Building rhythms

Make some noise together

Instructions

Building Rhythms is a game that requires a bit of concentration and thinking. It builds musicality, requires improvisation and is great fun!

How to play

Sit in a circle.

Everybody thinks of a rhythm to “clap out” — if they have difficulty, tell them to think of what they had for breakfast that morning and build a rhythm around that (ie the sounds of “freshly squeezed orange juice” or “Toast and butter” etc)

One person begins by clapping out their rhythm twice — the next person then joins in and adds theirs to it, and so on around the circle until everybody is clapping.

When you get back to the first person, they cease their clapping, and the sound slowly decreases around the circle.

Variation

Try again, this time building rhythms using a variety of different sounds (slapping sides, rattling keys, drumming on chairs etc).

Take it further

This is taken from the book Games, Games, Games, a publication with around 250 group games. The games are essentially co-operative in nature and develop skills and attitudes which encourage learning together and supporting one another.

If you enjoyed making noise together, you could try making the sound of a rainstorm as a group.

It is great we are starting to have face to face activities again – make sure you and your group stay safe by following our latest guidelines on physical meetings.

Enjoyed this?

Share it with your friends and ensure that young people can continue to do fun activities together.

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on whatsapp
WhatsApp

Chip in to help

A small donation can go a long way. If you've found this activity useful, consider chipping in to help us to help young people through this crisis.