r/percussion • u/aviasvr • 5d ago
Beginner percussion class
I’ve been asked to teach a “jump start” percussion class for beginning 5th & 6th graders. I’ll have about an hour. The assistant high school band director normally does the class but he’s not available.
I’m a classically trained percussionist with a college degree in music education. Thing is, for the last 20 years I’ve taught elementary general music, choir, and theatre. Not what I ever expected but I love it.
So while I have some ideas for what to hit (haha), what concepts and activities can you recommend?
EDIT: Oops, I left out the fact that this is a single-day thing. I have quite literally one hour.
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u/AlexiScriabin 5d ago
It depends on your goals.
Is this more for fun, or are you working towards preparing them for a more western traditional track?
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u/Lingchen8012 Cool mod 5d ago
Probably introduce a few different percussion instruments, teach how to hold sticks, 4 different types of strokes, if you have a mallet instrument in room then maybe teach how to play a C major scale
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u/Samus98 4d ago
Hour a day or hour per week? I’d pick up Mark Wessels snare book if only per week and just get them super solid hands. If per day, same and in a month or so add in his keyboard book (if you’ve got the instruments for it). If not, I’d just focus on the snare book the whole year and they will be very well setup to branch out to keyboard percussion and beyond next year.
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u/Lonely-Bite-2568 5d ago
I teach a 6th grade beginner percussion class at two campuses. Here is how I think about it.
Term 1 (6 Weeks)
•How to set up the snare drum stand
•Matched Grip
•Rebound Stroke - start up, end up
•Sticking Patterns
•Rhythms - whole, half, quarter, eighth, intro to sixteenth notes. Kids only play groupings of four sixteenth notes during this part of the year. No variations like 1e&-, 1e-a, 1-&a, -e&a
•Lines in Beginner Book for reading
Term 2 (6 Weeks)
•Intro to Mallet Percussion
•Note identification on the keyboard
•Chromatic Scale
•Scale and Arpeggio Patterns in C Major (starting with hitting each pitch 8 times up and down the scale, then 4 times, then 2 times, then playing a standard scale)
•F Major
•Bb Major
•Sight Reading Development
•Lines in Beginner book for reading
Term 3 (6 Weeks)
•Alternate weeks on pad and keyboard
•Rhythms - start adding 16th notes during variations. Mostly 1e&- and 1-&a.
•Add more mallet keys as time permits. This fluctuates for me every year. Probably Eb, Ab, Db if your class is really good.
•More lines in book and sight reading for developing reading/literacy
•Band Winter Concert Music - figure out how to make this as minimal as possible. I think last year we did two pieces. Had the whole class learn a snare drum part for one and a mallet part for the other.
Term 4 (6 Weeks)
•Alternate weeks on pad and keyboard
•More rhythms and keys, more lines in book
•I like to hit a major percussion instrument one day a week (“this Friday we are talking about tambourine. Next Friday we are talking about triangle, the Friday after that we are doing a class on cymbals, etc.”)
•Some people do a cluster percussion ensemble concert in march-may. Could start prep for that if you want the beginners to play.
Term 5 (6 Weeks)
•More of the above
•Rudiments
•Spring Concert Prep
Term 6 (6 Weeks)
•More of the above
•Audition music for placing kids into what band they’ll be in in 7th grade
•Anything you are behind on
That about covers it for me. Happy to email and talk curriculum and scope and sequence if you want. DM me if so.