Body Percussion: hear a groove, put it on the body, then make your own
Not a video to copy. A groove to work out.
Body Percussion is a creative way in for students to build patterns of their own. It starts, like the rest of the Beats unit, from the connection between what a body can do and what a drum kit does, and it runs a creative workflow from there.
There are playalong videos for the whole class to follow. But following along is the way in, not the destination. What the unit is actually for is listening to a groove, working out where it sits on the body, and then getting creative with it.
Practise, then play a beat, then write your own
Practice patterns, getting harder
The patterns build progressively, with plenty of flexibility for you to lead as you wish. Take them as far as the class is ready for and no further.
Play three real beats
Disco, salsa and funk. Backing tracks support both the experimentation and the practice, and playalong videos give the whole class something to lock into together.
Make one of their own
Downloadable percussion grids are ready for the creative tasks. Students listen to a groove, decide where it lives on the body, build their own version, and write it down.
Three beats, and everything around them
| Part of the unit | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Practice patterns | Progressively harder, and open enough for you to lead the sequence yourself |
| Disco, salsa & funk beats | Three real grooves to put on the body, each with backing tracks |
| Playalong videos | For the whole class to lock into together |
| Percussion grids | Downloadable, and ready for students to notate what they create |
| Notation links | Connections to both standard Western notation and grid notation, running throughout |
What students learn
Where a groove lives on the body
Translating a kick, a snare and a hat into a clap, a stamp and a slap, which is a genuinely musical decision rather than a copy.
Two kinds of notation
Standard Western notation and grid notation, side by side. This is the most notation-friendly unit in the Beats family.
Rhythmic control
Practice patterns that build, so coordination and independence develop rather than being assumed.
Writing their own
Creating original patterns and getting them down on a grid, which is where the unit is actually pointed.
Three units, no equipment, one idea
Body Percussion, Beatboxing and Chair Drumming all start from the same place: the connection between what a body can do and what a drum kit does. What differs is the instrument.
- Chair Drumming uses the furniture already in the room
- Beatboxing uses the voice
- Body Percussion uses clapping, stamping and slapping
The rhythmic thinking is shared, so they run well back to back and each one goes faster than the last. Body Percussion is the one to pick when you also want notation in the mix.
Common questions
Is this just following along to videos?
No, and the unit is built to make sure it is not. There are playalong videos for the whole class, but the point of the resource is listening to grooves, working out where they sit on the body, and then getting creative with them. The videos are the way in, not the destination.
What do we need?
Nothing. No instruments, no set-up, no gear to book out. Backing tracks support the experimentation and practice, and downloadable percussion grids are provided for the creative tasks.
Does it connect to notation?
To both kinds. There are connections to standard Western notation and to grid notation throughout, which makes this the most notation-friendly unit in the Beats family, and useful where a curriculum expects staff notation to appear somewhere.
How structured is it?
Structured enough to lean on and loose enough to lead. The practice patterns get progressively harder, and you decide how far and how fast to take them. From there the unit moves into disco, salsa and funk beats.
How does it relate to the other rhythm units?
It starts, like they do, from the connection between what a body can do and what a drum kit does. Chair Drumming makes that link with furniture, Beatboxing with the voice, and Body Percussion with clapping, stamping and slapping. The same rhythmic thinking runs through all three.
Ready to run Body Percussion with your classes?
Everything above is ready to go the moment you subscribe. No setup, no printing, no hunting for parts.
Body Percussion is in the Starter Pack, the Band Skills Pack and Full Access. It is not part of the Music Tech Pack.