Reply To: African Drumming for Grades 2-6

[nafmeadmin]

Very rarely do I have an entire class have drums all at the same time. I will sometimes do one every three, but doing one every other is the best. I also will have the “waiters” become the teachers. They help the student get into the right position, make sure they are hitting in the right place on the drum and understand the rhythm. I give the students a chance to dialogue with each other and explore the instrument together without restraint (besides not “hurting” the instrument). Then when they hear the wind chimes (or triangle or whatever) they are to sit quietly and wait for the next direction. They love being teachers, but I do have to remind some of them about tone of voice. We don’t want to be bossy, nor do we want to have an “I can’t believe you don’t know this…” kind of voice because everyone is learning. I reward students for being kind and caring when sharing and teaching.

Good luck and have fun!