's in Rabbit's House  

by Verna Aardema
You can find your own copy at Amazon.com 

One of the programs at Musicalia centers on "Music Around the World".  Each week we travel to a new country or culture or time in history.  These last two weeks we've been in Africa. 

For our last class in Africa we invited the parents and siblings to participate in a play based on an African story called "Who's in Rabbit's House?" 

"Who's in Rabbit's House?"  is a story of how all the animals try to help Rabbit when a bad animal gets into Rabbit's house and he can't get him out.  It's one of those tales where a small creature creates big drama and fear.  In the end, out of all the giant animals in the story it is the smallest animal who saves the day. 

The next post at Make Me Musical I will share with you some simple ideas of how to bring life to an African story using masks, simple props, xylophones, drums and small percussion.

If you don't have this book...get one from Amazon or the library!   

Love the bugs! (part 1)

Love the bugs! (clap, clap)

Love the bugs! (clap, clap)

If you wanna celebrate

Earth Day, don't wait!

Love the bugs! (clap, clap)

Love the bugs! (clap, clap)

This little ditty is new to my studio this year.

I'll share how we end up using this little chant with the various ages.  

So far...

Ages 3-1/2 to 7

1. Prepare a chart...I've included mine above. 
2. Chant and clap the clapping parts to learn the words.
3. Brainstorm some of the ways we can think of to take care of the Earth and celebrate Earth Day.
4. Chant and clap the new ideas.  
5. Last week a little girl said, "Turn off the lights" clap, clap  and a little boy said,"Save your water" clap, clap.  There were more wonderful suggestions and we incorporated them all into this Earth Day rhyme.  
6. Find some percussion instruments to play in the clapping parts.  Last week we used sticks and shakers.  
7. This week we are planning to sing the tune and play the claps on drums and with the Orff Orchestra.  I'll let you know how it goes.  

If you'd like to hear the rhythm & melody, send me an email and I'll send you another one of my simple mp3's!

Spring has Sprung! (part 4)

Spring has Sprung in Orff-land!

This is part 4 of a layered speech/song/rhythm piece.

Today we take yesterday's percussion ostinati and transfer those parts to Orff instruments.

We know the poem...

Spring has Sprung

The grass is growing green

The sun is shining now and

Birds are seen!

We know the ostinati:  

grass:  growing, growing

birds:  here I am!  sh sh

If you have chanted the ostinati,

If you have played the ostinati on small percussion,

Then you will find the Orff instrument parts very easy!

The Orff Orchestra! 

1.  Set up the Orff instrumentarium in C pentatonic.

Leave in the C,D,E,G,A 

Take out the F and B's (burgers and fries)

It will look like this.

2.  Now play
growing, growing on C and G.  Alternate C - G - C - G. Say "growing, growing" while you play the C and G.  (Don't play them together as a chord, play them separately.) 

Chant or sing the poem along with this.

3.  Now play

here I am sh sh  on any bars.  Don't play on the "sh", those are supposed to be rests.

4.  Now play

all the parts together (grass and birds)...and sing the song.

It will sound lovely because the instrument is set up in a pentatonic scale (no half tones) 

Just a note

I have literally broken down the steps to successful teaching of an Orff arrangement.  

I recommend that you actually perform at least one of the previous posts in this process for this spring piece.  

Using the Orff instruments are considered the "cherry on top" of a learning process.

All the foundation has been built with speech, body percussion, chanting and small percussion so that when you offer the children an opportunity to play the Orff instruments they will experience ease in playing as an ensemble.

If you skip all the foundation steps, it may work, but you've short-changed the depth of learning for your kids!

Links to the previous spring posts (foundation building posts!):

Post 1 

Post 2 

Post 3

Spring Has Sprung! (part 3)

Make Me Musical celebrates spring!

In the Sunday (part 1) post we learned the Spring has Sprung poem.
On Monday (part 2) we added 2 ostinati to perform with the poem.


Today we transfer those ostinati speech parts to percussion.

Spring has sprung

Spring has sprung

The grass is growing green

The sun is shining now and

Birds are seen!

Ostinati chanting:

grass:  "Growing, growing, growing, growing"
birds:  "Here I am!  (sh sh)  Here I am!  (sh sh)
           (sh = rest/no sound)    

Take the grass part "growing, growing" and play it on the drums.

Take the  bird part "here I am!"  and play it on the shakers & scrapers.

Something to think about

Now, you might think it would be a good idea to play the word rhythm of the poem onto a percussion instrument...and it may be but consider this.

A short, rhythmic repeated rhythm like "growing, growing" or "here I am (sh sh)" is a wonderful, relaxing rhythmic/steady beat phrase to play.  The brain enjoys that sort of repetitious performance.  It will create coherence in our brains and hearts.

Phyllis Weikart suggests that, clapping each syllable of a rhythmic poem like this one will fracture the rhythm and set up an incoherence in the brain.  So don't clap the words of the poem.  Instead, chant the poem or sing it as a melody.  

Spring Has Sprung! (part 1)

Spring has arrived! 

Let's celebrate!

This is a little chant I have used with all ages.

Spring has sprung

Spring has sprung

The grass is growing green

The sun is shining now and

Birds are seen!

Spring has sprung

The grass is growing green

The sun is shining now and 

Flowers are seen!

e.g 

brainstormed ideas for last line

Tulips are seen!

Worms are seen!

Fishermen are seen!

Baby birds are seen!

A crocus is seen!

Blossoms are seen!

Sandals are seen!

Ages 1-5:  

We sing it over and over while we play beats. 

With the parents and children, together we change the last line of the poem each time to brainstorm all our spring ideas. 

I have a very simple mp3 recording if you'd like to hear the melody.  Just send me an email and I'll forward a copy to you.  

We play beats using any small percussion (drums, shakers, bells and even body percussion).

I love to play beats on the Orff instruments with my classes.

I usually set up them up in C pentatonic before the class. (Leave in the C,D,E,G,A bars and take all the rest out).

Ages: 4-7

Introduce the poem as a chant, instead of a song.

Create a spring drama...whisper (chant) softly and repeat the poem, each time adding more volume until spring is shouting out!   

It's most effective to use small drums to keep beats as we're chanting.

With ages 6 and older, I have them walk the beats as they chant and we use our bodies quite dramatically when we crescendo.

Use the musical terms 

piano (soft) 

crescendo (gradually louder)

forte (loud)

I have a long list of variations on this theme.

I will post more about adding layers of spring in my next post!