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!
Beaver Dam Rotary Keeps the Music Coming
The Beaver Dam Rotary has recently expanded the number of outdoor musical instruments located along the Riverwalk Park by adding a colourful set of Rainbow Sambas and tall Tubular Bells - making it even more appealing to music makers, solace seekers and strollers of all ages.
The idea for the popular Riverwalk music trail began when the Beaver Dam Rotary Club decided to add a park, beautify a space and create a gathering place for young and old alike. Beaver Dam residents Judy and Tom Heffron stepped up with an idea to add dimension and creative play to the site. Judy Heffron, a musician with the Beaver Dam area Orchestra and a former music teacher for the Beaver Dam School District had always wanted outdoor instruments in the community.
“When we read that Rotary was creating a park downtown, we loved the idea because that is where we live,” Judy Heffron said. “The outdoor musical instruments just seemed to be a great fit because of the space available. Having been an elementary...
Holiday Park & Resort Innovation
Over the next couple of days we will be at the NEC in Birmingham exhibiting at 2018 Holiday Park & Resort Innovation. Billed as Europe’s leading event in this field dedicated to providing ambitious holiday park resort owners and managers with the best advice, services and products they need to make their holiday business stand out from the rest. They will discover the latest innovations that can enthral and entertain an endless array of guests all year round - giving them good reasons to return. Featuring industry leading companies from numerous sectors, owners can source information and advice on funding, grants and planning as well as meet and do business with over 300 of the UK’s top exhibiting companies on hand to demonstrate their products and services.
Visitors at the show will include owners or managers of holiday parks, campsites, leisure resorts, country parks, resort hotels, education and activity...
Play an Instrument, Relieve Stress - National Stress Awareness Day
Today is National Stress Awareness Day. Created by mental health charity 'Mind', the national day aims to raise awareness of stress and is "a great opportunity to take a moment to think about our wellbeing". What better way for us at Percussion Play to mark the day than to remind us all of the tons of mindful health benefits that playing musical instruments and particularly outdoor musical instruments can provide.
Here are our Top 10 Reasons Playing A Musical Instrument Could Help Relieve Stress
- Mindfulness. Playing music helps you practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is the state of being fully aware of the current moment, without being distracted by past events or future worries. Meditation is a common way to exercise mindfulness, but improvising...
Outdoor Classroom Day
Outdoor Classroom Day is a global campaign to celebrate and inspire outdoor learning and play. On this day, thousands of schools around the world take lessons outdoors and prioritise playtime. The movement for outdoor learning is the brainchild of environmental educator Anna Portch, who started the project in 2012 as Empty Classroom Day. Originally attracting the attention of just a handful of schools in London by 2017, over 2.3 million children worldwide took part in upwards of 100 countries and more than 580,000 of those were in the UK and Ireland and 200,000 in Australia.
Teachers and schools are encouraged to be creative in using the day not only to enhance pupils’ learning experience, but also to foster a connection to nature in an era when young people are spending more and more of their time indoors. A survey carried out by the day’s organisers found that 65% of primary schools globally give pupils...
In Harmony With Autism
Percussion Play is delighted to have contributed to the Autumn edition of AuKids Magazine with the article 'How Musical Instruments Help Kids on the Spectrum'. The article explores the health benefits of playing musical instruments and particularly outdoor musical instruments including; improved self-confidence, increased attention span, reduced feelings of fear and anxiety, better communication skills, motor skill and coordination development and encouraging socialisation.
AuKids magazine is a positive quarterly print parenting magazine full of advice, ideas, stories and support for parents of children with autism spectrum conditions.
For a child living with autism, music may well be the most effective, as well as one of the most accessible, forms of therapy available to them today. Music never fails to engage us all and even hard-to-reach children seem able to connect with and respond to music on some...
International Day of the Girl 2018
Percussion Play Outdoor musical instruments are for everyone, everywhere. However, today on International Day of the Girl we are sharing some of our favourite images of girls and ladies making Music in the Great Outdoors.
Rhythm and the expression of it through dancing, drumming and fire tending brings communities together and helps them grow. This experience binds the circle in a spirit of friendship that crosses all lines of race, age, gender and faith. Lance A Brown