Find out about the Building Musical Confidence Research Project, which investigates how the use of inclusive, culturally diverse instruments and associated teaching resources can make non-specialist teachers feel more confident and musical, thereby ensuring the long term sustainability of primary music. You can download the Research Project Report here.
It’s very important to get the djembe size right – if it’s too small, you or your class won’t be able to do proper two-handed drumming and produce the three basic sounds: bass, tone and slap. On the other hand, drums that are too big will quickly eat up your budget, and they can be […]
Here at Drums for Schools we firmly believe that participating in group musical activities not only improves students’ level of musical skill and understanding, but also benefits the development of wider educational, social and communication skills, and improves mental wellbeing. This research project by Thomas Haggerty and based on a 12 week djembe drumming course, […]
What are they and why do you need one? In this guest blog by Dr Liz Stafford of Music Education Solutions® we discuss the concept of Music Development Plans and how you can use them to supercharge music in your school. What is a Music Development Plan?In 2022, The National Plan for Music Education (England) set […]
How to create your own Rio Carnival Samba Music in the Classroom. Here’s a practical Samba Classroom Activity for which you don’t need any prior music experience or any proper Samba instruments. We’ll show you how to create your own Rio Carnival classroom performance, and we’ve added a reference section at the end, describing the […]
The Slave trade, religion and the inter-mixing of African, native South American and Portuguese cultures are all key to the cultural history of samba music, and help to explain its evolution right up to the present day, including its status as the national music of Brazil. In this article we’ll look at: Samba and the […]
The new National Plan for Music Education micromanages teachers, schools and Hubs, telling them to carry on doing the same as before, only better. “Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” Instead what’s needed is for schools to stop teaching classical musical instruments in whole class lessons and to focu on easy to play instruments and the music styles that the children actually want to play.
As well as hitting curriculum objectives, this percussion pack will help pupils enjoy the real sense of achievement that comes from making music as a group. In fact, I can see it delivering genuine benefits in terms of class cohesion, self-esteem and team-building skills.
In February, Carnival takes place in towns and cities all over Brazil. The Rio carnival, also known as ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’, is the biggest of these and is perhaps the world’s most popular Carnival, famous for breathtaking performances, samba music, costumes and its week-long party atmosphere. The Rio carnival was cancelled in 2021because […]
This week is Children’s Mental Health week in the UK. This year the theme of the week is Growing Together. The aim is to encourage children (and adults) to grow together, and to be a part of the growth journey of those around them. Our children are entering their third year since the start of […]
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