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!
Free Celebration of Music around the World on Make Music Day June 21
To celebrate Make Music Day on June 21, Percussion Play highlights the positive effects of music-making and its ability to promote inclusive play and benefit everyone.
Make Music Day is a unique event open to anyone who wants to take part – old or young, amateur or professional and just about every musical style is represented. People and organizations from 1,000 towns and cities in 120 countries create events to share their music annually.
Making music can have many health benefits, especially for the brain. Drumming is one of the few activities that uses both the creative and logical sides of the brain. This can lead to better sleep, being...
Houston, We Have Landed - Rotary International Convention 2022
Percussion Play is delighted to be returning to the House of Friendship at the Rotary International Convention this year after a two-year break due to the pandemic. Without a doubt, this is the friendliest convention we attend, and we're excited to unite again, this time in Houston, Texas, from 4-8 June 2022. We will be inviting Rotarians, Rotaractors, Interactors, alumni, Youth Exchange students, and club and district employees to play the instruments at Booth #1435 and find out a little more about how outdoor musical instruments can bring communities together.
The 113th Rotary International Convention will bring more than 20,000 Rotarians worldwide to Houston. The House of Friendship offers the opportunity for Rotarians to strengthen and grow their global network. Learn from best practices, get inspired, and motivate each other to create lasting changes in their communities.
For 116 years, Rotary members have been addressing challenges around the world. Rotary unites people from...
New Music and Community Specialist Takes Up Residence
Communities across Austin, Texas, will soon be dancing to the rhythm of Suzy Turner, a new rhythm and drum expert who has joined the team at Percussion Play reseller Fun Abounds
Suzy has joined as the new Music & Community Specialist at the Texas-based playground and park supplier to inspire and bring together communities through the power of music. Suzy will teach and showcase to both the clients of Fun Abounds and local communities how drumming and percussion can forge friendships, provide therapy and help with self-expression.
An experienced Rhythm Facilitator, Suzy, is passionate about helping communities connect, engage and experience the powerful benefits of group music-making. As a percussionist trained in multiple facilitation methods, Suzy has performed and facilitated in the Austin area since 2008. With a strong foundation in the playground and fitness industry, Suzy brings a unique knowledge base to her role as Music & Community Specialist....
European Day of Parks - Rethink, Restore and Reconnect With Nature
Launched in 1999, the European Day of Parks (EDOP) is a commemorative day for Protected Areas across Europe. It celebrates the creation of the first national parks in Europe – a set of nine parks created in Sweden in 1909 - and aims to bring people closer to nature and raise public awareness of the importance of the natural beauty preserved in these Protected Areas. It also helps highlight the importance of conservation and sustainable management of these unique places.
There are over 500 national parks in Europe, 15 of which are in the UK, each designated as a protected landscape because of its unique qualities. Offering public recreation and enjoyment and an escape from the everyday hustle, their stunning natural beauty, diverse wildlife, and fascinating cultural heritage make these living and working landscapes truly unique.
This year we are being asked to rethink, restore and reconnect with nature and national parks are the ideal spots to do so. Within the past four decades,...
Adapting our Outdoor Spaces for Intergenerational Recreation and Address Loneliness
Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 9-15 May, and the theme for this year’s event is ‘Together We Can Tackle Loneliness' - raising awareness of the impact of loneliness on our mental health and the practical steps we can take to address it.
Music has always been a powerful way to bring people together, and Percussion Play has a vision to create inclusive musical oases in towns and cities worldwide to encourage us to connect.
Public spaces - being a place of free and open access - are traditionally linked to social, cultural, or economic exchanges, and are once again gaining increasing importance as a component of everyday quality of life, especially in urban areas. Loneliness and disconnection are on the rise, exacerbated by social distancing and the disruption of daily routines, and those disconnections manifest themselves in other health issues for individuals,...
Encouraging Deaf Children and Young People to Access Music
Deaf Awareness Week is an annual event that aims to promote the positive aspects of deafness, promote social inclusion, and raise awareness of the huge range of local organizations that support deaf people and their families and friends. It aims to celebrate exceptional individuals and showcase what we can do to champion inclusivity and be more deaf-friendly.
The theme for Deaf awareness week 2022 is Deaf Inclusion, to explore the entire theme of inclusion within our community. Emphasising the importance of mental health, and empathising with underrepresented groups amongst the Deaf such as migrants, BMIs, and women, as well as raising pertinent issues of deafness being overlooked in education, health settings, and the workplace.
According to WHO, over 5% of the world’s population – or 430 million people – require rehabilitation to address their ‘disabling’ hearing loss (432 million adults and 34 million children). It is estimated that by 2050 over 700 million people –...