Beats & Rhythms from Around the World

Classroom Activity Pack

June 2018
Introduction:
This pack is designed to help you use percussion as a way to teach music
in the classroom. Everyone has innate rhythmic capacity and the various
games and activities in this pack will help to activate and develop it in
you and your students. A good sense of timing and rhythm is
fundamental to all music, not just percussion music, so you can use these
activities as a way to develop general musicianship also.

The activities and rhythms chosen come from many different parts of the
world. You can use this pack to take your class on a fascinating global
journey where they will discover both the universality as well as the
diversity of percussion music in different cultures.

These activities can be used to explore all three strands of the music
curriculum with a particular emphasis on the Performing strand as well
as Listening and Responding.

Using these activities your class will explore many ways in which
rhythmic sounds are made and through hands-on music participation
will have played a range of such sounds themselves with percussion
instruments. They will develop their music performance skills and
improve their understanding of key musical concepts such as pulse,
beats, rests, tempo, dynamics, stopping/starting, as well as team work.

We hope this pack will help you to discover how accessible a percussion
based approach to music in the classroom can be in supporting
music-making and learning for all levels of ability.

The emphasis of music from around the world also provides

opportunities for linkage to other subjects such as Geography, History,
Physical Education (especially the Dance strand) as well as SPHE.

How to use this pack:

You may pick and choose from the activities and information presented
in this pack depending on the level of music experience of your students.
Whilst it is useful if you have classroom hand drums or simple percussion
instruments available to you, you can also teach these activities using
simple clapping, body percussion and voice. Rhythm is felt in the body so
engaging rhythmically first with voice and body before moving to
instruments is really valuable and can lead to better learning and more
musical results.
For all groups at the start of class we recommend beginning with a
couple of the simple warm up games given at the beginning of this
pack. These activities will help set up an enjoyable as well as focused
atmosphere that helps children to listen, to follow a musical leader
and play together as a team. It is crucial for quality music
performance of any kind that everyone is working and playing
together as a group so these warm up activities can support those
outcomes.
The subsequent sections of the pack focus on different instruments
and percussion music styles from around the world. Background and
cultural information relating to the instruments is given first, followed
by rhythmic performance activities relating to those instruments and
musical cultures. These activities vary in complexity from simple to
more complex.
If your class are beginners then we suggest you start with these
activities:
Tea, Coffee, Black And Decker
or
Call And Response

As they develop more confidence try the 3-part Jamaican rhythm.

Always aim to start simple and build on their achievements to
support progress and enjoyment.

More experienced groups may wish to start with the 3-part Jamaican
rhythm or even the 5-part Samba rhythm. All groups should be able
to play any of the rhythms once they are given the chance to practice
regularly and build up their skills over a number of weeks or months.

We suggest you encourage discussion with the children also. Invite

them to reflect on and discuss what they have heard and played, how
does music from one place differ or sound similar to music from
elsewhere? Developing this ability to reflect and respond will
enhance and deepen their learning and understanding.
Rhythm Warm Ups

Introduction Game
Aim: this game will begin to warm everyone up and help develop a
sense of timing and rhythm individually and as a group. This simple
warm up teaches children to clap and count together to a tempo.
Step 1: Teacher sets a medium speed (tempo) to a count of 4 and then
claps:
1 beat (or crochet) per bar (Count: 1 _ _ _, 1 _ _ _ etc)
Step 2: The group should join in with the teacher making sure everyone
is clapping together.
Step 3: Teacher or leader should add in more claps. Again the group
should follow and make sure everyone is clapping together in time.
e.g 2 beats per bar (1 2 _ _) or (1 _ 3 _)
then 3 beats per bar etc (1 2 3 _) or (1 _ 3 4)

4 Beats Game – Knees, Clap, Click, Click

Aim: to introduce simple body percussion and the 4/4 time signature.
This also teaches children about the importance of silence or rests in
music and how that changes the groove and feel of a rhythmic pattern.
It also develops physical coordination and the ability to follow a
musical leader.
Step 1: Teach the pattern: tap knees on beat 1, clap on beat 2, click with
one hand on beat 3 and click with other hand on beat 4.
(If anyone cannot click they can still make the moves instead)
Step 2: When the group can play the pattern comfortably, the
leader/teacher calls for certain beats to be left out.
E.g. knees, (silence), click, click
or knees, clap, (silence), click etc.
On the silent beats everyone mimes the movement but makes no
sounds.
Step 3: Different people take turns being the leader and deciding which
beats to leave in or take out.
Don't Clap This One Back
Aim: This is good as a warm up for all ages and for learning about
breaks between rhythms.
Step 1: The teacher or leader claps a range of different rhythms, no
more than 4 beats long, using hands, body, voice, even floor. The
children have to copy the rhythms and play them back as a group.
Step 2: However if they hear, in any combination of sounds, the rhythm
from the sentence ‘Don't clap this one back' then they don't clap the
rhythm back.
Step 3: Every time someone claps the rhythm when they aren't
supposed to, the teacher/leader gets a point. If no one claps when they
hear 'don't clap this one back' the children get a point. Decide on a
number of points to win e.g. first to 5 points wins.
Step 4: Different people take turns being the leader.
Focus on an Instrument: The Bodhrán
The bodhrán is a single
headed frame drum common
in Ireland.
This type of drum is of a
general type that is also
widespread within the
traditional music of western
Asia and south India, parts of
Eastern Europe, North Africa,
Iberia, Ireland and Brazil, and
also occurs sporadically in
other cultures, for example,
aboriginal Americans, the Inuit and in Tibet and Mongolia. In
mainstream western culture frame drums are chiefly represented by the
tambourine and early bodhráns also had jingles attached.

The earliest proof of the use of the bodhrán goes back to a book of the
15th century. It is a medical transcript in which the sound of a bloated
belly is described as the sound of a drum (bodhrán). In old
encyclopaedias the word was found in use before 1827. Pictures by the
Irish painter Maclise, published around 1850, show a frame drum on
which the left hand of the player seems to touch the skin and the right
hand seems to move in the typical way. The following picture is an
excerpt from this painting.
Before the 1950s, the bodhrán was played on St. Stephens Day
(December 26th) in a ritual known as "Hunting the Wren". Wren boys
accompanied the following ceremony with whistles and bodhrán-like
drums.
When Irish composer Seán O'Riada started to bring traditional Irish
music on the stage he declared: "The Bodhrán is the national drum”.
Bodhrán playing significantly changed in approximately 1970 when
players began using a new innovative technique of placing the
back-hand against the skin. Before this the bodhrán was solely held by
the crosspiece (the bars that overlap each other at the back of bodhráns)
with the skin resonating openly. When played in the old way tonal
variation could only be achieved by the bodhrán player through volume
dynamics.
Since the introduction of this technique the vast majority of bodhrán
players place the back-hand (or non-stick holding hand) against the
skin in some fashion thereby opening up a whole new avenue of creative
expression. The backhand has been employed to change the tonal
colours of the bodhrán to synchronise with the tune. What has been
created is an entirely new percussive voice in traditional Irish music.
Rhythm Game: Tea, Coffee, Black And Decker
Aim: This is an excellent way of developing children's sense of timing in
4/4 or 4 beats in a bar which is also the time signature of much Irish
traditional music. Instead of using difficult technical words like crochet
and quaver, the idea is to use words with different amounts of syllables,
e.g. tea and coffee.
In Irish traditional music, a 4/4 tune is called a reel and is a very
common type of tune. This exercise can be used to teach an
understanding of reels or to simply give children a good grounding in
playing together in 4/4 which is one of the most common time signatures
in music across the world.

Step 1:
Clap four beats slowly to the children, counting each beat as follows:
1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ...
Now, repeat the clapping, but replace the counting with the word "Tea"
i.e. Tea ... Tea ... Tea ... Tea...

Step 2:
Next clap eight beats (twice as fast as before), counting each beat again.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

Then, replace the clap on each pair of beats with the word ‘coffee’
(saying each syllable separately)
i.e. Coff, ee, Coff, ee, Coff, ee, Coff, ee
Step 4:
Add in a 3rd rhythm on the words Black and Decker as follows:
• Group 1 claps and says: Tea Tea etc
• Group 2 claps and says: Coff-ee Coff-ee etc
• Group 3 claps and says: Black And Deck-er Black And Deck-er etc

When the children are comfortable with this, swap them around to clap
in different groups.

Step 5:
Simple rhythmic composition - now, as a whole class you can develop
this idea, clapping and saying more complicated patterns together.

For example:
Tea Tea Coffee Coffee
Tea Coffee Tea Coffee
Tea Tea Tea Coffee
Coffee Coffee Coffee Tea
Black And Decker, Black And Decker, Tea Tea
Coffee, Coffee, Coffee, Black And Decker
Focus on an Instrument: The Djembe
The djembe is one of West Africa's best
known instruments. This goblet-shaped
drum is traditionally carved from a single
piece of African hardwood and topped with
an animal skin as a drumhead. In western
understanding, the drum belongs to the
membranophone class of instruments in the
percussion family.
There are at least a dozen stories of the
history of the drum told by many master
drummers. One story says that the name of
the djembe came from the Bamana people in
Mali, who said "Anke dje, anke be" (which
means “everyone gather together”) to call
their people. “Dje" means “gather” and "be"
means “everyone”, which gave the drum used in these gatherings its
name. In the Bamana mythology the original djembe was made of the
hide of a giraffe-zebra hybrid called the gebraffe.

It is thought that the Blacksmiths made the first djembes, making each
drum custom-fitted to the drummer who would play it. This makes sense
as they would be the people who cut the tree. The making of the drum
was spiritual and the blacksmith was obliged to make offerings to the
spirits of the trees to ask for permission to cut the tree to make a djembe.
Once the blacksmith finished making the djembe, it was delivered to the
drummer who commissioned it who would be a member of the jeli caste.
The jeli are musicians who are responsible for the oral history of their
people. This remains true to today.

The djembe drum is most likely about 400 to 800 years old, becoming
widespread in use particularly during the time of the Malian Empire.
This empire began in an area known as Mande which is in present-day
northern Guinea and southern Mali. The empire was originally
established as a federation of Mandinka tribes but over time grew to
rule millions of people from nearly every ethnic group in West Africa. It
spanned the modern-day countries of Senegal, southern Mauritania,
Mali, northern Burkina Faso, western Niger, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau,
Guinea, the Ivory Coast and northern Ghana. The playing of the djembe
spread to all of these countries through the influence of the empire.
Rhythm game: Call and Response
Aim: Call and response is a characteristic of West African drumming
which has also influenced (and is heard in) a lot of modern music
including hip-hop, r&b as well as Samba music (see below for more on
Samba).
Step 1:
The teacher claps any rhythmic phrase at all and the group claps the
same phrase back. It is best to start with simple phrases and build up
confidence from there.
For example:
Facilitator Group
1-2 -3 1-2 -3
12345 12345
123456789 123456789
The notation for the above examples is given below by way of
illustration. However, it is not necessary to score out your rhythms. It is

best to work by ear and simply make up a variety of rhythms on the spot.
The aim is for group to clap in unison to develop their ability to listen and
repeat accurately and to stay together as a group in terms of timing.
Step 2:
Once the group has got the idea, different children can the lead and take
the role of coming up with and leading the call while the rest of the class
clap the response.
Step 3:
As the group progresses in ability, the leader can add more complexity
but making the call rhythm not just with claps but mixing it up using
other body parts to create the sounds such as stamping, clicking fingers,
gently slapping thighs or cheeks.
Rhythm Activity: Jamaican Rhythm
Here is a 3 part rhythmic pattern from Jamaica in the Caribbean. Try
this out with your class using clapping or body percussion or any simple
hand percussion you may have in your classroom music box.

Pattern 1:
Ka da Ka Boom, Ka da Ka Boom Boom

Pattern 2:
Bom Be Bom Be Bom Bom, Bim Bim

Pattern 3:
Boom bap ba, Boom bap ba, Boom bap ba, Boom Ba

To help you learn the rhythms, listen to the rhythmic patterns being
played separately and together on this audio link:
https://soundcloud.com/the-ark-music/3-jamaican-rhythms/s-hIXOz?i
n=the-ark-music/sets/beats-and-rhythms-from-around-the-world-cla
ssroom-pack/s-9NPAr

Step 1:
Everyone as one group learns each of the 3 patterns in turn.
Step 2:
Once everyone is comfortable with each of the rhythms, divide the class
into 3 groups and layer up the parts one of top of the other.
Start with putting 2 rhythms together first. Once that is steady, add in
the 3rd one.
Step 3:
Move the groups around to try playing each of the different rhythms.
Focus on Instruments: Samba Drums
Samba is known as the carnival
rhythms of Brazil. The music is
loud, mainly consisting of drums
and small percussion instruments,
which is aimed to attract listeners
and usually played outdoors.
The drums are designed so that
they are light to carry in the
Brazilian carnivals for hours on
end. A Samba band is often
referred to as a ‘bateria’. Samba
drums originate from Africa and
were brought to Brazil by African
slaves in the 19th century. Modern samba groups could have between
10 and 30 players.
Here’s some information on some of the many types of samba drums:
Surdo
The Surdo is the largest member of the Samba band and has the
deepest sound so it is known the bass drum of Samba. It is played using
a large padded beater. Several Surdo’s are played in the bateria to
create a syncopated rhythm. The sizes of Surdo’s generally range from
12” to 18” to create a wide dynamic range.
Interesting Fact: The word Surdo means ‘deaf’ as in dull because it has a
deep sound. It is known as the heartbeat of samba music.

Caixa
The Caxia is the member of the samba family that is played to produce
cross-rhythms within the bateria being played with two drum sticks. It is
a snare drum tuned similarly to those in marching bands although it
tends to have a dryer sound. This particular samba style snare drum
has 2 or 3 wires on the top of the drum head (rather than the bottom as
found in more standard snare drums). This give the caixa a louder tone.
Interesting Fact: The traditional name Caixa de guerra means “war box”
because it was used as a military drum.

Repinique
The Repinique is tuned to a high pitch within its metal shell making it
one of the loudest parts of the bateria. It can be played with either 1 or 2
sticks depending on the style of music. Generally, it is played with one
stick in the traditional Brazilian style; however it has been adapted to
two sticks when used in reggae music. It is equivalent to a ‘tom’ on a
regular drum kit, used as the solo drum.
Interesting Fact: The word Repinique comes from the verb “to call”. This
is because in Samba music the Repinique is the drum that the lead
drummer plays and leads the call and response in the samba ensemble.

Tamborim
The Tamborim is a small tunable, single head drum that is hand-held in
the bateria. They produce a high, sharp timbre and play a fast cross
rhythm using a thin whip stick. You can change the tone and muffle the
Tamborim by pressing your finger on the back of the drum head creating
higher or lower notes. A playing technique called Virado is often used,
which is when the drum is flipped upside-down in the middle of the
pattern, which produces one note that is slightly delayed.
Interesting Fact: The Tamborim is one of the newest members of the
Samba family, created to help make Samba music sound less like a
marching band.

Ganza
The Ganza is a percussion instrument known as the Brazilian rattle in
samba music. They are either a metal case or woven and enclosed with
beads or small metal balls. They come in either a single shaker, double
or triple depending on how loud they need to be. They are generally used
to play a rhythm underneath the main Samba ensemble.
Interesting Fact: The Ganza is classified as an indirectly struck
idiophone. This is a complicated way of saying that it is a shaker! Either
a hand-woven basket or a metal canister which is filled with beads,
metal balls, pebbles, or other similar items. Those made from metal such
as the Ganza produce a particularly loud sound.

Agogo
The agogo (or agogo bell) is an instrument of African origin. The agogo is
a conical shaped bell or truncated cone, in chromed or painted steel, it
usually has two, three or even four bells linked together by a steel stem
which is bent and welded to hold the agogo bells together. The agogo is
one of the rare melodic samba instruments with high pitched tones.
Interesting Fact: The agogo player uses a stick to hit the bells, but can
also make sound by clashing the bells together. This is usually done by
pressing with the hand that is holding the instrument.
Rhythm Activity: Five Part Samba Rhythm
Aim: to teach the class a full samba rhythm from Brazil. This activity will
challenge and expand their percussion skills with the range of the
rhythms involved and their ability to play 5 different rhythmic parts
together as a group at the same time.
The five patterns in this rhythm are:
• Agogo bell – Hi hi. Low Low Low Low
• Tamborim – Ba Ba, Ba da da
• Shaker – Ta ka la ka
• Hand drum – 1, 2, 3, Have a cup of tea
• Surdo – Bom, Bom, Bom, Bam-Bam

Step 1:
As with the Jamaican rhythm, firstly everyone as one group learns each
of the 5 patterns in turn. Start by learning them vocally and then try
them on instruments.
To help you learn the rhythms, listen to the rhythmic patterns being
played separately and together on this audio link:
https://soundcloud.com/the-ark-music/samba-5-parts/s-rPMY2?in=the
-ark-music/sets/beats-and-rhythms-from-around-the-world-classroo
m-pack/s-9NPAr
Step 2:
Once everyone is comfortable with each of the rhythms, divide the class
into 5 groups and slowly layer up the parts one of top of the other.
Start with putting 2 rhythms together first. Once that is steady, add in
the 3rd one etc. until all 5 parts are playing well together.

Step 3: Practise bringing the piece to a clean end together on a signal

from the teacher or leader. Then the whole group can do a drum roll on a
crescendo and decrescendo a couple of times for a final flourish.
Focus on an Instrument: Darbuka
The darbuka, also called doumbek or
derbeki, is a traditional goblet-drum
known for being the foremost
percussion instrument in Middle
Eastern music.

Its single head and goblet shaped body

distinguishes it from other similar
instruments such as the Indian tabla
and pakhawaj and Middle-Eastern
frame drums like the ‘tar’.

In this musical culture, each drum has

its own language, or ‘bol’, which
communicates a specific rhythmic
pattern. The versatility of darbuka
music is understood when it has been
practiced for many years. More
possibilities of how it can be played are
constantly being discovered including
not just Eastern beats but Western
styles as well.

The drum’s beautiful sound and resonance can be attributed to the

goblet-shape of its body, a shape ideal as a resonant chamber for sound
across all sound frequency ranges. Larger drums offer a louder and
deeper tone compared to smaller ones that are much softer and quiet
but each has its place.

There are many different kinds of darbukas available in the world, each
containing unique notes and sounds. The most typical regional variants
of the drum are Egyptian, Turkish, Oriental, and Arabian, each
complementing the rich cultural diversity from which it comes.

The traditional materials used to make the drum body are clay, wood or
occasionally, metal, and the heads are made with goat skin stretched
over the top to make the drum head. Modern darbukas are made with
metal bodies and synthetic/plastic heads.
Rhythm Activity: A Darbuka Rhythm
Aim: to learn a rhythm from the Middle East. This is also a more
syncopated rhythm than any of the others in this pack, so learning this
will build children’s skill with more complex rhythms and working
together as a team.
Step 1:
As in previous activities, start by everyone learning the rhythm together
slowly using their voices first.
The pattern is 4 bars long as follows:
Doom Tac Tac,
Doom Tac Tac,
Doom Tac Tac,
Tac Tac Tac Tac Tac

Step 2:
Now try the rhythm on instruments with the whole group using any
hand drums you have available. Take it at a nice slow to medium tempo
so that everyone can get a chance to feel the groove of this syncopated
rhythm.
Step 3: Call and Response
Once everyone is comfortable with the rhythmic pattern, split the group
in 2. The first half of the group plays the rhythm on their instruments.
Then the second group says it back.
Then reverse this so that the 2nd group now plays the rhythm and first
group says it back.
Build this up so that the music stays in tempo as it moves over and back
between the groups.
Step 4:
Give children a chance to take turns leading the playing while everyone
else plays together as one group. The leader can change the tempo
(speed the music up or down). They can also experiment with changing
the volume from loud to soft. Agree a few simple hand signals to indicate
these instructions and let as many children as would like have a turn at
being the leader.
This activity pack was created by The Ark for to accompany our
music programme Beats & Rhythms from Around the World in
June 2018.
Schools and teachers are very welcome to use the ideas
contained here. We would be very happy to receive any
feedback, images or recordings made by the children in your
class. You can send them to:
The Ark,
11A Eustace Street
Temple Bar
Dublin 2
Email: TheArkDublin@gmail.com
Social Media: @TheArk Dublin
See ark.ie for more information on our events and
opportuntites for schools.

Activity Pack written by Robbie Harris

Editor: Aisling O’Gorman (The Ark)
Audio recordings created and performed by Robbie Harris

© The Ark & Robbie Harris

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