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!
American School of Milan - Elementary Playground Gets a Musical Makeover
The American School of Milan (ASM) is an independent, co-educational college preparatory day school offering American-style education in the south of Milan.
The playground project was sponsored by the Fund for Excellence who purchased collaborative outdoor musical instruments (Duo Xylophone, Conga Drums and Tubular Bells) for the elementary school playground as an alternative to sports for students.
I asked Sara Griffiths, the school’s Admissions Coordinator, a little more about the project, how they found Percussion Play to deal with and how the instruments have been received:
What originally attracted you to our products?
We were looking for playground equipment that was designed for group play and a great alternative to sports at recess. The instruments are tuned to make nice harmonies and attractive to look at.
The videos on your website were very helpful when selecting the instruments.
How well did we communicate?
There was great follow up and the online chat...
Introducing the Capella Outdoor Xylophone
The Capella is brand new colourful 15-note outdoor resonated xylophone.
Available from our range of diatonic outdoor musical instruments, the vibrantly coloured anodised notes deliver a bright rounded sound and are set to our ‘rainbow scale’ encouraging players to reproduce a myriad of familiar tunes as well as being able to improvise and make their own unique music. The note range for this instrument is C-Major G3-G5.
When speaking of music and harmony, you will frequently encounter the term diatonic. The diatonic scales are the basic scales, or natural scales, and they can all be made by playing just the white keys on the piano.
For example, the key C-Major is the white keys on the piano starting with C - the notes are C D E F G A B C. If a melody is said to be diatonic and in the key of C, it will only use those 7 notes within the C-Major scale/key. You’ll notice however that the note range of the Capella is G3-G5, this makes it a mode of the C-Major scale, in fact it...
ASLA2015 Expo & Conference Chicago USA
So we’ve filled out all the relevant customs and immigration forms, organised the shipping, calculated time-zone changes and computed currency conversions and so, following panic attacks of epic proportions we’re finally there! Chicago USA for the ASLA2015 Conference and Exhibition.
With over 400 exhibitors, the ASLA EXPO is the largest trade show in the landscape architecture industry.
Our booth ‘1061’ looks fun, is interactive and tells a compelling story. We’ve taken some old favourites such as the Babel Drum, Congas and Duo Outdoor Xylophone, along with some pretty special USA inspired ‘My Tunes’ chimes which will let visitors to the booth play ‘Oh My Darling Clementine’ or ‘Amazing Grace’ with no practice or previous musical knowledge! Also, we are delighted to showcase three new instruments the Capella, Hand Pipes and Colossus Chimes.
The response so far has been overwhelming from customers and potential customers. We’ve come to Chicago for relationship...
Rain, rain, go away but first let's play a little music
We had several visitors come to Percussion Play towers yesterday. They’d come along to see and play our outdoor musical instruments and so in preparation we bought a selection of instruments out onto our sunny courtyard, ready to be admired and enjoyed. Then it started to rain, really rain and it did not stop - a right British downpour. Not a problem for the outdoor musical instruments, they’re built to withstand the elements and will produce a great sound whatever the weather, especially the rain. Let’s be honest, here in the UK we’re not exactly blessed with the sunniest of climates, in fact we are known for attracting a fair amount of rainfall pretty much all year round. So you either stay inside to avoid the showers or you face the weather full on, which is exactly what we did. We decided to defy the weather, donned some raincoats, grabbed umbrellas and went and had some creative musical fun in the rain.
In fact, with rain showers comes inspiration. The weather can undoubtedly...
5 Reasons Music Education Is Important
- Music education should be a part of general education in everybody’s life. Scientists say that children who are exposed to music, or those who play an instrument, do better in school than those who don't.
- Music can be connected to many other subject areas. Through exploring music students can find natural connections to mathematics, science, reading, writing, and performing arts.
- Children learn in many different ways. Music allows them to express themselves in a unique way, which motivates their learning and helps build their self-confidence.
- Music is a universal language. It helps children connect to other cultures and understand the world around them.
- It's fun! Playing a musical instrument relieves stress. Have you ever noticed that when you hear soft, soothing music you feel more relaxed? Playing an instrument can do that and more, especially if you're the one playing. Music is one of life's simple joys; it helps calm the mind.
Outdoor Music Therapy and Interactive Music Making
Music Therapy Week is a week of campaigning to help raise awareness of how music therapy can improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in our communities across the UK.
Donald Wetherick, Chair of the British Association for Music Therapy and Nordoff Robbins Music Therapist says,
“All over the UK professional music therapists are helping vulnerable people to overcome difficulties in communication, interaction, participation and development, through the skilled use of music. Music Therapy Week is an opportunity to celebrate this work, find out more about music therapy in your area, and raise awareness of the potential of music therapy to make a difference to people's lives. Please support MTW in whatever way you can”.
Outdoor musical instruments should not be overlooked when considering music therapy. Firstly, simply being outdoors immerses us in a very specific ‘musical' environment, whether or not we are aware of the music. Birdsong, bees buzzing along with...