DrumPower Project
at the Parzivâl school Munich, 9th grade

by Nelli Cardenas

After two very nice taster lessons in July 2020, a half-yearly project could take place from 6.10. - 09.2. 2021 in the 9th grade of the Parzivalschule ( support school ) in Munich.
The class began shyly and restrainedly with the contact, but surprised from the beginning with a great enthusiasm for rhythm and common drumming. Especially in long drum passages they showed a lot of perseverance.

Games were invented together, changed, tried out and learned how it can feel to show your own personality in front of the others and thus be accepted.

Topics that kept popping up were to strengthen one's own self-assertion, to promote the individuality of the individual youth and at the same time to learn to perceive, respect and hear the others. With games we practiced to dare to set limits, to show our opinion and to get in touch with others.

Over time, great motivation developed in the planning and rehearsal of a song as well as different games for workshop performance. Ideas were collected and guitar handles were learned diligently, until unfortunately the corona-related distance lessons forced us to continue the project online and for the time being to forgo a performance. We joined in for lessons and experimented with ways to perform drum power games online. By using alternative rhythm instruments, movement games and receptive musical units, we were able to establish and maintain contact with the usually very isolated students, which we considered to be very important in these digitally determined times and more often isolation.

The collaboration with the teacher Eliana Österberg proved to be very fruitful. She took a lot of time for follow-up discussions, thought a lot about the individual students and shared her experiences. Due to the appreciative way of dealing with the students, we felt very understood and welcome with our music therapy approach in «TrommelPower».