Body percussion is an important part of music education in early childhood. What is it and how can you introduce young children to it?
Here are some simple tips and ideas for body percussion for kids.
What is Body Percussion?
Body percussion refers to the sounds which are made by body parts such as the hands, feet, fingers and mouth. The body is used like an instrument, to produce rhythmic sounds.
It may be used on its own, or along with music and dance. [source]
What are the 4 Main Body Percussion Sounds?
There are four main sounds that can be produced with body percussion:
- Clapping and tapping
- Stamping (or stomping)
- Patting and slapping
- Snapping (or clicking)
Examples of Body Percussion
Here are some examples of body percussion sounds:
- Clapping hands
- Clicking fingers
- Tapping fingers
- Slapping knees
- Stamping feet
- Popping cheeks
- Patting your head
- Slapping thighs
- Rubbing hands together
What are the Benefits of Body Percussion?
There are many benefits to introducing children to body percussion, such as:
- Learning about rhythm and other musical concepts.
- Being introduced to percussion instruments (instruments that can be hit or shaken to produce a sound).
- Improved auditory discrimination.
- Building fine motor and gross motor coordination.
- Developing body awareness.
- Building social skills as kids work together to create musical sounds.
- Improving attention span and focus.
How Do You Teach Kids Body Percussion?
Incorporating a body percussion lesson is easy and fun to do with preschoolers, toddlers and even older children. It can also be taught at home or in class with simple activities.
Teach kids action songs with words that tell them how to move their bodies (‘we all clap hands together…’) and choose songs that are rhythmic and have a consistent beat to them.
The examples below are common children’s songs and rhymes that your kids will already know, so it will be easy to follow along by substituting with body sounds.
Allow kids to make these sounds together, creating an ensemble so that the whole group is making the same sounds and therefore ‘making music’.
Teach kids what percussion instruments are and how our bodies make sounds similar to these instruments.
Easy Body Percussion Songs and Activities
Here are some simple body percussion activities and songs to try with your kids at home or at school.
1. We All Clap Hands Together
Start introducing the body percussion basics through a simple, repetitive song about the body such as this one. Replace any of the movements in the verses.
We all clap hands together,
We all clap hands together,
We all clap hands together,
As children like to do.
We all stamp feet together,
We all stamp feet together,
We all stamp feet together,
As children like to do.
We all slap knees together,
We all slap knees together,
We all slap knees together,
As children like to do.
We all tap fingers together,
We all tap fingers together,
We all tap fingers together,
As children like to do.
2. This is the Way We Tap Our Fingers
This is another well-known song you can replace the words of. It is originally a song about brushing teeth, washing hands and getting ready in the morning.
This is the way we tap our fingers,
Tap our fingers, tap our fingers.
This is the way we tap our fingers,
While we sing our song.
This is the way we click our tongues, (click)
Click our tongues (click), click our tongues (click).
This is the way we click our tongues (click),
While we sing our song.
This is the way we slap our thighs,
Slap our thighs, slap our thighs.
This is the way we slap our thighs,
While we sing our song.
This is the way we snap our fingers,
Snap our fingers, snap our fingers.
This is the way we snap our fingers,
While we sing our song.
3. If You’re Happy and You Know It
If You’re Happy and You Know It is a favourite among kids. Start with the original first verse and then replace the actions as you go.
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.
If you’re happy and you know it,
And you really want to show it.
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.
4. The Ants Go Marching
This last song is also great for creating body percussion as it has a steady beat, which makes it good for getting a group of children to follow the beat together.
Sing the words as normal and give your kids instructions for each verse, such as tap, clap, stomp or click to the entire verse.
The ants go marching one by one,
Hurrah, hurrah.
The ants go marching one by one,
Hurrah, hurrah.
The ants go marching one by one,
The little one stops to suck his thumb,
And they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the rain.
Boom boom boom.
Here are the words to substitute for the rest of the verses:
Two by two: The little one stops to tie his shoe
Three by three: The little one stops to climb a tree
Four by four: The little one stops to shut the door
Five by five: The little one stops to take a dive
Six by six: The little one stops to pick up sticks
Seven by seven: The little one stops to pray to heaven
Eight by eight: The little one stops to roller skate
Nine by nine: The little one stops to check the time
Ten by ten: The little one stops to shout, “The End!”
5. Play Sounds to Music
Another way to teach body percussion is to listen to music and tap, click, stamp or clap along to the beat.
This is a good way to learn to follow the rhythm of the music.
Play music with different tempos so children get used to speeding up or slowing down as they make sounds with their body parts.
6. Introduce Musical Instruments
Many body percussion sounds closely resemble those of percussion instruments. Teach children to hear the similarities in the different sounds.
Play a musical instrument (or find the tune on YouTube if the instrument is not available), ask your kids to listen to the sound and then make that sound with their bodies. See if they can find a similar sound, then suggest one of these:
- Triangle or finger cymbal – click fingers.
- Bang lightly on a hand drum – tap two fingers of one hand onto the palm of the other hand, or slap the knees.
- Bang on a timpani drum or listen to a gong – stamp feet.
- Hit rhythm sticks together – clap hands.
If you have real instruments available, try playing an ensemble where some children play the instrument to the beat, while others use body percussion.
Or, play a tune that has an instrument playing the beat and use the body to make sounds along with it.
Read about the many benefits of playing with musical instruments.
7. Play Clapping Games
Clapping games are great for teaching rhythm and building a child’s coordination.
Here are some clapping games for kids of all levels, from preschoolers to older kids. Substitute some of the clapping with tapping and clicking to use these songs for body percussion activities.
Those are just a few ideas for incorporating percussion into music and movement for kids.
For more ideas, try these music games.
Source:
“Music in Early Childhood Development and the Foundation Phase“, written by Anet le Roux.
