Body Percussion Intro

Lesson 2

In this lesson, students will revisit their body percussion performance of Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King, refining their timing, coordination, and ensemble skills. Inspired by further examples from Barbatuques, they will explore new ways of creating rhythm and texture using the body, while developing their understanding of ostinato and layered rhythmic patterns. Students will begin generating ideas for their own original body percussion compositions, experimenting with different sounds, structures, and repeating rhythms in preparation for creating a group performance.

Preparation:

  • Check and watch each of the video links and check they work and you understand each task.

  • Lessons involve movement so ideally a sports hall with the ability to display the videos.

  • Have workbooks available from previous lesson for each member of the group and pens/pencils.

Part C

Activity 2 - Recap

Body Percussion for Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King (Rob's Kitchen Tutorial) – 15 mins

We relook at this tutorial of in In the Hall of the Mountain King focussing on mastering all of the sections.

  • Watch the video and join in.

  • Pause and replay sections as needed.

  • Make sure all sections are secure before moving on.

  • You can use the notation below if you’re pausing on different sections. Part A2 into Part C can be tricky.

Part A

Part A2

Part B

Activity 4 - Be Inspired

Barbatuques - Baianá – 5–10 mins

Barbatuques are a world-famous Brazilian body percussion group who create music using claps, stamps, vocal sounds, and movement, and in Baianá they combine these techniques to create a powerful performance built on rhythm, repetition, and ensemble teamwork.

Whilst watching this video ask students to use section 3 in the workbook and reflect on the following questions.

  • What body percussion techniques did you notice? (Claps, pats, clicks, vocal sounds, foot stomps, etc.)

  • How do the performers communicate and stay in time with one another?

  • Which moments of the performance did you find most interesting or memorable? Why?

  • How does the use of movement add to the music?

  • What similarities and differences can you identify between this performance and In the Hall of the Mountain King by Body Avlaia Group?

Activity 1 - Warm up

Disco Detective – 5-10 mins

We revisit this game from level 1. It explores pulse/beat and supports the class to follow a leader. The premise of the game is that a detective in the group must work out who is leading the dance moves, whilst the group are carefully and covertly copying the leader. Use the game this time to try out different body percussion sounds.

  • Stand or sit in a circle where everyone can see each other.

  • One person becomes the detective and looks away while a secret leader is chosen.

  • When the music starts, copy the leader's dance moves while keeping in time with the pulse.

  • The leader changes dance moves and the group follows without making it obvious who is leading.

  • The detective moves into the circle and has three guesses to identify the leader.

    Remember: watch carefully, stay together, and keep your movements in time with the music.