Our daily lives are immersed in rhythm—aural and visual, temporal and spatial, and at times invisible. Whether you feel a strong connection to rhythm or sometimes struggle to find the beat, this professional learning session invites educators to explore the joy, complexity, and cultural richness of rhythm through playful, embodied practice.
Participants will engage with both Western and global rhythmic frameworks through playful exploration, investigating polyrhythm, odd meters, syncopation, and metric modulation while developing strategies for embodied rhythm games, improvisation, and collaborative composition. By activating compositional approaches using text, rhythm vocabulary, geometric shapes, and other forms of graphic notation, this professional learning experience introduces accessible techniques that support creative music-making and collective expression in educational settings.

Educators will:

• Develop a deeper appreciation for the rhythms present in everyday life
• Explore global approaches to polyrhythm, odd meters, syncopation, and metric modulation
• Examine rhythmic frameworks connecting African diasporic musical traditions
• Apply strategies for embodied rhythmic play and improvisation
• Investigate approaches to collaborative composition using text, rhythmic literacy, geometric shapes, and other forms of graphic notation