Percussion Instruments in the Early Years

Susan Young shares some practical advice.

I’ve just returned from a music education conference in Finland that was held in a jazz and pop music department of a university. There, in the entrance hall, in pride of place was a large kantele, the traditional stringed instrument of Finland which is a bit like a zither. But this was no ordinary kantele, it was a contemporary bass version with amplification, looking a bit like a tall oval, wooden coffee table, strung horizontally on its flat surface. We may have been a bunch of seasoned music educators but we were all drawn to twanging the bass strings as we passed the kantele in the hall. It was irresistible. The sound was amazingly deep and resonant. It was an important reminder to me that sound on its own – just beautiful quality sounds - can be so captivating. Bells that jingle and jangle, the dry tock of a wood block, clacking gourd rattles, the shimmering clang of a cymbal –drawing us in, just to listen and enjoy.

During that same conference, one of the presenters described a project in which children had been listening to sounds through headphones in a structured activity. The aim of the activity had been to match the sounds to visual symbols. But what had interested this researcher had been the way the children listened when they were truly focussed on the sound alone. They stared into space, sitting very still, with an absorbed attention. When did you last listen, I mean really listen, to the quality of sound from an instrument, without distraction? Just to the sound itself. You won’t have a bass amplified kantele in your hallway, but maybe you’ve something close at hand that you know will make a good sound if you tap it, or twang it, or gently shake it. Listen.

Now for a more down-to-earth question. When did you last sort out the musical instrument trolley/box/shelves? I know life is busy. I know there are 101 things on your ‘to do’ list. As part of my freelance work I am fortunate to visit quite a few early years settings and primary schools in different parts of the country and I always take a sneak-peak at where instruments are stored. All too often the musical instruments are chucked in a large plastic box, or carelessly arranged on a trolley, looking unloved and uncared for. Often, too, they are an odd collection of instruments that have been gradually accumulated and may not be the most suitable or the most valuable in terms of children’s music learning. And there may be old instruments that are well past their best, or worse, that are broken.

In this next section I want to turn your attention to the learning purposes that underpin using instruments with young children, because that then guides what instruments you provide and offer to young children - and how to give them opportunities to experience playing instruments and to learn.

Learning Purposes:

• How to listen attentively to a variety of sounds and to sound patterns

• How to handle instruments and to produce sound from instruments: the skills of playing

• How to change the sounds that instruments make e.g. to change the dynamics, to change the quality of the timbre

• How to create short patterns in sounds, or longer structures such as repeats or repeats with changes, or question and answer

• How to play with others – to take turns or to synchronise

• How to improvise longer structures – either individually, or with others

• How to remember music they have made with instruments – so that they can play it again and compare and make decisions about the music they make

• How to name, describe and talk about the music they are making with instruments so that they can communicate their musical ideas

Developing Listening Skills

As I have already mentioned, listening is a particular way of attending to sound – more than simply hearing it, it is a focussed, concentrated, absorbed listening. This kind of focussed listening needs to be supported by the use of quality instruments that make a good sound, used in quiet surroundings without other sounds to distract – near impossible in busy classrooms, I realise, but there can be quieter places and quiet moments. Adults can support by modelling and commenting. In addition to providing children with a model of focussed listening, it is also good pedagogical practice to listen attentively to children and their music-making. Comments can be simple and affirming such as ‘we’re listening’, or directing attention – ‘listen to this very low, rumbling on the drum’. It might be a comment that describes the sound ‘it’s a long, ringing sound’ and its quality – ‘it’s a beautiful, quiet hum’ or the excitement and response ‘oh, what a big loud sound, that surprised me’.

Babies and very young children have extremely good aural perception.They can hear very fine differences in sound. Clever research studies have been designed that have demonstrated the acute aural perception babies possess from birth. What babies and very young children do not yet have, obviously, is a language to communicate what they are hearing. So by all means ask young children to differentiate between sounds –the sound of a woodblock or a triangle, say, but know that what you are asking of them is to learn the names of instruments, it is not an aural differentiation challenge.

Sometimes it’s important for the adult to play an instrument for the children to listen to. It could be a one-to-one moment, or a group. I recently observed a colleague taking her cello out of its case to play for a waiting group of 4 year-olds. The anticipation was palpable as they waited for that first moment when her bow drew across the strings. The thrill, the vibration of the string rippled through the children as they listened, completely rapt in the single sound. It was the same pleasure we as adults experienced as we sidled towards the kantele on our way out of the building, forefinger curling around a thick metal string to give it a firm twang.

Creating a moment of stillness and concentrated listening so that the sound drops into the pool of silence may not always be easy in noisy school environments, but encouraging focussed listening is important. And, OK, if we do need to convince the headteacher or governors of the wider value of music work, then these listening skills bring all round benefits to children in terms of attentiveness for learning.

Developing Playing Skills

All instruments sound best if played with good technique and this applies as much to a shaky egg in the hands of a two-year-old as it does to a concert grand piano by a professional musician. Modelling by adults to demonstrate how to hold, how to shake or strike is helpful. And I would certainly give older children brief instructions, with demonstrations. This is not about snatching the instrument from a child’s hands as soon as they pick it up, intruding on their ability to explore and play freely with instruments or firmly gripping their hands to show them how to hold the beater. But a well-judged brief intervention, a small piece of guidance, modelled or spoken, can make all the difference. Some children, for example, do not realise that to bounce the beater on the keys of a xylophone (or similar instrument) will allow the sound to resonate. Similarly, to strike a bongo with a good, flat-fingered slap produces a satisfying sound.

If instruments are well selected, there are few that can be damaged by playing incorrectly, but children may occasionally do something with an instrument that requires a quick reaction to prevent damage. I remember the time a child was attempting to crack open a maraca to see what was inside by stamping on it. However young children will often incorporate instruments into free play in ways that have little to do with musical explorations. A small drum becomes a bowl for carrying stones. A two-tone woodblock is tucked up in shoe box with a blanket as baby along with a row of dolls. However, one of the reasons I think children often use instruments for other play purposes is because the instruments don’t have enough intrinsic musical interest. I’ll return to that point a little later.

Dealing with noise

Yes, instruments make a noise; sometimes a lot of noise. I’ve thought about this quite a lot over the years. I’ve watched children revel in making huge waves of exuberant sound. There is something thrilling about making a very loud sound. We only have to think of the uplifting excitement of deafening rock concerts, marching bands, or a cathedral organ on full throttle to appreciate this. What interests me too, in visiting a lot of schools and early years settings, is that they vary in how tolerant they are of noise and boisterousness. Some places are placid, calm, the children kept quite restrained and quiet, whereas in others exuberance is not only tolerated, but enjoyed. Of course, the type of accommodation and numbers of children is a big factor here, I do realise. But it’s worth asking yourself about how ‘noise’ is accommodated in your school or your setting. Children ‘being noisy’ is often associated with misbehaviour and effectiveness as a teacher is often judged on having a ‘quiet, settled class’. So teachers can be very wary of children making any kind of noise and that wariness can implicitly spread over into being nervous of noise even when it’s part of a music activity. Going outside for free play instrumental music activities can be one answer. I was shown a video clip of a group of fiveyear-olds who had made their own band outside with several drums and were singing and drumming ‘we will rock you’ on full volume. If noise needs to be reduced, simple strategies such as providing softheaded beaters instead of wooden beaters, reducing the number of instruments being played at any one time, regulating to one or children at a time and so on. These are all basic classroom management techniques which you know already.

Resourcing your classroom

It is often thought that there needs to be enough of one instrument – or similar instruments - for children to have ‘one each’ in group activities. So, for reasons of economy, this can result in a lot of small, cheap, plastic instruments. But even if you want to include an activity with instruments as part of a circle time with a whole class, it is rarely sensible for each child to have one each. It takes time to hand them out and then gather them in again, it’s difficult for children to keep the instrument silent while they wait and the sound of massed maracas or jingly bells or a hotchpotch of mixed percussion instruments is, frankly, rarely very purposeful in music learning terms. It’s easier and preferable to have just a few instruments, or even just one, that are handed on around the group. The ‘handing on’ can become part of the activity - woven into a game or accompanied by a chant or song such as ‘pass the drum along’.

Plastic of course is sensible –because it is sturdy, inert and wipeable – and is certainly practical for any children who may put things in their mouths. But perhaps for reasons of sustainability we should be trying to reduce the amount of small, cheap plastic items and opt for natural materials (wood, gourds, seed pods etc) or fewer, good quality instruments made of recycled plastics and which will last for years. But bear in mind that if any children are still of an age where they like to explore by sucking on them, natural materials are probably not wise, unless varnished. Some of the instruments with metal bells that are often attached with metal staples are also not so practical with babies and toddlers.

In most early years settings, or lower primary classrooms, children are given access to musical instruments for free play. This needs some thought. Ideally the instrument setup is changed quite frequently, part of a regular planning decision. One week a xylophone with beaters may be set out on a table, and all other instruments put away. Another week, varied percussion instruments are arranged along a child-height shelf.

During a Summer week, a range of drums are positioned in the outdoor play area. Another week Montessori bells are placed on a table with a member of staff ready to work with children as they explore the pitches and line them up pitch-wise. Another week maybe there are no instruments made accessible, but a listening to recorded music activity with headphones is the focus. All too often the central tables in an early years setting are preserved for certain types of activities – paper and pencil, making and modellingand other types of activity always relegated to the margins. Children quickly learn which types of activities receive more adult attention than others and all too often play with musical instruments remains a marginalised activity. Good, then, to sometimes bring a musical instrument activity to a table with adult attention.

Babies and toddlers will be fascinated and intrigued by a basket of items that make an interesting variety of sounds produced by different ways of playing with them. They need to be able to grasp the items, obviously, and to shake, crinkle, scrunch and tap together. Larger, solid instruments that sit on the floor such as a gathering drum or a tongue drum are very good because babies and toddlers can pull themselves to standing position and lean on it, as well as gather round to tap.

In selecting instruments, the first question is does it make a good sound? Ask yourself - do you like the sound? Does it interest you? Can you produce a good sound with a relatively simple technique? Can you change how it sounds to produce variety?

The second question is, what musical play potential does it have? A maraca or a jingle bell, for example, can only be shaken, there’s not a lot you can do with it. In contrast, consider bongos – the two headed drum, which can be played in all kinds of ways – one hand, two hands, hands alternate, hands together, and each drum head has a different pitch. The musical play potential is far greater than a maraca.Tongue drums, both the wooden and metal type are a great example of a robust instrument which has a lot of intrinsic musical interest.

Will your selected instruments offer a range of sounds? Do you have instruments that make: wooden, dry sounds; ringing, metal sounds; scratchy, rasping sounds; resonant, drum sounds; pitched sounds? And do you have instruments that produce a lower, more resonant pitch? A lot of instruments for young children are small in size, so therefore make a high pitched, thin sound. Aim to buy some larger, deeper pitched instruments. There are, for example, some large, single wooden xylophone bars on a resonance box, that make a wonderful sound or some big, deep resonant drums.

Barred instruments provide children with that all important experience of starting to discriminate between pitches and to explore melody A first reaction when playing a xylophone is for children to play randomly, but this is often quickly followed by playing each note in turn from the bottom to the top. Chime bars enable children to play with fewer, selected pitch notes.Personally I’ve never liked the sound of chime bars and they must be played with rubber beaters, and not wooden, or the sound is harsh. A wooden xylophone – ideally an alto diatonic xylophone - is an expensive, but worthwhile investment. That the keys can be lifted off the pins can be a nuisance, as children become distracted by the fun of taking them off and on again. A balafon, a traditional instrument from West Africa region, has keys which are held in place by lacing which makes a very good alternative to a xylophone and has a beautiful sound. Barred instruments with metal keys which resonate, such as metallophone, are less useful as the resonance blurs the pitches.

Thinking momentarily beyond percussion instruments - blown instruments are obviously a liability because of sucking and germs, but I bought some small ocarinas that are on a string that children can wear around their necks, like a lanyard. The children could ask for one to wear for a morning, and then return to a ‘used’ basket so that they could be washed in hot water, or, if you prefer, dipped in a dilute sterilizing liquid. The sound of ocarinas is not shrill and the finger holes easy to use in order to change the pitch. Tin whistles (yes, a more piercing sound I realise) or even mouth organs can be alternatives. I only ever brought out the blown instruments occasionally, because of the faff of cleaning them, but the opportunities for children to explore melody, quietly on their own, made the trouble of them worthwhile in my opinion.

Essential Resources:

• Egg shakers

• Gathering Drum Bongos

• Tall djembe

• Alto xylophone

• Metal bells of various types

• Ghungroo - Indian anklet bells;

• Seed pod rattles and gourd rattles

• Two-tone Wood block

• Small-sized cabasa

• Shekere

• Tongue Drum – ideally a wooden one and a metal one

Gather together a selection of beaters from small wooden headed ones, through rubber of different densities, to hard felt and soft felt. They can be stored upright in a large tin. An interesting activity is to listen to the effect of striking an instrument with different types of beater.

Instruments to avoid

In my sneak-peaks at instrument collections when I visit schools I almost always see certain instruments that I think are not so suitable and I am going to discuss some examples – not to be negative, but to prompt careful thinking in selecting instruments. Often I see small metal glockenspiels, the type that often have coloured metal keys and are played with a pair of small wooden beaters. They are little more than lightweight toys. Unless they have thick metal keys, the sound is thin and tinny.

Tambourines are very tricky to play. They need to be held in one hand on the rim which is often too wide for young children to grip and require a strong wrist action. Usually they are too big and heavy for children to hold and play well. I once had a very small tambourine with bright, lightsounding jingles that young children could hold easily and if you can find small versions, they may be worthwhile including in your instrument resources.

Maracas come in pairs, and each one has a very slightly different pitch and requires a quick jerking action of the wrist to play. There are small plastic ones which are ideal as shakers for very small children or some nice gourd and wooden ones which might be suitable for older children. However, the main reservation I have with maracas is that they have very little musical play potential.

Activity Idea

This is a group activity with instruments. Imagine a group of ten 5-year-olds sitting in a circle.In the middle of the circle is a large plastic box of varied, carefully chosen handheld percussion instruments.The teacher whizzes around the circle and places an instrument in front of every other child on the floor – five different instruments: a two-tone woodblock, a heavy Chinese bell, a small tambour, a small guiro and a small cabasa. She then asks the children if they think the instruments can be picked up silently? Which instruments are difficult to pick up, to hold and keep silent? Her aim is to begin with silence and attentive listening.She then asks the children to find one tiny sound they can make with an instrument – each in turn, passing them on.What I have found is that the children watch one another intently as each tries to produce one small sound. Sometimes the instrument doesn’t sound, or it makes an unexpected sound. Remember that children can learn as much by watching others do something, as by attempting it themselves. Restricting how much they play in a group activity may seem to be very controlling – but it is not depriving them of a hands-on learning experience. To just bishbash-bosh instruments freely in a group is not very productive in learning terms and can become frustrating for everyone.The teacher then invites them to make one loud sound each in turn around the circle.

They will become excited by the loud sounds but hand-held instruments can rarely make such a loud sound that any children sensitive to loud sounds are upset. The teacher asks the children which instrument(s) could make the loudest sound, and which are less easy to play loudly. She models ways to hold and play certain instruments and uses the names of instruments, and introduces some of the vocabulary for playing actions and the qualities of sound.

Next she introduces a simple rhyme – ‘I was walking in the jungle (or forest if you prefer) and I heard a strange sound’ with a 4 beat gap after the rhyme. First the children practise chanting the rhyme and feeling the 4 beat gap. Then they take it in turns to improvise with an instrument in the gap. As they repeat the rhyme – several times so that the children become secure with the rhythmic patterning and become more adventurous with their improvising - she starts to vary the tempo and the dynamics, so that the children pick up these musical changes in their improvisations.

The teacher made sure the children swapped instruments several times during the session so that they are not just playing the same instrument all the time. Returning the instruments to the box also become a game. Can you dance and play, jump and play, do a funny walk and play – to bring your instrument back to the box?