Darla Hanley's Music Room
Creative Teaching for Students of Today (& Tomorrow) PK-8
Today’s Teaching Strategy: Love to Hear It! Competition
(Percussion Ensemble Competition)
Middle Level (6-8)
© 2025 Darla S. Hanley
This teaching strategy is all about percussion, improvisation, and healthy competition. It goes with Vickie Sue Robinson’s 1970s hit, “Turn the Beat Around” for its high energy and lyrical focus on rhythm and beat.
This track is available on multiple streaming audio platforms. (Like many of my teaching strategies, you should feel free to find other audio tracks to anchor the learning experience using music that works in your setting or new tracks to simply “mix it up.”)
Hi! I’m Darla, an experienced PK-12 music educator, college professor, and former Berklee College of Music Dean looking to connect with teachers, parents/caregivers, and others seeking to advance creative music making for today’s students—and their teachers. In Darla Hanley’s Music Room you will find teaching strategies, advice and teaching tips, playlists, and more.
Today we are going to have a musical competition! We will divide the class into two percussion ensembles and have a playoff!
What can you tell me about competitions? (They can happen in teams or individuals; there are rules/expectations; and a winner emerges at the end)
What is an ensemble? (A group of musicians who make music together; a band, choir, etc.)
What instruments could be played in a percussion ensemble? (Any instrument in the percussion family; invite students to list examples)
ProTIP: Asking students what they know about an instructional format (in this case, a competition) and vocabulary provides information and insights that help us meet them where they are.
ProTIP: You know your students! This teaching strategy can be framed as a game—or as instrumentalists improvising and trading solos if competition (with winners) does not suit your setting.
Guide students to count off “1s” and “2s” to form 2 percussion ensembles.
If you are a “1” you will go to the right side of the room and select a cowbell, shaker, bongos, or a conga drum. If you are a “2” do the same thing on the left side of the room. You have until the count of 10 to move to the area and select your instrument. Note: There are other percussion instruments on each side of the room, but we will start with both groups playing the same 4 and add more later. Here we go, “1, 2, 3…10!”
ProTIP: There are many ways to form 2 percussion ensembles and assign instruments to students. This approach provides the opportunity for student choice within structured guidelines.
Project the “Love to Hear Percussion Rhythms” and invite students to play them on their instrument.
ProTip: Take time for students to practice and become familiar with their instrument and pattern before adding the track—the tempo is quick!
Let’s put this together in layers. We will start with the cowbell, then add the shakers, bongos, and lastly the congas one at a time until everyone is playing. Notice the repeat sign at the end of each pattern. Keep repeating until I signal you to stop.
Practice playing (and layering) the patterns without a track (with both Percussion Ensembles playing simultaneously so everyone is learning, engaged, and playing).
Play an excerpt of the recording of “Turn the Beat Around” by Vickie Sue Robinson for students to hear without playing, at first, to become familiar with the track and its tempo.
Play the recording again and direct students play their layered parts with the track.
Now that you know the “Love to Hear Percussion Rhythms” and can play them with the track, it’s time for you to explore the other instruments available to you—and to improvise and “solo” as a percussion ensemble.
Use this practice time to play any rhythms you decide fit the style and tempo of the music. Remember you are a percussion ensemble, so you need to listen to the other students in your group and work together to make your solo as musical as possible.
Important: You can all play at the same time or have some instruments play individually or in pairs, etc. Experiment to see what your Ensemble likes best and use those things when the competition begins!
ProTIP: This is another opportunity for student choice, and a place for them to express musical preferences. Allow time for students to try several instruments and work together to create their ensemble sound.
Select 3 students to be judges for the competition and distribute official score cards, pencils, and clip boards to them.
ProTIP: There are many ways to select the judges—ask for volunteers, teacher’s choice, ask students to nominate students and take a vote, etc.
During the competition, the judges will listen closely to your playing and will make notes on an official score card. They will select the Percussion Ensemble that performed the “Love to Hear Percussion Rhythms” the best: musically, accurately, and together. They will also select the Percussion Ensemble that improvised the best: musically, creatively, and together.
This is how it works!
Percussion Ensemble #1 will start by playing the “Love to Hear Percussion Rhythms” until I hold up 2 fingers.
When you see 2 fingers, Percussion Ensemble #1 will stop playing and Percussion Ensemble #2 will improvise rhythms until I hold up 1 finger, which signals Percussion Ensemble #1 to come back in with the layered “Love to Hear Percussion Rhythms”.
The judges will make notes on their scoring card to keep track of their thoughts and evaluation of the playing.
Then we will switch roles and repeat the whole thing so Percussion Ensemble #2 plays the layered rhythms and Percussion Ensemble #1 improvises.
At the end, our judges will quietly talk to each other to compare evaluations and determine which group played the layers best AND which group improvised best.
Let’s have a competition! Play the recording and direct students to begin.
Ask the judges to share their decisions—with their rationale—to inform everyone about what they liked the best about the winner’s playing.
Lead a discussion about competing in music.
How did it feel to be judged while you were playing today? Did having judges impact your playing? If so, how?
How did it feel to be a judge? Did the 3 of you agree—and if not, how did you reach consensus?
Do you agree or disagree with the judges’ findings? Why/why not?
Materials/Set Up
Room Set Up with 2 Sets of the Following Instruments (i.e., 2 Percussion Ensembles Facing Each Other):
Cowbells
Shakers
Bongo Drums
Conga Drums
Variety of Supplemental Unpitched Percussion
3 Scoring Cards, Pencils, and Clip Boards
EXTEND the Learning:
Ask students to improvise by only using the rhythms found in the “Love to Hear Percussion Rhythms” example—but on any instrument, in any combination.
Have all students play the “Love to Hear Percussion Rhythms” and alternate with—individual students—improvising solos for judges to select specific student performers as Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners.*
🎵 Vickie Sue Robinson “Turn the Beat Around” Link to Track on Spotify
Learning Targets
Play, Improvise, Evaluate
Learning Outcomes
Respond to follow visual cues within group music making
Create original solos as a percussion ensemble
Perform rhythms from notation and in original rhythmic combinations
Assessment
Informal Observation/Formative Assessment
Formal Observation/Summative Assessment*
*This only happens in the EXTEND the Learning part of this teaching strategy.
Thanks for checking this out. If you use this teaching strategy, be sure to leave a comment to let me know how it resonates with your students!