How to make a shekere

A shekere is a West African percussion instrument made from a dried gourd. A net is woven around the gourd with beads threaded into the mesh. The net is loose enough to permit movement but not so loose that it falls off. There are many different styles (this photo is from Wikipedia) but the principle is always the same.

A number of different sounds can be produced by shaking, hitting with the palm and damping the instrument. The net can also be moved across the surface of the gourd in the manner of a cabassa, producing a sound somewhere between a scrape and a rattle.

When I set out to make my own shekere I deliberately ignored the internet and relied on memory. (I don't possess a 'real' example of this instrument, although I intend to rectify that this week.) My aim was to produce a simple design using waste materials as much as possible. Nine year olds needed to be able to make it, at the first attempt, with the minimum of hands-on assistance. And I wanted to avoid impacting on a limited project budget. I tried various methods and materials. I was able to get some string, metal beads, bottles and plastic sweet jars from Miniscrapbox. I hope there is something similar near you. For my own I used:

1 x 5l (gallon) plastic bottle
8m of string
About 24 plastic beads (metal would have been heavier and better)
75mm (3”) of masking tape

Here's how I did it:

Cut the string into four equal lengths and feed each of them the handle of the bottle. Take one end of each piece of string and feed it through again. Make sure you have the same length of string either side of the plastic bottle and then fix it in place by taping it to the handle.




Now take two neighbouring strands and tie them together with a simple loop, the first stage of tying a shoelace. Do the same with the remaining pairs of strands. You should now have the beginnings of two bows on either side of the bottle. Don’t pull these tight but aim to have them all at the shoulder of the bottle.


Take the strings from one loop and thread them through a bead, the strings entering from opposite sides. Pull the strings tight and the bead should slide into place just below your first bow. Now secure it in place with a second loop. Repeat this around the bottle until you have attached four beads.

Next take one strand from each of two neighbouring beads, tie another loop about 5cm (2”) from each of the other beads and thread another bead in the same way as before, again securing it in place with a loop. Continue around the bottle in this way until you have attached another four beads. Negotiating the ends of the bottle, especially the end nearest the mouth, requires a compromise and you will need to allow a larger gap between beads.


A net is emerging with a bead at each interstice. Work your way evenly down the bottle, always taking a string from each of two neighbouring beads for your next bead. Aim for a slightly loose fit to allow the beads to rattle against the bottle.

When you reach the bottom of the bottle, gather all the strings together and tie them in a large knot. This completes your shekere. Remove the masking tape from the handle and start playing. The bottles come with their own handle and I found some paintbrush handles to attach (with glue and a wide-headed nail) to the lids of the sweet jars. A short piece of dowel would do just as well.

There are more elegant ways of finishing, such as tying threads from opposite beads and then trimming the excess string but, providing there is enough length in each strand at the end, the big knot method works regardless of mistakes made earlier in the process.

The picture shows one nearly completed. I left my own in the school before I had a chance to photograph it but watch this space.

What is an ocean drum?

Some years ago I helped to set up a 'music and movement' project with the grand ambition of bringing sessions to a 'culturally deprived' rural area. At least that's what it said on the funding application: one has to choose the language and buzz-phrases of the moment if one wants to get the gig. Our client base included adults with learning difficulties and Downs Syndrome and I wanted to get satisfyingly tactile and chunky instruments, both for them and for the other beneficiaries of the scheme. Amongst the kit I amassed was a 22" ocean drum made by Remo.

As a child did you ever roll marbles or pebbles around on a metal tray? There is something fascinating about the way in which the weight shifts as they roll or slide about the surface. And of course the sound. To be honest, and with apologies to Remo and other manufacturers and suppliers to the music stores of the western world, it never really said 'ocean' to me. Even now it's a name that rankles slightly - too literal and too leading.

The main problems with a tray of marbles from an educational point of view are firstly, it's not especially portable and secondly, there's a strong chance of spillage and all that entails. Enter the ocean drum, the shape of a bodhran but with a skin on both sides. There are dozens of ball bearings inside the drum and these roll around to make distinctive sound. They come in various sizes with 12", 16" and 22" being common, at least in the UK. although the 22" (About 55cm) never fails to impress primary aged children, by virtue of its size alone, they can find it rather unwieldy. Children also seem to like the ones with pictures of sea life visible inside. Personally I find them rather kitsch (Finding Nemo anyone?) and even more prejudicial to proper listening than the name.

Five interesting facts about ocean drums:

• They actually originated in Nepal, a land-locked country in the Himalaya and a long way from the sea. The intention was, however, to imitate the sound of water.
• You can hit them with a soft beater like the one in the picture. You cannot hit them hard with a drumstick without risking splitting the skin. Treading on them is also out.
  
• If you hold one in both hands and shake the ball bearings vigorously between the two skins it produces a loud sound like thunder or crashing waves.
• They can have a very calming affect on fidgety or agitated children and those with SEN (special educational needs). They have a mesmerising quality. Lying down and watching the ball bearings roll around from underneath is rather like being under water.
• Although they are given all sorts of aquatic associations, don't leave them in a cold damp place for any length of time. I did and the ball bearings went rusty. It still sounds as good but, if you lie underneath, it feels more North Sea than Mediterranean.

Jack and the Beanstalk

Last week I found myself in a reception class of nearly thirty four and five year olds. I was helping them tell the story of Jack and the Beanstalk with musical instruments and I have to say it all went very well. Not wishing to overstretch the attention spans of such a young group the class teacher and I split the project into three half hour sessions which we spread out over the course of the day.

The first session was spent demonstrating some of the instruments and passing them around the circle. These were mainly percussion instruments of one sort or another. The children were very good at having a quick go and then passing it on. With the more unusual instruments I would wait until it had returned before placing it in the middle and handing round something else. If I had more than one of anything I would send one to my right and the other to my left, collecting them when they met across the circle. Familiar instruments would be demonstrated and placed in the middle of the circle straight away.

After about half an hour of this we put all the instruments on a table and allowed the children to play there in groups of five or six at a time in rotation with the other (non-musical) activities on offer. At no time did we mention the story.

The second formal session took place after morning break. The class teacher read the story and the class 'spotted' it for potential sound effects. To involve more children in the process, and to develop their acting skills, characters from the story were enacted by members of the class. There was a certain amount of prompting, especially to begin with, but they quickly got the idea. Occasionally we would steer a child in another direction if they chose something very inappropriate. There is an understandable urge to choose the instrument you want to play regardless of its relevance to the task at hand. However, for the most part we went along with their choices. The bell tree gave us the magic I had hoped for when Jack trades in his cow for a handful of beans. But somehow the bell for the cows neck was passed over. We did get some coconuts for the sound of the cow's feet on the road but I confess I may have seeded this idea in the first demonstration session. By the time half an hour had passed we were only half way through the story but the children were beginning to lose their focus so we stopped for a free play period. Again, the instruments were available to small groups for this.

The final session took place after lunch. We recapped the story so far and continued to the end in the same manner as in the previous session. The children remained engaged in the process. By this time the familiarity they had gained with the instruments was leading to noticeably more informed choices being made. I have never worked with this particular class before so can't say how their behaviour was in relation to this activity compared to other things they have done. However, the teacher appeared well satisfied with the way the day went and more inclined to use musical instruments from the school's music cupboard in future.

Balafon Game

Many schools still have a xylophone knocking about. I have seen some fine examples but, with the steady rise in popularity of the electronic keyboard, they have fallen into disuse. Their presence is the result either of historical accident or of an appealing photograph in a catalogue. Along with the cabassas, guiros, vibra-slaps and glockenspiels they have become musical toys largely ignored by the school music curriculum for anything beyond colour and sound-effects. Teachers recognise the beauty of the xylophone: a wooden instrument in an increasingly plastic world with a real sound of its own. But how can you use them today?

April's free music game at www.playwithsound.com is based on West African balafon technique. I have taught it to primary and secondary-aged children as well as adults. It's versatile, educational and very interactive. It's an instant compositional tool. It provides a new avenue of approach to a number of issues, musical and otherwise. And that's largely because it's great fun.

Conducting Tick Tock

This exercise is especially well suited to children aged between five and eight years and can be played with a large class. Ideally you will need plenty of instruments but there are perfectly good work-arounds that I'll detail at the end. I have found chime bars (I'm a bit of a fan of chime bars) to be useful in this context. I'll assume you have one for every child in the class but bear with me if you haven't; as I said, there are plenty of alternatives.

1. Arrange your group in a circle that includes you and any adult helpers you may have. It is important that your circle is 'true'. Everyone in it needs to be able to see everyone else. And they all need sufficient elbow room to play their instruments.
2. If you like, play a round or two of Quick Tick Tock. This will make sure everyone is as attentive and engaged as they are able.
3. Split the group down the middle, one side of the circle being 'ticks' and the other side 'tocks'. Don't include yourself if you are the only adult present. If you have a helper then include yourself in one group and the helper in the other. Explain which side is 'tick' and which 'tock', count 'One, Two Three and' (or One, Two, Three, Four) to begin. It may take a couple of starts to get this right but one side should tick and then be silent while the other side tocks.
4. Almost certainly some children will be ticking and tocking. This may be because they are looking across the circle at the other group. Ask all the 'ticks' to put raise their hands so they can see each other. Suggest they look at the others in their group while playing the game. Do the same with the 'tocks'.
5. When you feel the clock is running as smoothly as can be expected, hand out the chime bars. To avoid unwanted noise, place the bars on the floor 2ft (60cm) in front of each child with instructions not to pick them up or try to play them with their feet. If you are really well supplied you can give bars you can give the 'ticks' the notes of one chord and the 'tocks' the notes of another but this will need some forethought if you are not to lose the attention of the class.

6. Demonstrate the wonders of the chime bar. How to hit it so it rings, how to dampen it and the sound it makes when you strike its sound box with the beater. Now stand in the middle of the circle and demonstrate your signal for stop and instruct the children to look out for it. Ask them to pick up their chime bars and experiment. This will be noisy but hopefully enough of them will be notice when you signal an end that the rest will look up or be nudged by their neighbours.



7. If need be tell everyone to put down their instruments while you speak. Now tell the 'ticks' you will want them to play their chime bars so they ring and tell the tocks you'll want them to hit the sound box with the beater. Set the 'game' in motion again and let people voice the ticks and tocks if that helps. Once this is running smoothly you are ready for the next stage.
8. Demonstrate signals for loud (raised arms) and soft (arms down). Get everyone ticking and tocking loudly and quietly in response to your signal. Stop them tell the two groups to respond only to the arm nearest their side of the circle. Now demonstrate the art of making one side play soft, the other loud. Now swap them round. Both loud then both soft. And finally, ask for volunteers to conduct the 'clock'.
   

I have seen children with various shades of SEN (special educational needs) positively beaming when given a chance to conduct. And after seeing this, 'dancing' orchestral conductors need no explanation.

And the work-arounds? Basically, as long as the players on each side can make a sound similar to each other but different from the other group then that is good enough. Chime bars on one side, untuned percussion on the other, for example. If you can only improvise enough instruments for half the group, the other half can clap.

Norwich Puppet Theatre

I've just visited one of my favourite venues, Norwich Puppet Theatre, to play for Indefinite Articles' Pinocchio. Steve Tiplady is a fine performer whom I've worked with many times. His shows always give the impression of barely managed chaos, Pinocchio being no exception, and this alarmed me at first. Now I realise that it's just his way and he can bring the audience back in the blink of an eye.

For this show I play as the audience enters the auditorium and is seated. This can take ten minutes or so. I used to use soprano or alto saxophone for this but now I favour the clarinet. It can cut through a din if it needs to but can also play right on the edge of audibility. This is a great opportunity to play whatever I'm feeling; whatever the space suggests. For young children I usually start of in a major pentatonic - calm and unthreatening - but by the end I might be running through a klezmer tune or two. The show itself also features Tibetan temple bells and, for the first time today, a rather strange instrument that I used to use when touring with Baobab Theatre. Always a favourite with children it's very good for making the sound of frogs, crickets and squeaky doors. However, if you hold the stick and twirl the little drum (really just an amplifier) on the end of the length of fishing line it roars like a hurricane or strange beast. I wish I could remember its name.
The wonderful thing about the Norwich Puppet Theatre is that it also acts as a puppet museum with puppets from the last thirty years of shows displayed and hung from every available piece of wall. A truly magical place to visit, although the thought of staying in there on my own for a night gives me the shivers. It is hired for seances from time to time, if that's the right word, and is popular with ghost hunters too. Some very brave souls work there.

Pyramid

This month's free game at playwithsound.com is called Pyramid. It is a way of using instruments to demonstrate relative note values. Because the sounds sustain it is well suited to chime bars: the group gets the sense of playing semibreves, minims, crotchets etc, so it is a good way of introducing this terminology. When played with chime bars it can be very soothing and that's no bad thing. Of course it does rather depend on your choice of notes. (And, it goes without saying, if you have more than one player to a part then you should give them the same note as the others playing that part.)

Getting out the instruments – 10 points

If you work with children, how was your last experience of working with musical instruments? Did it border on chaos? Were you left hoarse and exhausted with a splitting headache? I'm talking here about 'real' classroom instruments from the percussion trolley or cupboard. I've witnessed and officiated over stressful lessons with electronic keyboards too but I'll save my thoughts on those particular delights for another time.

So the worst case scenario goes like this: You get out the instruments and hand one to each child. While you are doing this the children are either experimenting with or complaining about the instrument they have or, if they are still waiting, begging for one of those yet to be distributed. By now you are tense and irritated and begin issuing threats and administering sanctions. The 'good' kids get nervous and frustrated. The 'bad' kids sense an opportunity. And you haven't even started. The lesson continues in the same vein and you don't get through half what you had hoped. And you vow never to put yourself through that again.

Consider the following:
1. The only other school equipment that is given the colour scheme of a toy shop or sweet shop is found in the gymnasium. It's far less noisy for a start and the kids get to run off their excitement. (Are the computers in the IT room given the rainbow treatment? I don't think so.)
2. The excitement generated by the sight of all this wonderful gear is in inverse proportion to the opportunities to use it. And then some. It's basic economics: scarcity increases interest. The less often you get the stuff out the worse it's going to be when you do.
3. The sweet shop analogy is very apt. Perhaps the only difference is that sweets make less noise to begin with and are enjoyed in relative silence. But children want to know what they all taste like.
4. Decide what activity, game or exercise you want to share and which instruments you are going to use.
5. A class of about thirty children is going to be unmanageable. The only way to make it work is to rule with a rod of iron but this will crush the spirit of exploration and is likely to turn many off music for ever. Music should be fun.
6. So split the group into as many groups as you have responsible adults. This should take your group size from about thirty down to about fifteen. If you are the only adult the following exercise will be more challenging, less than ideal but not necessarily impossible.
7. Clear away the tables and chairs and have everybody sit in a circle (or circles) on the floor. Circles give a sense of belonging – everyone is included and everyone can see what's going on and when their turn will come. Allow them to kneel if they prefer – it's a more dynamic posture. Have the circles as far away from each other as possible.
8. Take two of the same instrument and, if there is anything you think they might not discover easily for themselves, demonstrate it to the group. Pass one to the person on your left, the other to the person on your right. Ask each person to explore the instrument for a moment and pass it on. Some may take longer than others and this is OK. Peer pressure will usually prevent anyone taking too long. When the instruments meet across the circle take them back and put one of them 'away'.
9. Tell the group you will make a sound on the instrument and pass it on. You want each person to try to make a different sound from the person who gave to them. The group may only think of two different sounds and this is OK. Just let them alternate these. It forces them to listen to the sounds that are being made and watch the others as they try to make them.
10. Repeat these two processes with all the instruments you intend to use. Think of it as a tasting session. If the instruments were food items you would want to try them individually. Children are likely to cram their mouths with all manner of conflicting flavours if given free rein in a sweet shop: it's only natural. You are helping them develop a more sophisticated sonic palate.

Now you are ready to hand out the instruments and get on with your lesson plan. The children may still be disappointed with their allocation but at least they will have had a go on everything and will less desperate to sample everyone else's.

Remember to take everything slowly, step by step. The more gradual the process, the more relaxed you'll feel. If you are not enjoying yourself, ask yourself why. As with any other activity, your confidence and sense of wonder will inspire your students.