Body Percussion

Today we’re going to try body percussion, with special guest Stephen. 

Clapping your hands, snapping your fingers, patting your chest or knees, stomping your feet – those are are simple kinds of body percussion. 

Percussion is a really simple means of communicating through sounds – what do you think different sounds could mean? 

To get ready to make some percussion, try finding a hard surface, think about where you’re doing it (don’t stomp around on the second floor!), and take off any jewellery you might be wearing. 

Today’s activity is inspired by a body percussionist named Keith Terry, who has created a body percussion language based on numbers: 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. 

Once you’ve learned the patterns, see if you can do them faster. What patterns can you create? How can you combine them in different ways? How can you change them up a bit to change the way they sound?

What you’ll do in this video: create, rhythm, learn.

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