Table of Contents List of Exercises

Shadowing

About:

Shadowing-also known as 'Mirroring', also know as 'Follow the Leader', is a profound human activity in which one or more persons reflects what an other is doing, saying, emoting.

Purpose of this lesson:

Students are learning how to express themselves. They learn to musically and non verbally tell their story. They learn to expand what they can express through the music. They develop more confidence being part of a group. A great thing about this game is that everyone is really learning from each other. Each student teachs and learns from each other student.
This is a good game for expanding the vocabulary and repertoire of sounds and rhythms and textures that a students make. Each student teachs and learns from each other student.

In this music class context students are learning to lead by creating their own flowing music movement expressions on the drum. The 'shadowers' are reinforcing the expression of the leader. The Mover comes to hear and trust his/her own natural expressions.
The 'shadowers' are learning to give their attention and to follow and to learn the various movements and sound patterns that the leaders make. In this way, everyone is working together to increase their musical expressive vocabulary.

Students are learning to develop presense; and be part of the group.
Movers are learning to notice if the group is with them.
Movers learn to make clear beginings and endings. Attending to begingings and endings helps students develop self command rather than impulsivity.
Students are learning about to be comfortable and engaged with the attention of the group on them.

Preparation:

Movement Warmup
'Ready'
'Asleep'
Ballon Conductor - Student Led is a good preparation for this game.

Directions:

"What is a shadow?"- The sun shines on you and makes a shape that follows you and does what you do.
We are going to play a game that is called the 'Drumming Shadow.'
Call a 'Sticks Ready' (this is a clear way for the leader to show that the game is starting.)
"As I play the drum, I want you to be my shadow and play exactly what I am playing."
This is a chance to introduce the range of possibilies of the drum. You can include:

• Rumbling on different surfaces of the drum
• Simple pulse or boom chick rhythms
• Shapes with the Sticks
• Drawing shapes with the sticks like circles or squares

Lead with very simple patterns that have a lot of movement to them. Use big gestures. Work to 'telegraph' what you will do next.
Model a sense of regulated movement and rhythm.
Have assistant or more centered student go next.
using the full range of the drum, use your voice, use large and small movements.
Differant dynamics: loud, soft, medium.
Differant tempos: fast, slow, medium.
It is helpful to model a sense of regulation.
End with Sticks 'Asleep'.
This gets players used to down regulating at the end.
Encourage students to bring there leading to a natural ending, That is have a feel for how long the turn should be, and feel when its appropriate to end.
Younger students or less regulated students may need the teacher to tell them when to stop.

I change between different phrases and also use textures like circling the edge of the drum with the stick or rubbing the sticks together. Try to keep a rather predictable flow. Sticks Asleep. This is a clear way for the leader to show that he is completed his/her.
Assistant leads, does some similar to me and some different.
Ask a student to be the next leader. "You play what you want and we will shadow you."
Go around the circle and have each student lead."

Glitches:

• Leader moves too frenetically.
• Group doesn't follow leader
• A student leader continues on and on and on without finding an ending.

Note:

- the difference between 'Call and Echo' and'Shadowing'. In Call and Echo a player plays a music phrase. The group then echos what was played. This requires much more encoding, decoding and short term memory. Young students and anxious new students can easily get overwhelmed with this.
In many of my early attempts at facilitating drumming, I used 'Call and Echo' as one of my main processes of engaging with students. I came to notice that I would loose connection with a lot of students. I have come to see that shadowing is a far more accessible. If the movement simple enough and slow enough even young children can mirror them.

Neuroscience and Psycho-Physiology Basis:

Dr Edward Tronick- Still Face Experiment. This game supports and attends to the movement, body language and nuance. Also by being mirrored, students can be come more self aware. What we call self conscious is getting stuck in the default network with a lot of anxiety. Self awareness is being in the salience system.

Metaphor to Explore:

Discuss the theme of leaders and leadship.
Whats it like to lead?
What it is like to follow a leader?
What qualities make for a good leader?
Who are the leaders in your life
When are you a leader?

Extensions:

Duet leads the group

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