"BEAT THAT!"

a music making consultancy and training team for those who work with children, young people or adults with learning difficulties or in mainstream education run by Hilary Wainer and Bobbie Stormont

"Music-making is a fundamental human function that can accompany and enhance learning at all levels. The beginning of music and communication exists in the capacity to listen and distinguish humanly organised patterns of sound."

"Beat That!"

is a direct means of communication through music and sound whereby people of any age or ability can listen, feel, compose and create music spontaneously, both individually and within a relaxed group atmosphere.

"Beat That!"

believes that everyone has the ability to be musically creative and have fun

re-examines the culture in which music has been handed down to us, and the effect this has on the way we pass our musical heritage on to the young people with whom we work

uses ancient traditional methods of accessing our creativity, by working with rhythms, sound and movement

focuses on creating a conscious silence into which spontaneous sounds can fall and be heard

makes music in the moment with these sounds

explores music curriculum elements including form and composition. We use simple and effective techniques in live music-making which promote listening and communication skills. These include:

Clapping and drumming

Creating silence as a framework to sound

Call and response

Chanting

Imitation

Turn taking

Improvisation

"Beat That!"

starts with listening to isolated sounds or groups of sounds. We encourage and use pre-verbal sounds and vocalisations which may be imitations of the individual's response.
Just like the first sound an infant hears is the heartbeat of its mother, so "Beat That!" is a return to the very basic of beats - the heartbeat of rhythm.
Some sounds are orderly and predictable while others are random and even chaotic. Everything else grows from this awareness.

"Beat That!"

focuses on the African way of making music which is for everyone to join in. Here, there is no word or concept of 'getting it wrong' and every contribution is valued. There is no such thing as being out of tune or being unable to make music.

"Beat That!"

embodies the concept of rhythmic conversations. Each rhythm carries a message and there is much being said at any one time. Once we have learned the language of rhythms and chants we can use it in our homes, in our workplaces, for mood changes, dancing and fun! We create rhythmic sounds by using our hands, African drums (djembes) and resonance boards, which draw the group together and amplify the drumming sounds.

"Beat That!"

welcomes everyone, especially those who have had no musical training and who feel they cannot sing in tune, keep a rhythm or play an instrument.

Training

We offer several training packages for a large variety of groups. The training is tailored to suit your particular needs and includes staff training and follow-up on-site sessions. We use two trainers for all workshops and the follow-up ON-SITE INSET in order to demonstrate the team-teaching approach we advocate and to enable hands-on experience. Please contact us to discuss costs and your own personal requirements.

The Trainers

Bobbie Stormont and Hilary Wainer, co-creators of TACPAC, have both worked for many years in education and music with children and young people with learning difficulties
Their workshops run across a variety of settings for people of all abilities. Their experiential approach in working with groups and individuals has led to much fun, creativity and the discovery of new ways of learning and teaching.
"Beat That!" has grown organically from the ongoing work in which Bobbie and Hilary are involved, and has evolved from on-site INSET sessions which have been fully evaluated and approved by Westminster College, Oxford.

To CONTACT us and/or to join our MAILING LIST:

EMAIL us on "Beat That!" at beat-that@cwcom.net
WRITE to us (land-mail) at: "Beat That!", Rose Cottage, Pound Lane, Stanton St. John, Oxon OX33 1HF, England
PHONE us on: (+44) (0) 1865 351765 or (+44) (0) 70 500 97617

We look forward to hearing from you!

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