Welcome to the Percussion Play Blog
We hope you'll be a regular visitor as we share stories about the instruments we make and the people who play them.
This is where we share our passion for music in the great outdoors! We'll share with you details of exciting new outdoor music projects and designs from around the globe. We'll share with you information about the instruments we sell and a little about the inspiration behind them
Most importantly, this blog is about what we love to do the most - help you create new and exciting ways to bring music to the great outdoors.
Thank you for reading, visiting, commenting and contributing - we’re excited to have you here!
Play it With Flowers - Great music inspired by nature
To coincide with the launch of our new botanical range of super-sized outdoor musical flowers – Harmony Flowers and Harmony Bells – we thought we’d look a little closer to how the world of nature, and in particular flowers, stems out into music and popular culture.
Flowers have long provided inspiration for a lot of artists, from legendary painters like Claude Monet to fashion designers such as Christian Dior. Considered universally beautiful, this botanical inspiration is usually expressed in a visual form, however with their bright colours, and unique designs (as well as the feelings they evoke), flowers are equally inspiring musically - motivating and colouring the music we create. The choice of arrangement can signify the occasion - flowers can bring happiness, and can also mark occasions of solemnity much in the way that music does.
Many famous musicians use flowers as a focal point for their lyrics or compositions. For as long as people have been writing songs, they’ve...
Holiday Park & Resort Innovation Show
Percussion Play are ready to meet some of the 4,000+ owners from across the holiday business industry who will be heading to Birmingham’s NEC on November 6th & 7th.
The Holiday Park & Resort Innovation show is an unmissable opportunity for holiday and leisure entrepreneurs to make the most of their resorts, holiday parks and attractions by delivering first-hand the very best in advice, products and services.
With world-class experts, 200 enlightening seminars, 400 sought-after suppliers, workshops, unrivalled networking, and live features all under one roof - these two days are truly unmissable for anyone in this sector.
Whether you’re relatively new in the holiday market and looking for inspiration and advice or an established business looking for new and exciting ways to improve your offering, the event covers everything you need to run your holiday business more efficiently.
Tickets are absolutely FREE, so why not register today to confirm your place. Your free ticket...
Saying it With Flowers at the Tes SEN Show London
We had a fantastic weekend at the Tes SEN Show, the largest, most-established special educational needs show in the UK.
Showcasing a selection of instruments, we couldn't resist taking along a preview 'bunch' of our fresh new musical flower bells - perfect for sensory gardens, SEN outdoor spaces, and inclusive playgrounds.
We will be launching our Great Outdoors Range shortly - please check back here soon and in the meantime if you require any further information please email info@percussionplay.com
“Flowers are the music of the ground.” – Edwin Curran
Flower Power at the NRPA Annual Conference, Baltimore
Percussion Play has been delighting delegates at the 2019 NRPA Annual Conference by giving them a sneak preview of their new range of outdoor musical flowers 'Harmony Bells'.
Approx. 8,000 people who are passionate about parks and recreation, conservation, health, landscape architecture, city planning and making communities great places to live have made their way to Baltimore for networking activities, education sessions and an inside look at the latest products for the field at the 2019 NRPA Annual Conference.
Never one to disappoint, in true Percussion Play style, their Booth is jammed full of inspirational outdoor musical instruments for inclusive music parks, playgrounds and community spaces.
You'll be able to see and find out more about this exciting new range of floral musical delights very soon. Watch this space!
'Mini' Rainbow Trio Ensemble Goes To Ground
Originally designed to be hung on playground walls, we’ve extended our Rainbow Trio Ensemble to now include in-ground or surface-mounted versions of these three sweet little instruments.
Five reasons to love our ‘Mini’ Rainbow Trio Ensemble
1) Size is everything
The small and compact size makes these instruments appealing for smaller organizations such as nursery schools, pre-schools and kindergartens. Occupying less space than the full-size instruments this bright, inviting range requires less budget too! Most tasks young children learn to do are much easier if they have objects that are made in a size that is right for their age. This range is the perfect size for little ones.
2) Colour Matters
Children love fun, bright colours and find themselves drawn to colourful items that spark the imagination. As their eyes are not fully developed they...
Discover Percussion Play - Intriguing, Funky and Irresistible To Play - Tembos
Let us introduce you to one of our more intriguing instruments - our range of plosive aerophones we call Tembos. Tembos produce some very low, very mellow sounds, look intriguing and are utterly irresistible to play. So what is a plosive aerophone? how do you play one? and why the heck do we call them Tembos?
Plosive Sounds
Plosive aerophones are a category of musical instruments that vary considerably in style and called by a number of different names including batonkas and boom tubes, but ultimately they are from the same group of instruments identified as ‘slap tubes’ or ESPAS (End Struck Plosive Aerophones). Despite some popularisation of the concept by the Blue Man Group, they remain one of the greatest music-making ideas that most people have never heard of!
Humble Bamboo Beginnings
Plosive aerophones are musical instruments in which a body of air is set into vibration by a sudden blow. This family of percussion instruments includes; clay pot...