| Title |
Description |
Example exercises |
Time required |
| Team building |
Using the metaphor of music to
strengthen a team’s connection, build morale, and assist
them in reaching their highest creative potential. How
to take a creative collective risk whilst communicating
with the group and staying in time |
One team member comes up with a rhythm,
maybe using a word phrase as a starting framework. Other
members improve that phrase one by one which becomes our
signature rhythm. After the first activity, which concentrates
on building the rhythm a second activity gets the team
to start to miss out more and more parts of the rhythm.
The team need to use as many other communication methods as they
can to encourage each person to remember which part comes
next and keep in time together.
Another variation is based on the Grandfathers Bag game. The team creates
a ‘bag’ of rhythms and phrases together that have to be
remembered in sequence. Each member has to use all their
skills to help the others remember the drum phrases as
the rhythm becomes more complex. Other tools can be used
to aid group memory and develop learning such as word
phrases placed on a white board. |
20 minutes – 1 hour |
| Change Reaction |
Designed for teams facing changes.
By speeding up or slowing down we examine and practice
a team’s strategy for adjusting to the rhythm of a changing
workplace |
The
team starts
with one rhythm and the facilitator instigates a change
to another – there maybe a number of changes within the
piece. Each change becomes more and more extreme. With
each rhythmic change the team improves their readiness
for the next change. The exercise starts with the drum
leader making the rhythmic changes but progresses to team
members facilitating change. |
15 – 30 minutes |
| Relax into Rhythm |
Meditative
percussion session exploring practical relaxation techniques |
Team members play
a very simple pattern in unison for at least 15 minutes
non-stop. This will seem like a very long time to play
exactly the same pattern. However the exercise is a very
powerful tool. Members have to discipline themselves and
concentrate hard before they can free their minds and
relax into the pattern. This signifies the communal breakthrough
resulting in a dynamic team bond that is both fulfilling
and relaxing. Participants often get a sense of feeling
separated from their limbs. Additional meditative relaxation
techniques involving rhythm can be facilitated by our
drum leaders. |
20 – 45 minutes |
| Drums and Training Tools |
Exploring tools such as MBTI,
Belbin and learning styles through drumming |
This
exercise uses the visual imagery of the
a well known corporate logo i.e. four pieces of a visual symbol that fit
together. The delegates are split into four small teams
which creates a four part rhythm. The teams learn to understand
the different weights of responsibility of the differing
drumming patterns. Each sound is essential to the whole.
Teams may be given drums with opposing sounds; each participant
is then asked to change role by swapping instruments or
parts. The team can then identify who is best suited to
playing each part.
A number of questions can
be reflected on by the team after this exercise takes
place:
·
Who on your team usually sets the pace?
·
Who on your team is most comfortable "improvising?"
- How do you usually respond to a given task?
- Where do you look for guidance
and leadership when learning a new task?
|
30 minutes – 1 hour |
| Wellness and/or Motivation |
Using particularly physical body
and hand percussion creativity to stimulate positive endorphin
release. Discover how music and drums can be such useful
tools for stress reduction, health and wellbeing. This
session is upbeat and lively, a very positive experience
for all. |
Two
or three different rhythms are created to explore
how each makes the participants feel. The first is a lethargic
“un-motivating” rhythm, the next a vigorous march that
wears the team out very quickly, and lastly a samba-style
stimulating rhythm. This last rhythm is something that
‘swings’ and creates and releases a highly positive atmosphere
for all involved. The group is then encouraged to reflect
on how each rhythm made them feel. |
20 - 45 minutes |
| Stress relief |
Exploring the value of rest, priority
setting and directed concentration |
The drums are played fast then
played slowly in an exploration of how pace makes each
member feel. The group plays together then the facilitator
‘pulls and pushes’ the rhythm with a cow bell to try to
throw the team off. As a consequence they ‘dig’ into the
beat. After a while the distraction becomes less as the
team learns to focus on their parts. |
20 - 30 minutes |
| Drumming up creativity |
Exploring team and individual
creativity through rhythm taking creative risks |
The
group plays together before the group members are invited
to play solos in turns whilst the facilitator keeps time
with a cow bell. There are no rules on how a solo is played
(and it may be visual rather than aural). Individuals
are encouraged to be as creative as they like. A party
atmosphere is created as the whole group is exhorted to
spur each other on, for instance by applause or verbal
encouragement.
Please note that as this can be a vulnerable
session for participants we recommend that it is conducted
in a secondary session |
20 –
45 minutes |
| Listening |
Improve listening skills through
drumming. This exercise will allow quieter participants
the space to take a lead role while other more forthright
members learn to hold back. Ideal for those in management
or coaching roles as well as frontline staff |
Everyone
plays their own part in the full drum circle. The facilitator
will highlight certain parts that may go unnoticed and
get other members to reinvent their own rhythms to fit
the new groove. |
20 -
30 minutes as part of the main drum circle |
| Taking my place |
Addressing team roles and leadership |
Getting individuals to set simple
and complex rhythm patterns to explore how a team will
follow. The facilitator interjects positive rhythm changes
to enhance the whole sound as well as distracting contributions
that cause team friction |
20 - 45 minutes |
| Empathy |
Using a similar exercise to the
above to help each member understand the differing contribution
of others |
|
20 - 45 minutes |
| Visualization |
Exercises to explore a practical
situation to improve understanding and our potential feelings
and reactions |
The facilitator creates a narrative
using words and rhythm and the team uses their imaginations
to visualize the story outcomes and their responses towards
it in rhythm. Eg. A walk in the jungle or a relevant workplace “story”
or situation |
20 - 40 minutes |
| Diversity |
Celebrating diversity and bringing
unity through the drum circle. Ideal for diverse groups
in terms of age, culture or background |
As part
of the general drum circle get diverse people groups to
work out rhythms together in pairs and build their rhythms
together to ‘play off’ one another’s contributions |
20 –
45 minutes |
| Flexibility |
Building personal and team flexibility
through drumming |
Talk about time changes in both
rhythm and life. For example, how the body changes it’s
sleep rhythm when entering a new geographic time zone.
The group builds one rhythm and then a completely new
rhythm in a different time signature. The challenge is
in crossing from one to the other smoothly. |
20 - 45 minutes |
| Storm |
Conflict
resolution |
This
exercise shows how a dominant rhythm can interrupt. The
team builds up a rhythm, which the facilitator then ‘fights’
with a cow bell. The group perseveres and works out how
the new rhythm can be integrated or discarded. Alternatively, the facilitator can simply
demonstrate the sounds of rhythmic conflict versus cohesion. |
20 - 45 minutes |
| Conscious Competence |
An exploration into the benefits
of training and self awareness |
This
exercise is split into three short segments. The team
plays an ensemble drum piece together firstly with no
guidance at all, secondly with some initial training and
lastly after specific individual help from the drum facilitator.
The idea is to move participants from unconscious incompetence
to conscious competency. |
20 -
40 minutes (or alternatively interweaved throughout a
day’s training activity) |
