Chair Drumming: teach the drum kit without thirty drum kits
Thirty students playing drums. No drum kits.
Chair drumming teaches drum kit playing using the chairs already in the room. Musical Futures has used it in professional learning workshops ever since the Just Play programme was developed, and it now forms part of the Beats unit and Level 1 Musical Futures certification.
It is a good ice-breaker and it is genuinely fun, but the reason it earns a place in a scheme of work is simpler: everyone participates together, at their own level, without wheeling in thirty drum kits and a box of ear defenders.
Why it works in a classroom
It builds coordination
Coordination, fine motor skills and brain development, from an activity students think of as a bit of fun.
It costs almost nothing
Cheap and accessible. You can do it anywhere, and you do not need expensive gear for anyone to take part.
It scales to the class
Easily scaled up or down depending on the group's ability and experience, and that flexibility is written into the playalongs themselves.
It gets everyone moving
It engages the whole body, which releases energy and, counter to what you might expect, increases focus.
Three levels, getting progressively harder
Most schools start at 101 and stay there for a while, which is exactly right. There is no rush to move up.
| Level | What it is |
|---|---|
| Chair Drumming 101 | Where nearly every class begins. Three chair drumming medleys built on songs students already know, so there is plenty of variety before anyone needs anything harder. |
| Chair Drumming 201 | The next step up, for a class that has the 101 medleys under control and is ready for more. |
| Chair Drumming 301 | The hardest of the three, for taking a chair drumming unit as far as it goes. |
What students learn
Chair drumming looks like an activity and behaves like a unit. A class that has worked through it can:
- Play kick and snare in time with the music they hear
- Interpret and follow simple rhythmic grid notation
- Recognise different rhythms inside the music
- Hold tempo, handle syncopation and keep a steady beat
- Internalise rhythms that later transfer to other percussion, and to the kit itself
- Recognise the patterns that define rock and pop styles, and respond to them within the texture while playing
There is a difference between pressing play and teaching it
The resource makes it easy to load a medley and go. That is a fine lesson, and it is not the whole of what chair drumming can do. Decide what you are teaching before you open the platform, and the same medley turns into ensemble work, rhythmic analysis, or a way into improvising.
We have written up how to set objectives, how to pull a resource apart with a class, and three ways to take the skills beyond the playalong: What's so great about teaching chair drumming?
Where a class goes next
Chair drumming is a way into rhythm, not a destination. A class that can hold kick and snare together is ready for Groove Your Classroom, where the same rhythmic thinking moves onto real percussion across twelve different styles.
Or move the drummer into a band. Just Play puts that part underneath keyboard, bass, guitar and vocals, and the student who learned a groove on a chair is suddenly holding a whole class together.
Common questions
What do we actually need?
Chairs. That is the point of it. No drum kits, no ear defenders, no expensive gear, and you can run it anywhere. A whole class plays together at their own level rather than queueing for the one kit in the corner.
Where should we start?
Chair Drumming 101, which most schools do. It contains three medleys built on songs students already know, and the variety keeps a class going for a while. 201 and 301 take the same idea further when you are ready.
Is this just pressing play on a video?
It can be, and that is the trap. There is a real difference between pressing play on a chair drumming video and teaching chair drumming. Decide what you are teaching before you load a resource: playing kick and snare in time, following rhythmic grid notation, recognising patterns in the music, or building tempo control and syncopation.
Does it work with younger or less confident students?
Yes. It scales up and down easily depending on the group, and that flexibility is written into the playalongs themselves. With younger students, use simpler patterns with clapping or tapping only. With advanced students, introduce syncopation, polyrhythms or notated rhythms.
What do students take away from it?
More than a set of songs. Rhythms internalised on a chair transfer to other percussion instruments and to the drum kit itself. Students also come away able to read a rhythm grid, hold a tempo, and recognise the patterns that define rock and pop styles when they hear them.
Ready to run Chair Drumming with your classes?
Everything above is ready to go the moment you subscribe. No setup, no printing, no hunting for parts.
Chair Drumming is in every pack. The Starter Pack includes Chair Drumming 101 and its three medleys; Band Skills, Music Tech and Full Access include all three levels.