Tambourine Tempos: Walk, Jog and Hop to the Beat

A traveling warm-up where the tambourine sets both the beat and the type of movement. Students warm up while sharpening their ear for tempo.

How to play

1. Move freely around the space, one step for every tambourine hit (2 min).
2. Slow tempo: walk; medium: jog; fast: skip. The teacher switches tempo without warning (3 min).
3. One loud hit means change direction; two quick hits mean a two-foot hop, then keep going (2 min).
4. Silence: freeze balancing on one foot. Then hand the tambourine to students for 30-second turns (3 min).

Rules

• Nobody moves faster than the beat: the tambourine is the boss.
• Travel toward open space and never move backward.
• Land the hops softly with bent knees.
• Whoever holds the tambourine must play tempos the whole group can follow.

Variations

Adaptations

• Deaf or hard-of-hearing students: pair each tempo with a big arm signal.
• Wheelchair users: turn the tempos into slow, medium or fast wheel pushes.
• Students shy about playing in front of the class can lead as a duo.

Learning goals

• Match travel speed to the beat.
• React to sound cues with changes in movement.
• Raise heart rate and body temperature gradually.

Equipment for a class of 25

• tambourines: 2

Teacher tip

Always start slow; if you open fast, the group loses the beat and it turns into a race. The classic mistake is running ahead of the beat, so stop and have them listen for two bars standing still before restarting.

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