Experience Design: 30 Minute Drum Circle

Designers: ​Mitchell Evans, Sophie Harrison, Rebecca Kenaga, and Sydney Seed

Summary/Overview:
The purpose of this activity is to guide an experience where students can explore bucket
drumming. The focus will be on imitating rhythms and playing along with popular music.
Learners will have the opportunity to express their feelings about this experience with instructors
and peers.

Rationale:
We have decided to go to a non-traditional classroom because we have already had several
K-12 public school teaching experiences. Also, we think bringing music to a space that
currently does not teach music will be a positive experience for everyone involved. The bucket
drums are the perfect medium for a singular informal experience, because they are easy to play,
versatile, and enjoyable. Additionally, JMU has enough bucket drums for everyone to
participate at the same time. Some of us have prior bucket drumming experience, but there is
still a lot for us to explore. For this experience design, we are adapting a music methods
informal learning activity on non-traditional instruments to be appropriate for learners at Second
Home on bucket drums.

Standards:
● VA SOL 6.4 - The student will perform rhythmic patterns that include whole notes, half
notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, and corresponding rests.
● VA SOL 6.7.2 - Identify ways in which culture and technology influence the development
of music and musical styles, including the ways in which sound is manipulated.
● VA SOL 6.10.3 - Explaining the value of musical performance to the school community

I Can Statements:
● I can play a rhythm by myself
○ Wound forward: I can incorporate multiple parts of the bucket to diversify timbre
in my rhythm (top, side, etc.)
○ Wound back: I can hit the drum by myself
● I can convey ways technology influenced my drumming (spoken, written, drawings, or
other)
○ Wound forward: I can describe specific musical choices I made on the buckets
due to the background music on the speakers (spoken, written, drawings, or
other).
○ Wound backward: I can convey that using technology made a difference in the
drumming activity (spoken, written, drawings, or other).
 ● I can convey why this drumming experience was valuable to the classroom community
(spoken, written, drawings, or other)
○ Wound forward: I can additionally convey how drum circles have the potential to
make larger scale impacts such as at the local community or national level
(spoken, written, drawings, or other).
○ Wound backward: I can convey how this drumming experience was valuable to
me (spoken, written, drawings, or other).

Materials:
● Buckets
● Drum sticks
● Speakers
● Phone/device to play music from
● Prepared playlist
● Paper
● Writing utensils

Detailed Process:
1. Instructors will set-up buckets and drum sticks prior to the learners arriving
2. One instructor will greet the students at the door and ask them to find a seat in front of a
bucket, while the other instructors are playing on the buckets or cuing the background
popular songs on the speaker.
3. At 4:30 the instructors will introduce themselves, and ask the learners to sit with their
sticks in their laps when someone is talking throughout this drumming experience to
maintain respect for others. [1 minute]
4. Sydney will demonstrate the predetermined rhythm: quarter note, quarter note, quarter
note, quarter rest (or cheese, cheese, cheese, rest), and the learners will join in playing
that rhythm when they are comfortable. [1 minute]
5. Sophie will demonstrate the predetermined rhythm: eighth note eighth note, eighth note
eighth note, quarter, quarter (or apple, apple, cheese, cheese), and the learners will join
in playing that rhythm when they are comfortable. [90 seconds]
6. Rebecca will demonstrate the predetermined rhythm: [insert rhythms] (or macaroni and
cheese), and the learners will join in playing that rhythm when they are comfortable. [90
seconds]
7. Learners will be split into three groups, and led to layer the three rhythms all together, so
they can practice playing their part simultaneously with different rhythms being played.
Sydney, Sophie, and Rebecca will continue to model the rhythms they taught throughout
this process. Learners will also be told they are welcome to play an easier rhythm than
the one they were assigned if they want to. [90 seconds]
a. If it is before 4:42 the learners will rotate parts to experience the same three part
layering activity, but on a different rhythm. Sydney, Sophie, and Rebecca will
continue to model the rhythms they taught.
 8. At 4:45 Mitchell will begin cuing popular songs for learners to play on over top of. He will
advisor the learners to use any of the three rhythms we taught them, or make-up
something new.
a. We will do this for three different songs, or until 4:52.
9. Sophie will led the students in a reflective activity where learners will write, or draw an
indication of how they felt about this activity. “What did you learn?” “What did you
like/dislike about this experience?” [5 minutes]
10. Rebecca will collect drum sticks, Sydney will collect buckets, Sophie will collect learners
written or drawn reflections, and Mitchell will direct traffic to commence a quick and
orderly clean up. [3 minutes]

Assessment:
● Instructors will informally assess for complexity of rhythmic patterns as learners play with
the group, and when the learners solo.
● Instructors will make note of patterns in responses to how the learners feel technology
influenced their drumming experience.
● Instructors will make note of patterns in responses to how the learners feel drumming is
valuable to the classroom community.

Adaptations:
● Size/Shape- ​Learners can play on the floor instead of the buckets, or with their hands
instead of sticks. If needed, learners with very limited mobility can sing their rhythms to
the instructors, or to their paraprofessional.
● Color- ​Since visuals are not being used (i.e. no notation, no fingering charts, etc.), and
since we are not directing a specific part of the bucket to be hit (if we were we could
place a colored sticker on the specific spot for clarity), there is no need to incorporate a
color adaptation.
● Pacing- ​Learners are welcome to choose the rhythm that is most comfortable for them
during the layering activity (probably Sydney’s instructed rhythm, but maybe not), and
can play whatever rhythm they want during the popular songs activity.
● Modality- ​Students with any visual impairments may need assistance in getting set up in
front of a bucket drum. It also may be useful for them to play on the floor. Students with
any auditor impairments will be placed closer to the speakers, and a JMU student leader
will sit across from them and indicate pulse through a discrete head bopping or leg
tapping, so the learner can play within the audiated pulse. They might even be able to
feel the vibrations from the drums since all of the students are sitting on the floor
together.

Extension:
Our extensions are written into our procedures. We have subparts for how to extend the first
activity until 4:42 in the case that we finish more quickly than anticipated, and the second
activity will take a predetermined amount of time due to the length of our playlist. However, if
we notice students are bored, we will incorporate partwork to further challenge those learners
(e.g. “maintain a steady beat with your foot while you play your rhythm”), or an instructor will
give the advanced learner(s) a hard rhythm to practice.