Posture, had position/grip and freedom of movement
- Play with more control of the body:
- using an appropriate and functional posture
- sitting or standing in a way that enables freedom of movement and weight distribution
- Play with more control of the hands:
- maintaining an appropriate grip when playing with sticks/mallets, with relaxed wrists, arms and shoulders
- maintaining an appropriate hand position when playing without sticks
- developing instrument-specific independent movement of hands as appropriate to the instrument (e.g. tamborim)
Discuss the differences between good and poor posture. Ask learners to demonstrate good posture and to correct poor posture, either their own or that illustrated by the teacher.
Link posture to sound so that learners understand the purpose – e.g. with djembes, we must sit up to hold the djembe correctly, and we must tilt the djembe to get a better sound.
As the music becomes more demanding look out for lapses in posture, grip, hand position and tone production.
Encourage learners to play in front of a mirror to develop more awareness of posture.
Video-recording could also be used for this purpose, but it is vital to check the policy of the school or other organisation you are working in with regards to any form of recording. Children must never be videoed without parental consent and all policies regarding use and storage of recordings must be adhered to.
Help learners to develop an awareness of how the instruments need to be set up/adjusted to facilitate playing.
It is important that the instruments are adjusted correctly to ensure that learners play with ease and control.
Ask learners to observe and listen to the teacher playing with the sticks held correctly and incorrectly (or, if playing without sticks, with different hand positions), listening to and evaluating the different sounds in various pieces.
Ask learners to observe and listen to the teacher playing on different points of the instrument(s), listening to and evaluating the different sounds.
On the drum kit, encourage learners to experiment with heel up and heel down bass drum techniques.
Be aware of learners’ individual physical characteristics and make adaptations as appropriate.
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