Styles: take a groove from anywhere in the world all the way to a full band track
Start with a groove. Finish with a band.
Styles is about learning to play a particular style of music from somewhere in the world, and then playing the song it belongs to.
Each style opens on classroom percussion, focused on getting the groove right. Once the groove is solid, it extends: guitar, ukulele, bass and keyboard parts come in one at a time, and everything comes together as a full playalong. Groove to full band track, in one unit.
Three stages, and the class grows into each one
Learn the groove on percussion
The whole class starts on classroom percussion instruments, working out what makes this particular style move the way it does. No band instruments needed yet.
Add the band parts
Guitar, ukulele, bass and keyboard parts extend the groove into an arrangement. Students who have been holding a rhythm now hear where harmony and melody sit on top of it.
Play the whole song
Everything comes together into a full playalong. The class that started by tapping a rhythm is now a band playing a track they recognise.
Who it suits
Student bands after something different
Groups looking for repertoire that is not the usual rock and pop fare, and a style they have probably never played before.
Classes making the jump to band
A route from whole-class workshopping of a groove into whole-class playing as a band, without a gap in the middle where half the room drops out.
Four styles, four songs students already know
Each style is anchored to a real track, so the groove is not an abstraction. Students hear where it lives.
| Style | Song | Included in |
|---|---|---|
| The Habanera | Havana — Camila Cabello | Starter, Band Skills & Full |
| Dancehall | Let Me Go — Hailee Steinfeld | Starter, Band Skills & Full |
| The Shuffle | Youngblood — 5 Seconds Of Summer | Band Skills & Full |
| Dance Pop / UK Garage | No More Tears Left To Cry — Ariana Grande | Band Skills & Full |
1The Habanera8 lessons
2Dancehall8 lessons
3The Shuffle9 lessons
4Dance Pop/UK Garage9 lessons
Styles or Groove Your Classroom?
Both start a class on classroom percussion, so it is worth being clear about where they part company.
- Stays on percussion and goes deep into the groove
- Twelve grooves across twelve styles
- Best when the goal is rhythm itself
- Starts with the groove, then builds outward to a full band
- Four styles, each tied to a song
- Best when the goal is a class playing a track together
If Groove Your Classroom is the rhythm, Styles is the record. Plenty of teachers run both, and a class that has done Groove Your Classroom arrives at Styles already knowing how to hold a part.
Where a class goes next
By the end of a style the class has done the whole job once: held a groove, added parts, and played a song together. That is the shape of Just Play and Playalongs, which between them offer a great deal more repertoire to point that skill at.
Common questions
How is this different from Groove Your Classroom?
They start in the same place and end somewhere different. Groove Your Classroom stays on classroom percussion and goes deep into the groove itself. Styles begins with the groove, then keeps going: guitar, ukulele, bass and keyboard parts get added until the class is playing the whole song as a band. If Groove Your Classroom is the rhythm, Styles is the record.
Do we need band instruments to start?
No. Every style opens on classroom percussion, so a class can begin with nothing more than what Groove Your Classroom needs. The guitar, ukulele, bass and keyboard parts come in as an extension, when the groove is solid and you are ready to widen it out.
Who is it for?
Two groups in particular. Student bands looking for something a bit different from the usual repertoire, and teachers who want a route from whole-class workshopping of a groove into whole-class playing as a band. It is one unit that does both ends of that journey.
What songs do students actually play?
Each style is anchored to a real song. The Habanera to Havana by Camila Cabello, Dancehall to Let Me Go by Hailee Steinfeld, The Shuffle to Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer, and Dance Pop / UK Garage to No More Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande. Students learn a style through a track they already know.
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Ready to run Styles with your classes?
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Styles is in the Starter Pack with two styles, and in the Band Skills Pack and Full Access with all four.