Black History Month in Music: African Drumming Book and Lesson
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Description
Introduce your students to traditional African drumming and dance with a book, presentation, and drum circle!
First, read the book "Drumbeat in Our Feet" by Julio T. Leitao and Patricia A. Keeler. This book tells the story of preparing for a dance performance and also gives lots of history of African dance and drumming. If you do not have this book, there are read alouds on Youtube.
Next, go through the Powerpoint/Google Slides presentation that gives more information on African drumming.
Finally, try to play a popular shaker pattern and 4 drum patterns using two basic strokes (the tone and bass strokes). There are video clips to help demonstrate how to play each pattern. Once you have tried all the patterns, put them together to create a full performance using a special transition pattern (videos included in the teacher notes section).
I was in a Ghanaian drumming ensemble in college, and the information about drumming, as well as the strokes and patterns, comes straight from my experience with the artist-in-residence group Saakumu Dance Troupe, who taught us about African dance and drumming. The patterns are simplified to be suitable for elementary age students.
Even if you do not have djembes, you can use a desk or table, or hand drums that are elevated enough that you can play on the edge of the drum. The shaker part can be played with maracas or egg shakers. Students will enjoy trying the drum patterns even without authentic instruments!
*Note: the video clips are linked through Youtube, so if your school blocks Youtube, they will not work for you.
When you download this resource, you will receive:
- Powerpoint presentation with video links
- A link to a Google Slides presentation with video links
- A link to a force copy of the Google Slides presentation if you want your own copy
- A "Lesson Steps" outline that includes two more videos (one with the suggested transition pattern, and one with a demonstration of the whole piece), as well as direct links to all the youtube videos
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