If there were ever a word that could perfectly sum up Percussion Play, it would be ‘inclusive’. With a truly remarkable and diverse selection of musical and percussion instruments, it's clear that the company is committed to making musical expression accessible to everyone, everywhere.
It's also clear is that Percussion Play is an expert in the field. When you enter its website, you're immediately confronted by a huge knowledge-base: whitepapers on a vast range of topics, infinite blog scrolling, and even an array of case studies showcasing successful integration within developments all over the world. It is remarkably widespread, with a current client list that spans the globe – from the humble Hampshire to Kansas, Minnesota, Calgary, Singapore and even Brazil, across a multitude of environments such as schools, park playgrounds, care homes, shopping centres, and even prisons. I could go on.
Percussion Play's impressive catalogue of instruments knows no limits. It starts with the most obvious additions, such as congas, metallophones and cajons. But as you look through, it gets truly special, with baby and grand-sized floor pianos, bell lyres, wall marimbas and – wait for it – giant diatonic wind chimes. Explore some more and you can ensure that you'll find something for everyone throughout.
These outdoor musical instruments make perfect additions to an abundance of settings, bringing music to outdoor spaces across the world. They can be effortlessly played and enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities, and allow kids and adults to realise how truly gratifying it is to make music together.
Why outdoor musical instruments?
The USP of outdoor musical instruments is its integration within inclusive playgrounds. An inclusive playground takes away the barriers to exclusion, both physical and social, providing a ‘sensory rich’ experience for everyone of any learning ability. They are thoughtfully designed to provide a safe place where children of all abilities can play together and are appropriate for children at any stage of development.
Inclusive playgrounds provide a non-threatening and fun outlet for creative and emotional expression and through the medium of music, many essential life skills can be learned. Music can have a profound effect on anyone, but the benefits of exposing a child with SEND to music can be huge. Outdoor music in particular has been identified to have multiple benefits in many areas of a child's development: social skills, confidence, emotional expression, communication, motor skills and even pain management.
© Robin Ashfield
Outdoor instruments provide endless possibilities for young people
Music can be a great leveller. It enables children to feel safe with experimenting with self-expression. The key benefit to this is helping children develop a sense of achievement and pride that is difficult to find in other situations, particularly for those who suffer from low motivation and self-esteem. Any increase in confidence can then be transferred to other areas of their lives. In addition, music can help children develop a sense of rhythm, challenge them to improve their communication skills, and gain an understanding of the world through auditory and tactile stimulation.
Therapeutic use
Percussion Play prides itself on being ideal for music therapy sessions. As we all know, music therapy can be of inestimable value for children who have difficulties with hearing, seeing, moving, thinking or responding, yet who can each experience the music in their own unique way (see page 42).
Music therapy has proven to be a very effective method in helping to reduce distress in people with autism and Asperger syndrome. Many children who are diagnosed with autism or Asperger's lack the social skills that enable them to participate fully in play and other social situations, and music offers them an alternative method of communication. Even from my own experience of teaching such children, I've seen just how deep that love and enjoyment of music can be. All children have the same need and desire to express themselves and Percussion Play's instruments allow them to do this in a fun and accessible way. It achieves this by ensuring that its range is vastly tuned to simple scales or harmonic pentatonic, which produces a soothing sound that can reach a child in a direct, uncomplicated manner.
Percussion Play is not just for those who exhibit challenging behaviour. Having access to outdoor musical instruments in the playground offers blind or partially-sighted children the opportunity to explore musical sound and awareness, encouraging their use of motor skills, and developing coordination while stimulating their imaginations.
For children with very limited movement, the emphasis is on sensory stimulation. Placing their hands on the vibrating lids of Percussion Play drums or anywhere on the larger tuned instruments can elicit a positive response as the vibrations travel through the child's skin. For children and adolescents with cerebral palsy, playing music may be an effective way to stimulate speech development and communication skills, express emotions, develop a sense of rhythm and provide opportunity for physical, cognitive and motor development while creating an environment for socialisation and fun.
Music is a tool that is used in pain management and healing for children undergoing medical procedures (see page 34) and as a comfort for those who have suffered a traumatic experience, making Percussion Play ideal for the gardens and outdoor areas of hospices, hospitals and therapy centres. Music is a healer and the enjoyment and stimulation of music, either as a participatory activity, or as relaxation, provides a wonderful, albeit temporary, distraction from the daily pain and discomfort of their condition.
The benefits of music are endless. But it's no secret that the provision is somewhat patchy nationwide, and access to music education can be discriminative.
A recent report by the Musician's Union paints a poor picture of the impact of steadily increasing cuts to music education in the UK. At the moment, we have a demoralised workforce with poor employment conditions and huge inequality in music provision, with children from families earning under £28,000 a year half as likely to learn a musical instrument as those with a family income above £48,000. What's more, 89% of parents are making a financial contribution towards instrumental lessons. The days of fully funded, universal access to music education are well and truly behind us.
Percussion Play's approach to inclusive learning and the adoption of outdoor musical instruments into public places goes some way to address this, but there is still a way to go. I would love to see inclusive playgrounds become a common feature of not only the UK, but every country in the world. With proper demonstration, clever positioning of instruments and the opportunity for children to revisit the skills they have learned, musical discovery play is not only both fun and harmonious, but integral to developing lifelong skills.
