Body Jams by Murray Houllif

For general music and instrumental class use, each of the six small ensemble pieces in this collection offers a fun, exciting way to foster and encourage musical creativity and self-expression. They may be performed as body percussion pieces as well as substituting sounds using available percussion/rhythm instruments, “junkyard” sounds (buckets, pails, brake drums) or kitchen/household instruments (pots, pans, bottles). Students learn how to read and perform short, basic rhythms and apply them to pieces in rock, jazz, Latin, march and classical styles. A brief description and history of the style is followed by names of some innovators for a unit on listening and classroom discussion.