world beat programs
Performances for Large Groups
World Rhythm, World Music
Age Group: Junior High/High School
Join World Beat as they introduce percussion instruments, rhythms, and compositions from around the world. The session can be tailored to different levels of music students, percussionists, and non-music students but is ideal for an all-school assembly performance.
Drums Around the World
Age Group: K through 8th grade
This lecture/demonstration teaches students about the origin and history of authentic percussion instruments from around the world. Students can explore instruments such as the Djembe, Tar, Tabla, and Dumbek and then actually perform an original percussion composition with Ethos.
Bing! Bang! Boom!
Age Group: K through 6th grades
Bing! Bang! Boom! was designed as an educational program to introduce Elementary school children to percussion in a fun and entertaining style. This program is a dynamic introduction for children to the family of percussion instruments, the sounds they create, and how they are played.
Single-Visit Classroom Activities
The World of Hand Drums
Age Group: K through High School
Join World Beat for a classroom visit in which students will be introduced to exotic hand percussion from all over the world. Included in this activity are solo and group performances on hand percussion instruments. Ethos will discuss the unique history and geography of each of the instruments. Includes question and answer dialogue.
The Percussion Family
Age Group: K through 3rd grade
This classroom workshop is intended for students who are not able to attend Bing! Bang! Boom!. World Beat will visit the classroom to present an intriguing lecture/performance on just what constitutes a percussion instrument. This program will open the eyes and ears of the students to the fascinating and endless world of percussion.
Experiment with Sound
Age Group: K through 3rd grade
Tin Cans, Newspapers, Combs, Toothbrushes; you name it, and it can be used as a percussion instrument. All students will make their own percussion instruments. For students who have never played an instrument, this is an excellent activity to illustrate how a musician learns and rehearses music.
Multiple-Visit Classroom Residencies
General Percussion/Music
Age group: K through 6th grade
This residency introduces a variety of percussion instruments as well as many fundamentals of music. As in all World Beat residencies, it may culminate in a final performance by the participating students if one is desired by the teachers involved. Melodic and rhythmic percussion instruments such as orchestra bells, the xylophone, snare drum, Latin American claves and maracas, African djembe, Middle Eastern tar and riq, and gongs and cymbals of Asia are introduced along with playing techniques and appropriate rhythms. Also covered are general music concepts such as ostinato, call and response, dynamics, "music abc's", and how to follow basic conducting gestures. Students also make instruments in class that they may keep at the conclusion of the residency.
Music and Literacy
Age Group: K through 4th grade
Many of the instruments and concepts covered in the general percussion/music residency are also found in this program, with the added element of creating music for a story or poem. Once students are familiar with a variety of instruments and playing techniques, they select a literary work to accompany with percussion music. Younger students (K-2) may choose an author or story they have studied already; older students (3-4) are encouraged to write their own poem or story as a class or small group. World Beat also has a large selection of literature for all ages that works well with musical accompaniment. As in all Ethos residencies, it may culminate in a final performance by the participating students if one is desired by the teachers involved.
World Music and Percussion
Age Group: K through 8th grade
Many of the instruments and concepts covered in the general percussion/music residency are also found in this program, though this residency focuses mainly on non-Western instruments and music. Students are introduced to the music and culture of West Africa, India, the Middle East, and Brazil, all of which have rich percussion traditions. Activities may include learning songs in the Ewe language of Ghana, dancing to wedding music from Lebanon, counting rhythms in the style of Indian classical music, and playing carnival rhythms from Brazil. As in all World Beat residencies, it may culminate in a final performance by the participating students if one is desired by the teachers involved.
