Welcome to the Percussion Play Blog
We hope you'll be a regular visitor as we share stories about the instruments we make and the people who play them.
This is where we share our passion for music in the great outdoors! We'll share with you details of exciting new outdoor music projects and designs from around the globe. We'll share with you information about the instruments we sell and a little about the inspiration behind them
Most importantly, this blog is about what we love to do the most - help you create new and exciting ways to bring music to the great outdoors.
Thank you for reading, visiting, commenting and contributing - we’re excited to have you here!
Escape the Sales and Join the #OptOutside Movement This Black Friday
Our love of the great outdoors is something that has driven us for over 12 years. It’s why we do what we do: design outdoor musical instruments that enable more of you to enjoy music-making outside in the fresh air and elements.
Many families spend the day after Thanksgiving starting their holiday shopping, waking up at the crack of dawn to nab deals, and standing in long lines. While there's nothing wrong with that, we think you might enjoy doing something a bit more creative and memorable this year. And in these days of screens and computer games, the chance to spend quality time together often isn’t even on the menu for many busy families. But kids, adults, people, don’t want or need more stuff, more presents, more screens, and screen-time, they want more joy, more connection, more family time, time with friends, time outdoors. Time.
We value the great outdoors and all the positive physical and mental wellbeing it provides. If the past 18 months has taught us anything, it’s...
Democratising Music on Universal Children's Day
Investing in our future means investing in our children — which is why the United Nations has designated every November 20 as Universal Children’s Day. It’s a time to promote togetherness around the world, awareness of the problems children face in every corner of the globe, and improve the welfare for all children. It began in 1954 and November 20 is also the date that the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, which came into force in 1990.
Article 29 of the Convention states education must develop every child’s personality, talents, and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.
In celebration of Universal Children’s Day, we are raising awareness on the importance music plays in a healthy childhood, and how we need to protect the rights and freedom to access music and music-making for all children and young...
Veteran's Day Blog: How Music and Music Therapy can relieve Symptoms of PTSD
We are seeing an ever-increasing interest in our inclusive outdoor instruments, particularly when used for therapy. Some Veterans returning from serving their country require treatments to help relieve the symptoms of PTSD, which is a psychiatric condition that can occur in people with personal experiences of severe trauma, either first or second hand. PTSD often develops immediately following the traumatic event/s, but some sufferers (around one in five) experience symptoms with delayed-onset, often not surfacing for years after the event/s.
Symptoms of PTSD may vary in frequency and severity. Symptoms include intrusive thoughts, such as the involuntary recollection of disturbing or upsetting sensory memories: visual (iconic), aural (echoic), tangible (haptic), or a combination of all three. These intrusive thoughts, in their more severe forms, can present themselves as distressing dreams or flashbacks, which can appear to the sufferer so vividly that it may feel as though the sufferer...
Outdoor Classroom Day 2021 - Getting Back into the Great Outdoors
Originally starting as Empty Classroom Day, Outdoor Classroom Day is now a global campaign to celebrate and inspire outdoor learning and play. On this day, thousands of schools around the world take lessons outdoors and prioritize playtime, encouraging their students to enjoy just being outside, being with other children, and getting out in all kinds of weather.
The movement for outdoor learning is the brainchild of environmental educator Anna Portch, who started the project in 2012. The original aim was for every school in London to take one extra lesson outside on the same day of the year. At first, it attracted the attention of just a handful of schools in London, however by 2017, over 2.3 million children worldwide took part in upwards of 100 countries and more than 580,000 of those were in the UK and Ireland and 200,000 in Australia. Today, over 9.6 million children and more than 105,000 teachers, parents,...
Percussion Play Voted Industry Star in 2021 WorkL Workplace Awards
Percussion Play is very proud to be voted an 'Industry Star' in the WorkL Workplace Awards 2021. These awards recognize organizations that have achieved consistently high levels of employee engagement in 2020-2021.
Supported by The Telegraph, the awards highlight UK employers with high workplace satisfaction scores, based on a staff survey. Winners were awarded gold, silver, and bronze status depending on their overall scores, as well as the top performers or 'Industry Stars' across the 26 industry categories.
Employees were asked via a survey to rank a range of aspects about their job, employer and workplace, to deliver an overall engagement score at work. The employee survey measured the engagement, happiness, and well-being of our workforce as well as how inclusive we are.
Percussion Play was recognized as an Industry Star in the Advanced Manufacturing and Services Category alongside industry giants Boeing and Tesla.
Jody Ashfield, Founder, and CEO of Percussion Play says...
Percussion Play is Visited by Nigel Atkinson Esq, HM Lord-Lieutenant and Officially Presented With The Queen's Award
The Percussion Play team today received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise at their offices in Froxfield, near Petersfield, Hampshire.
The award was presented by Nigel Atkinson Esq, HM Lord-Lieutenant along with The Deputy Lieutenant, The Rt Hon the Earl of Portsmouth.
Percussion Play is the winner of the 2021 Queen’s Award for Enterprise – one of the highest accolades and most prestigious awards a UK-based company can win. They were informed that Her Majesty The Queen had approved the Prime Minister’s recommendation that they should receive a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category, in acknowledgment of their outstanding growth in overseas sales over the past three years.
There were 205 recipients of the award in the UK in 2021, with 4 of those businesses based in Hampshire.
The visit saw the founders of Percussion Play, Robin and Jody Ashfield, demonstrate the instruments to HM Lord-Lieutenant, creating music on the popular Duo and then giving...