What is body percussion?
Body percussion is the practice of using your body and voice as instruments.
You create rhythms, sounds, and tonal textures through movements such as:
- clapping your hands,
- stamping your feet,
- tapping your chest or thighs,
- and exploring your voice through sounds, rhythms, or improvisation.
We combine these elements to create polyrhythms together — layered rhythmic patterns that interweave.
It’s a practice that is playful, energetic, and connecting.
No instruments are needed — you are the instrument.
I begin each session with various exercises to loosen the body, warm up, activate the breath, and work with the voice. From there, we move into exploring different rhythms. Together, we create rhythmic sequences that are adapted to the group’s level.
I often use world music to accompany and enrich the rhythms.
In every session, I observe the energy of the group and adapt the exercises accordingly.
Sometimes the session is more dynamic, other times more relaxing.
What matters most to me is the effect it has on each individual — that you can feel and experience for yourself what it brings up in you.
Scroll down to read some reviews from participants about their experience with body percussion:
” From the very first moment, Susanne introduces body percussion in a playful and accessible way, and a sense of connection within the group arises naturally.
Through clapping, stomping, and tapping, you train coordination and timing.
Anyone can do it — you just have to dare to begin. After just a few sessions, music and rhythm become something primal, something that brings you back to the basics: the body, rhythm, and breath. Susanne places a lot of emphasis on breathing and relaxation, and I still use what I learned from her every single day. You also start to discover your own creativity.
For example, we once did a partner exercise — just two people facing each other — that invited us to feel, listen, and respond without words. Body percussion helps me to get out of my head and fully into the present moment.
It brings a sense of freedom and playfulness, without needing anything extra.
And what I found truly special is that it helps you develop both your sense of rhythm and body awareness — with great joy. ”
” When I first tried body percussion, I was truly surprised by how deeply it affected me.
I thought it would just be a fun way to explore music through body and voice — but it turned out to be so much more than that. Doing exercises together, playing with sound and rhythm through the body — it’s relaxing, inspiring, and energising all at once.
Thanks to Susanne’s passionate and uplifting guidance, we really connect with each other, and it feels like a safe, creative space for everyone. ”
” Body percussion?
No, it’s not a form of self-punishment! It’s an active pause in a space that feels warm, supportive, and joyful.
You follow (or even invent) sequences of gestures, with or without music, where you touch or tap your head, shoulders, chest, belly, legs, etc., all while keeping rhythm. The benefits are many: Without being athletic, the exercise really engages your body.
Without being a musician, it requires focused attention to sound and rhythm.
Without being intellectual, it calls on your memory to follow the sequences. It’s an activity that’s open to everyone, with no particular level required.
And the feeling of well-being that follows each session is absolutely real… “