Using percussion music with children for worship

Chris Hudson

For centuries, Christians have used music for worship as a powerful way of expressing our thoughts and feelings to God. In the West, this has largely focussed on the three elements of melody, harmony and bass. However, there's a fourth element we've left unused - that of rhythm and beat. This is a pity, because rhythm and beat provide us with energetic and assertive types of music that set the heartbeat racing - not necessarily a bad thing when we're celebrating a living relationship with God, especially for boys!

So how can we explore this with children? Percussion instruments are traditionally used for keeping a beat to songs in children's musical worship, but they can be used to do something much more expressive in percussion worship. (For more information on the philosophy behind this, see www.psalmdrummers.com.)

Want to try it? You'll need a group of children and a venue where someone won't be popping their head in, asking you to keep the noise down. You'll also need instruments you can hit, scrape or shake. These can be borrowed - you might be surprised how many people have percussion instruments sitting around unused at home - so beforehand, make a general appeal to the church for donations. School teachers in your congregation may be able to borrow some from school. If your children's work is based on school premises, obtain permission from the music department. If borrowing, ensure you keep a check on exactly what has been taken and ensure it is returned in exactly the same condition. Select percussion instruments that give a clear beat when shaken or hit. Avoid anything that has to be blown or plucked, or cannot be easily controlled by the player.

No instruments? Then make your own in the best traditions of STOMP, avoiding anything made of glass and leaving no sharp edges. Make your own woodblocks by cutting up sections of broomstick or piping, ensuring that any rough edges are filed down. Tupperware containers or buckets make excellent drums, but you will still need drumsticks of some sort. Shakers are easy - plastic bottles filled with seeds, pasta or gravel!

Ready? Begin the session by sitting children in a circle on the ground and establishing a SILENCE signal. (Mine is to hold both hands open in the air.) This means that all the participants should also be 'hands off' so they can find out what to do next. This ensures the survival of your eardrums and your personal sanity. When handing out a range of musical instruments, be careful to ensure a fair distribution - strong characters often like to monopolise the drums!

Allow a minute for everyone to have a good 'play' with their instruments, and then SILENCE. Set the task of finding out how many different sounds they can make with their instrument. This starts them investigating its qualities of sound, a useful skill for later. After a couple of minutes, SILENCE - and then go round the circle, one by one, asking each child to play their different sounds. This will help you find out who needs a little help or encouragement. You can also pass instruments around the circle occasionally, so everyone has a go on the interesting ones.

Now set a new task. Explain that everybody's name is special, and that you want everyone to express their name as a beat. (Mine is Chris-to-pher.) Can they repeat the beat? (That's called an ostinato.) Short names like John or Kate can have surnames added if necessary. Encourage them to listen to the music of their name, with some beats faster than others. (For example, 'Michael' is a quick double-beat with a stress on the first beat. 'Sunil' places stress on the second.) After some practice, establish SILENCE, then go round the circle asking everyone to play their own name. (If you have time, get everyone to join in with them.)

Explain that we are now going to create a symphony of our own names. Start by setting a steady beat yourself, using a simple 1-2-3-4 beat. Ask the children, one by one, to begin adding their own names to the beat, setting up a set of overlapping rhythms that should get louder and then settle into its own rhythm. Encourage children to listen to the beat and think how their name would fit into that. If they get a bit mixed up, encourage them to stop, listen again, then add their name again to the mix.

Read or tell a story about Jesus that could be significant for this group, and/or show them a picture of Jesus. Recap on the idea that names reveal something about their owner. Explain that Jesus called himself a variety of names, and that others added their own too. Display a large list of these names such as:

King of kings, Son of Man, Son of David, Good Shepherd, Emmanuel, God with us, Bread of Life, Light of the World, Messiah (Can you think of any more?)

Explain that you want each player to choose at least one name of Jesus that is special to them. We are going to do something similar to the personal names exercise, but we are going to worship Jesus in music, expressing what we feel about him. Proceed as before, asking children to share the one they've chosen, and then build up an overlapping pattern together.

Having done this - SILENCE. Explain that for centuries, people have used music to pray and tell God how they feel. Sometimes, they use words such as 'Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.' What would you want to pray? It might be several things, such as remembering someone special to you. Turn your prayer into a simple beat. This time, don't ask people to explain their prayer, but start a simple beat and invite players to add their own prayer-beat as soon as they are ready. What follows might be loud or soft, and players might want to stop praying one beat and instead pray a new one. The music may change as it progresses. At the very end, you may want to finish with a loud two-beat AMEN or you may not.

Afterwards, ask what the children liked or disliked about worshipping like this - and prepare to be surprised!

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