Drums/Keyboards:

Experience Design: Intro to Keyboard and Drums

Designers: Emily Bryson (Drumset), Molly Cahlink (Hand Drums), Lucy Moss (Keyboard),
Rachel Pennington (Keyboard), Alexis Anderson, and Nikki Shawn

Summary/ Overview:
This activity will be reviewing, or learning, chords on keyboards, how to play drums, and hand
drums. The goal is for learners to feel comfortable with each instrument. Learners will
understand basic chords on piano, including D, G, and C. Also learn three different rhythmic
patterns on hand drums, and why each are important. Finally be able to successfully use a drum
set and understand how it works. The leaders of the project will all show the learners how to
play the song when we begin, and then divide into different areas and teach the learners.
Finally, at the end, learners will join together to play, or “jam” altogether.

Rationale:
This experience takes place with the goal of enjoying music in mind. While we are teaching the
participants of both locations about the keyboard and drums, we do not expect them to be able
to, or want to, master these instruments. Our hopes are that they will be able to connect to each
other, and us, through music that they enjoy and can relate to. Also, we hope that they can find
peace and contentment within themselves through music, and can utilize music in the future to
help process and communicate their emotions. Overall, we hope our love of music can be
shared with them, and that they learn something exciting and new along the way!

Standards:
VA Standards: MG.2 The student will echo, read, and perform rhythms and rhythmic patterns,
including whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, dotted half notes, dotted quarter
notes, and corresponding rests.
MG.12 The student will begin to use articulations, dynamic contrasts, and phrasing as means of
expression.
MG.13 The student will perform and improvise simple rhythmic and melodic examples in
call-and response styles

I Can Statements:
I can differentiate rhythms and melodies in music by ear
I can both echo drum patterns as well as create patterns that I believe fit in a given song
I can play a basic chord progression, and apply it in a multitude of songs

Materials and Visual Aids:

Keyboard
Drumset
Hand drums
Detailed Process:
Introductions;
Each of us will explain who we are, and what we are going to teaching today. “Hi we are
________, and we are from the JMU school of music. Tonight you are going to be learning
about 3 different types of instruments.” We each then will explain what instruments we will be
teaching. We will then talk about how our end goal of this is not for everyone to be perfect, but
to have fun learning something. We are here to have our learners enjoy music, and not feel
pressured to be perfect, because none of us are.

Perform songs chosen by the participants

As a group we will each get our instruments and perform the songs as a group. Let us
note this performance will be very informal and not perfect, as we are are still learning these
instruments ourselfs.

Split ourselves into groups

We then will tell everyone to pick a station. Make sure everyone is equally divided
between each group. Note that drums can be near hand drums because of the limited amount
of things we have.

Hand Drum
Introduce the different parts of the Hand Drum. The top, and the side. Talk about the tonal
differences in each part.
Have learners place the drum in between their legs and explain why you hold it that way
Explain the parts in which you hit the drum with your hand
Demonstrate a Bass Tone, Mute Tone, Open Tone
Exhibit how different tones are with the palm of a hand, fingers and a slap on the hand drum
sound
Learn how to make a musical sequence using different rhythmic patterns to “Sweet Home
Alabama”
Practice each sequence slowly and then gradually increase tempo
Ask if there are any questions about the hand drum
If time is allowed learn to play another song on the hand drum

Drumset
I’ll begin by slowly demonstrating a simple pattern on the drumset, one that I learned the first
time I ever played!
After demonstrating it once at tempo, I will then slow it down so that the learner can visualize
every action I make.
Then it is his turn to play! I will hand over the drumsticks, and assist him in pointing out each
movement one by one, if needed
I will help the learner to change his tempo, and alternate the pattern in any way he desires.
If, at this point, the learner shows skill and some boredom, I plan to challenge them and see
what other patterns they want to learn!
One thing I have learned about drums, that I will then teach, is that most percussionists do not
follow the sheet music when using a drum set. The excitement is in how the learner hears the
drum part fitting into the songs, and with the instruments around them
At this point, I will sing as the learner decides how he thinks the drum should sound with the
song. He is also welcome to explore the different parts of the drum, that I can name as he
begins incorporating them into his own pattern.
Keyboard:
We will begin by demonstrating the three different chords, and the correct fingering for each of
them
After we have showed them how to play the chord progression, we will allow them to play
around on the keyboard and allow for their individualized learning. We will be walking around if
anyone has questions, or can’t figure something out, but this allotted time is meant to be more
informal.
After they have had some time to play around with the three different chords, D, G, and C, we
will play each one individually together to make sure everyone is playing the right thing
After we have gone through each chord, we will put them all together at a slower tempo, but in
the same progression as it appears in the song
Once they have gotten the hang of that, we will speed it up to the regular tempo of the song
After this, we will both sing and play all together at normal speed
We will ask if they have any questions, and if there’s anything else about the keyboard they
want to learn
If time allows, we will learn other songs like-
Travelin Soldier - Dixie Chicks
In Color - Jamey Johnson
Not ready to make nice- Dixie Chicks
Mr. Jones - Counting Crows

At the end:
In the remaining time we will come back all together and jam, if people want to rotate
instruments, we can gladly do that.
After ask if people feel like they got to explore things outside their comfort zone? What was the
something they learned/gained from this experience? What could have we done differently
to help?

Assessment:
For hand drums I will listen and look for hand positioning, and tonality from the drum. This will
be an informal assessment.
For keyboarding, we will check to see if they are able to play through different chords for various
songs, and transition between them
For the drumset, I will see how well they are able to play the given pattern, improvise, and keep
a steady beat.
Extensions:
At the end of this experience, if we have made it through the whole song learning the chords
and rhythms on the drum, we will include another song that they can learn that also includes the
same chords and progression. We can take any questions the participants may have, and make
sure all of their needs have been met.

Accommodations:
Size
If any of the chords are too big of a stretch for any of the learners to reach, we will have them
just play the tonic, or the root of the chord
Sometimes the entire drum set can be intimidating, so I will begin with focusing on 3 drums, and
allowing the learner to explore with more as they gain confidence and familiarity.
Color
On the keyboard, we will color coordinate each of the chords for the songs played, so the
learners will be able to tell which chord they are playing and learning just by the colors
On the drumset, colors will be provided to describe each drum in a simple way. For example the
snare drum may have a blue sticker on it, indicating that when I say blue, the snare should be
played.
Pacing
Although we only have a limited amount of time, we want to make sure that each learner fully
understands the chords, fingering, and progression of the song
Throughout this experience, we will go around and make sure that each of the learners is able
to comfortably transition between chords, and they understand which chord to play at what
times
If they are struggling with the chords or transitions, we will go slower and make sure everyone
understands before we move on to a different section
Luckily, the drum set can be explored and played in any degree of pacing. If the learner prefers
mastering one task at a time, the song will still sound great!
With the drumset, I will also begin the patterns very slowly, allowing the learner to feel the
rhythm and steady beat before pushing the tempo faster.
Modality
Leaders will demonstrate these different types of modalities:
Visually:
On the keyboard, we will have a sheet that shows the different chords with their designated
colors, so the learners will be able to visually see the notes and chords for the keyboard
We will model how to play the different chords on the keyboard, so they are able to see what
playing it may look like
The drum set will be modeled initially, at a slow tempo and then at a quicker, more desirable
one
The drum set will also include colorful stickers, which may help some learners to remember
which drum to hit, and when.
Auditorily:
We will play the chord progressions on the keyboard, so the participants are able to hear what
they sound like before they attempt to play
I will play the pattern on the drumset initially, so the learner can hear the accents, the
differences in drums, and how the two interact
Kinesthetically:
If learners are struggling with the chords or transitions, we will go around and place their hands
in the correct form and on the designated chords
As a kinesthetic learner, the best way I learn is simply to do it. This is why I hope to place the
drumsticks in their hands as quickly as possible, after completing the first steps of internalizing
the music.
If struggling, one way to help a kinesthetic learner on the drumset is to remove the drumset, and
have them do the movements slowly, in the air.