Coordination and control of instruments and body
- Play the drum kit pedals with some control
- Begin to develop an awareness of context-specific movement
- Begin to develop an awareness of the parts that both hands play in handheld percussion
- Begin to develop instrument-specific independent movement of hands as appropriate to the instrument (e.g. tamborim)
- Use basic finger damping on the timpani and glockenspiel
- Develop, where appropriate, basic skills on a variety of auxiliary orchestral/Latin percussion instruments
On drum kit, encourage learners to imagine that the ball of their foot is glued to the pedal.
Encourage learners to keep the hi-hats tightly shut, using their foot.
Ask learners to tap feet alternately in time to live/pre-recorded music.
Encourage learners to explore movement as appropriate the style and tradition of the music being studied.
When playing the djembe, develop coordination by asking learners to add in gesture and movement, e.g. play with one hand and wave with the other.
Where appropriate to the musical style, develop learners’ ability to combine singing with playing. For example, teach a traditional West African song with an accompanying clapped rhythmic pattern.
When playing timpani/glockenspiel, ask learners to practise playing one note, then dampen it with the back fingers of the same hand.
Encourage learners to dampen during rests and at the ends of phrases. When damping, ensure that the first finger and thumb maintain their grip on the shaft of the stick. Notes should be dampened in the same place on the instrument that they are struck.
Demonstrate the range of sounds produced by striking the timpani at different points across the head. Ask learners to imitate and comment on the musical effect.
When using drum kit and timpani, ask learners to play four notes on each drum playing hand to hand, first leading with the strong hand and then with the weaker hand.
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