Drum Circle Improv with Clavinovas

Yesterday morning, Saturday, as my teen class was assembling, some of them clearly had just crawled out of bed (10:00 might be a little early for class). . . I decided to try something new with this group - a drum circle-type percussion ensemble. We decided to use a Standard Kit on the Clavinovas. I asked for a volunteer to be the "beat keeper". Ryan volunteered. He will keep the beat using the kick drum (middle C). Had him move to the CVP 505 because it had the biggest speakers. One by one we found different timbres of percussion instruments for each student. Just a few notes with the right hand since the left hand would need to stay on the volume control so we could change dynamics. At first, the class was a bit hesitant as I tried to direct crescendos and diminuendos . . . and then, I backed out and let them do their own thing. It was fascinating to watch as they got lost in their specific contribution to the whole of the ensemble. And then, seemed to get lost in the ensemble as a whole. When we finished (I directed a big crescendo and then, cut them off together) - they all shook their heads in approval and I heard someone say, "cool". All in all a very satisfying experience for all. We'll definitely be doing this more often in our teen classes!