Workshops

What can drumming do for people?
People can break down the barriers of age, race, language and physical ability when they play percussion together. Drum workshops can develop listening skills, as well as achieving a feeling of teamwork, community and the experience of success as rhythms are built within the group.

Drumming is great for relaxation and building a sense of unity as well as encouraging self expression, which results in a building of self esteem and well being. Overall, drumming is great fun.

Recent studies show that drumming for short periods can change a person’s brainwave patterns, dramatically reducing stress. The research has found that the effect of drumming actually produces much greater results than any other form of stress management. Other studies show that drumming is great for exercise; burning calories and improving moods and may even reduce the risk of disease.

Drumming is an accessible exercise which burns calories and improves mood and may reduce the risk of disease. As well as offering exercise for brain cells.

Who can take part?
To take part in a drum workshop people need no prior musical experience and all the percussion instruments are provided. The workshops use the three styles of learning; auditory, visual and kinaesthetic to allow everyone to learn and to take part.

What sort of groups are workshops suitable for?
Drum workshops are a very positive activity for all types of groups; from school classes to youth groups.

For school classes, curriculum can be covered within the workshops, giving a physical example of areas of science and music. Teachers could then use these examples in the classroom, allowing the pupils to think back to the examples.

What will participants get out of it?
Drum workshops will enhance participants’;

Listening skills
Ability to work together as a team
Communication skills
Concentration
Self expression
Character building
Social skills
Musical skills

People taking part in the workshop can discover a sense of community, because they have to work together to accomplish a goal – building a rhythm. Workshops help with concentration and patience, as well as creating a lot of fun and enjoyment.

Spending a few hours learning to play unfamiliar rhythms on instruments they may never even have seen before, and then to produce their own performance is enormously rewarding. People will find they can usually produce an acceptable sound on an instrument relatively quickly, making workshops accessible to people of all abilities.

What happens in a workshop?
A typical workshop includes;

Explanation of the workshop – what the aim is
Introduction to visual cue for starting, stopping etc.
Introduction to the instrument – sounds, how to play
Playing a basic rhythm as a group
Developing the basic rhythm
Playing a basic rhythm in 2 sections
Building a rhythm from scratch
Developing the rhythm – building, dropping, variations (speed, volume, intensity)
Performance

Workshops are adaptable, and can cover different areas depending upon what is required; from discovering the sounds of the instruments, to building rhythms and to covering curriculum within the workshops (for schools).

A short performance can be developed as part of a workshop, which could be performed by the group at a special occasion or event.

How long does a workshop last?
Single workshop experiences as well as a series of workshops are available. For example;

A school lesson
A few hours
A series of workshops
Regular workshops (weekly / monthly / term)

Workshops are customised, allowing for variation. For example;

Length of workshops
Series’ of workshops
Areas covered