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.
