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!
Fun Halloween Activity for the Outdoor Music Classroom
Here is a fun Halloween music activity that you can do with your class using your outdoor musical instruments that will teach rhythm while scaring the pants off them! Sounds thrilling? Take a look!
It is a familiar game, similar to ‘What’s The Time Mr Wolf’, but with musical instruments, uses listening skills and has a Halloween twist!
Their task — or the "trick" — is to match the rhythm with the character shown on the cards.
A little preparation is required. Before playing the game you need to print the rhythm cards from the Halloween rhythm sheet below. Mount the sheet on card and cut it into five, for the different characters.
Spend a little time teaching, demonstrating and practicing each character’s rhythm, so that the children can begin to recognise which character is which.
How to Play: Place the cards into a bag or hat and place it near the outdoor musical instruments. One child is chosen to be the ‘witch’ and sits a little way from the musical instruments. The...
Inspired by Tradition – Harmony Outdoor Xylophone
Along with rice, another crop harvested in Vietnam is bamboo. Bamboo has long been used as an assembly material in Asia because of its versatility and it has numerous uses. After it is split, bamboo can be used for fences, baskets, and mats. The stems can make simple furniture, hunting implements, traps and musical instruments.
Two of the most popular traditional folk instruments in Vietnam are made from bamboo—the bamboo flute and the bamboo ‘hanging’ xylophone. The flute is found in most regions, while the xylophone hails from the mountainous region and is called a T’Rung. The T’Rung is an idiophone, percussive instrument made from lengths of bamboo in differing sizes. Traditionally, the T’rung would be suspended at the top from a tree and bound to the players belly at the bottom. It would be played with two double sticks which perfectly cover the range of one octave. After playing it would be rolled up and carried away on the players back.
The design of Percussion Play’s...
Sound Playgrounds: Music Solutions for Outdoor Areas
The good news is that it doesn't have to be complicated or too expensive to add music to your outdoor space. This article gives seven ways to easily add music or provide musical solutions for your outdoor area.
For Darker Areas or Where Space is Limited Our Mirror Chimes will reflect light, the surrounding environment as well as the players for an added fun element, visual stimulation and promote self-awareness. What a ‘bright’ idea! Great for a courtyard garden or sensory area. Arranged in the pentatonic c-major scale (C3-C5) their universal mounting brackets allow them to be fixed to virtually any surface.
For an Easy Installation with a BIG Sound Integrate drumming and music-making to the great outdoors with our Trio of Conga Drums. Conga Drums are a pair of single headed drums mounted onto a single stainless steel post to be installed directly into the ground – that’s six drums to play but only three holes to dig!
Drumming has many...
Making Music: A Peek Inside Percussion Play Workshop
Take a peek inside our workshop, meet the team and see our experts in action.
Designing outdoor musical instruments takes planning, knowledge and imagination, but what's even more impressive is the actual making - maybe a much more industrial yet craftsman-like process than you'd imagine. All Percussion Play instruments are designed and produced by dedicated and highly skilled craftsmen in the beautiful county of Hampshire right here in the heart of the United Kingdom. Delivering musical instruments to the world which are fun and exciting but sound amazing too. Because like you, we love music.
We are focused team and thrive on encouraging individuals to flourish in their music making. It all starts with having a go, and to have a go we need access to good musical instruments in our communities. We’ve designed a whole host of exciting user-friendly instruments that kids and adults can use to explore the joy of composing and music making in our open spaces; playgrounds, forests and...
Rio World Cup & The Musical Instruments Of Brazil
Love them or hate them, the World Cup in South Africa was echoed by the sound of the vuvuzelas. So what’s the sound in Rio? Well, apparently it’s the ‘Caxirola’ - a rattle type instrument based on the Caxixi, one of the many traditional instruments used in Brazilian music.
Over the last several hundred years, instruments from various countries have influenced Brazil's music styles and sounds. Like the vibrancy of the culture, the music of Brazil is equally diverse, full of energy and life. Music is heard everywhere in Brazil, bars, cafes and restaurants, sporting events, beaches, homes and businesses. It's part and parcel of Brazilian culture and lifestyle. Carnivals and festivals are huge events in Brazil and music is always a big part of those celebrations.
There are many different instruments used to make the beautiful music of Brazil, each creating unusual and eclectic sounds and rhythms but the most popular or well-known Brazilian musical instruments are used in Capoeira...
Why Outdoor Musical Instruments Are Not Just For Kids!
We’ve had some wonderful comments and photos of the outdoor instruments installed on Boscombe pier musical trail. Interestingly it seems the adults are enjoying them just as much as the children, always taking a casual glance around them first to see if anyone is watching before they start playing. I wonder why? Whoever said adults couldn't have fun in public? Children jump at the opportunity to make lots and lots of noise, learning how to create their own unique music, however what makes us adults hesitate first?
I've been told that improvisation can be more difficult as an adult. It can be hard for someone to open up and allow the ‘improv’ to come through. Similarly, adults usually find it more difficult than children to learn a new musical instrument, not because they haven’t got the ability, but often because they are more self-conscious about sounding like a beginner and making mistakes. On the other hand, children don’t have these negative thoughts in their minds, as...