The world-leading designer and manufacturer of outdoor musical instruments, Percussion Play, has had a busy year.
From enhancing its instruments' inclusivity to widening its range, 2023 has been a transformative, record-breaking year. The first half of the year saw the team at Percussion Play work with the Royal Society for Blind Children, a charity based in the UK that supports young people with visual impairments.
The design team worked with the charity to research and discover what people with visual impairments might need to support them in creating music in the great outdoors.
Young people tested instruments from Percussion Play’s collection at an event in London with prototypes for new instruments being brought along.
The team looked at how the colour, shape and texture of the instruments impacted accessibility. The results of this work will be shared in 2024 with a new White Paper expected to be published by Percussion Play, which will help inform other play experts about how best to create truly inclusive musical play areas.
Senior communities have also been a focus for Percussion Play in 2023. Much work is done to support elder care centres in creating inclusive and interactive spaces for residents and their families.
Working with the Laclede Groves Lutheran Senior Services community, located in St. Louis, Missouri, Percussion Play’s instruments have been added to their beautiful Harmony Garden which is used for Music Therapy and provides a space for intergenerational play. One-on-one sessions and sing-a-longs take place in this space which sees residents not only create harmonious music but exercise their upper body and hand-eye coordination.
Many residents with dementia are also enjoying the instruments, giving them space to be creative and expressive. Emily Sitzes, the Director of Community Wellness at Laclede Groves, said: "Residents with dementia light up when a staff member plays, and they can replicate that sound.
“They can follow the 'musical phrase.' We are seeing a musical conversation happening!" Emily continued: "People with dementia struggle to express themselves verbally. It is vital that these people have a voice and can communicate non-verbally through these instruments."
Percussion Play looks forward to supporting more residents in the Lutheran Senior Services community as they seek to create more Harmony Gardens. The Sales & Marketing team has been travelling across America and the UK, to showcase Percussion Play’s instruments to a variety of sectors including children's museums, camps, schools, community groups, landscapers to name a just a few. 2024 will see the team on the road again.
The design team at Percussion Play was busy designing new products for 2023, to make music-making even more fun and accessible. The Harmony Hop, Temple Block Tree, and Tropical Cyclone, all showcase innovative, unique ways to combine play with music.
Looking ahead to 2024, the team will be moving office, still within Hampshire, doubling the size of its office and manufacturing spaces, in line with the continued growth of the business, which includes the addition of four new team members this year. In January 2024, Percussion Play will launch its newly enhanced App, which aims to help organisations and communities create their ideal music garden. With this app, users will be able to visualize the design of their projects.
Stay tuned for more updates.
