In the Spotlight – Ollie Tunmer (UK)

Teaching rhythms from around the world

At Beat Goes On we have the privilege of delivering STOMP-style Body Percussion and Afro-Brazilian Percussion workshops in schools, PD events and conferences internationally.  We’re lucky that what we do is naturally fun, loud, exciting and highly accessible, meaning that a sense of accomplishment can be achieved quickly!

Maintaining this, however, requires some clear methodology.  I find that as a musician, if I have a verbal phrase that sounds like the rhythm I’m trying to learn, the rhythm becomes more memorable.  As a workshop facilitator, if you involve the key-words of a project, then participants will end up repeating the key-words using the rhythm that they’re learning.  For example, when teaching an ‘agogo’ bell rhythm from the Afro-Brazilian ‘maracatu’ style, we use the following –

We refer to these as ‘rhythmonics’ (rhythms and mnemonics), and find them indispensable, both as a teaching / learning aid and as a compositional tool.  In our longer term samba projects, pupils learn several rhythms, instrument names, compose their own samba ‘breaks’ and deepen their learning of Brazilian culture using this approach – quite an achievement!

3 - that's the magic number

When teaching rhythms we use a three step process:

• say the ‘rhythmonic’
• play the rhythm as body percussion
• play the rhythm on the instrument

This process allows learners to internalise the rhythm first, without being put off by instruments being played.  I took this approach from my time as a facilitator with another percussion company, Inspire Works.

We often use just the first two of these steps in our body percussion sessions, and then explore how movement / choreography can be developed, to make the rhythms look as good as they sound!

Roles within the 'world' music ensemble

Ensemble music making can provide a platform for the development of other, non-music specific skills.  The ‘mestre’ and ‘director’ (leaders) of a samba ‘bateria' have to develop communication and leadership skills.  Training young people in this area can empower them to take ownership of their learning.  Similarly, a ‘surdo’ (bass drum) player may be required to play a pulse-based rhythm which, although simple, is of huge importance to the overall sound of the band, providing a sense of responsibility for the student involved.

As well as teaching rhythms from other cultures, a fun and high impact route can be to incorporate participants’ own musical experiences and interests, taking a leaf from the Musical Futures book.  At Musical Futures Australia’s The Big Gig 2018 in Melbourne, some participants expressed a mutual liking for drum’n’bass, which we duly orchestrated into the samba band context!

Words and Rhythms

One element that often provokes interest is the linking of music with other curriculum areas.  We’ve proudly been working with literacy guru Pie Corbett of Talk4Writing, taking his ingenious storytelling and poetry methods down a body percussion route – high energy, creative fun for all involved, with astounding results!

'Working with Beat Goes On is an extraordinary experience and I would recommend them to any school. We have used body percussion to let the rhythms and meanings of poems and stories fly. Exploring story/poetry through the arts, deepens imaginative engagement and makes language memorable.’ - Pie Corbett

Feedback from all of these approaches is unanimously positive – they cover the full range of learning styles allowing all participants to access material and develop their own ideas in new, creative ways.

Find out more 

For more information and free downloadable resources for teaching rhythms inspired by music from around the world, visit www.beatgoeson.co.uk , contact info@beatgoeson.co.uk and follow @BeatGoesOnUK on social media.