Beats & Rhythms from Around the World

Subject areas: Music & Geography
Take a trip around the world through rhythm! Help children in 1st - 6th Class learn all about drumming and rhythmic music styles from around the world with these great classroom resources and at-home activities.

Our Beats & Rhythms from Around the World pack is designed to help you use percussion as a way to teach music in the classroom. The activities and rhythms chosen come from many different parts of the world, including West Africa, Jamaica, Brazil and The Middle East. You can use this pack to take your class on a fascinating global journey where they will discover both the universality as well as the diversity of percussion music in different cultures.

These activities can be used to explore all three strands of the music curriculum with a particular emphasis on the Performing strand as well as Listening and Responding. The emphasis of music from around the world also provides opportunities for linkage to other subjects such as Geography, History, Physical Education (especially the Dance strand) as well as SPHE.

The pack was created by percussionist Robbie Harris.

The Ark @ Home

If you prefer, as part of The Ark @ Home, we have adapted some of the activities in the Beats & Rhythms from Around The World classroom pack specifically for home use, which may be simpler for children to engage with on their own or with family members in their homes. Find out more here.