PODCASTHappiness Break

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

Relieve stress, boost self-esteem, and increase focus through a simple body music practice by body percussionist Keith Terry. 

How to Do This Practice:

1. Find a Comfortable Space: Choose a place where you feel comfortable moving and making noise. You can do this practice standing or seated, whatever feels best for you.
2. Start with a Basic Clap: Clap your hands together lightly, palm to palm. Keep the pressure soft so it doesn’t hurt. Try a few claps, following a steady rhythm.
3. Add Chest Percussion: After each clap, tap your sternum lightly with your right hand, then with your left hand. Repeat this rhythm several times.
4. Incorporate Leg Taps: Extend the pattern by adding taps on your thighs.
5. Repeat the Full Pattern: Put it all together in a continuous loop— clap, chest (right, left), legs (right, left). Maintain the rhythm and repeat without pauses.
6. Focus on the sensation of movement and sound as a mindful practice.

Today’s Happiness Break host:

KEITH TERRY is a percussionist and body musician who uses a variety of surfaces to create interesting rhythms.

Learn more about Keith Terry: https://tinyurl.com/5av66v5f
Watch Keith Terry in action: https://tinyurl.com/299vuw4a

Related Happiness Break episodes:

A Humming Technique to Calm Your Nerves: https://tinyurl.com/mr42rzad
The Healing Power of Your Own Touch: https://tinyurl.com/y4ze59h8
How to Relax Your Body Through a Standing Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/2fv4c9h8

Related Science of Happiness episodes:

Why Dancing Is The Best Medicine: https://tinyurl.com/y66hxxy9
The Science of Humming: https://tinyurl.com/4esyy6nd
How Music Can Bridge Cultures: https://tinyurl.com/5ar3c8yy

Follow us on Instagram: @ScienceOfHappinessPod

We’d love to hear about your experience with this practice! Share your thoughts at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Help us share Happiness Break! Leave a 5-star review and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Transcription:

DACHER KELTNER: I’m Dacher Keltner, Welcome to Happiness Break, where we take a short break in your day to try a practice shown to help us find a sense of calm, and connection with ourselves, or each other.

Today we’re doing something kind of different. We’re going to create rhythms using nothing but our bodies, in a kind of musical meditation.

Body percussion practices have been shown to help reduce stress and anxiety, boost self-esteem, and help us focus. And when we do them in synchronicity — with others — it helps us be more compassionate and altruistic and this me brought about by higher levels of oxytocin.

Leading us today is Keith Terry, a world renowned composer and percussionist who uses his own body as his instrument. We’re gonna follow along as Keith guides us through a practice he created called Body Music — starting with just some basic claps — and moving right along into some rhythms using the chest.

So find somewhere where you feel comfortable, where you can move around a little, and where it’s ok for you to get into your body, and make some noise.

KEITH TERRY: Hi, I’m Keith Terry. I’m a musician. I’m a rhythm dancer and I’m an educator. And in the 1970s as a result of working with a lot of tap dancers. I had the thought that I could stand up and I could play all the rhythms. I was playing on my drums, on my body, they were really inspiring me. And I became a body musician.

Body music is fun and useful in artistic ways and music and dance choreography, but it also has therapeutic values I’ve discovered over the years.

And by the way, you can do this standing or seated, it’s up to you.

First we’ll start with a clap. So I’m clapping palm to palm, [clap]. And it’s not a high-pressured clap. It should not hurt. I’ll say, “Ready? Go,” [clap]. And on the next pulse is our downbeat. Where we’ll clap. Let’s just do a few of those. A-ready, go [clap]. A-ready go [clap]. A ready go [clap]. Oh, one more time [clap]. How about a clap? [clap] Clap. Ready go [clap]. Ready to go [clap].

You got the idea. Palm to palm. Keep it light.

The next sound comes from the chest [chest-thud]. After I clap, [clap] I’m gonna play my chest, the sternum, [thud] with my right palm. So it sounds like this clap [clap] chest [thud]. Try that with me. Ready? Go. Clap [clap], chest [thud]. Again, it’s light.

Let’s try that with a clap and a left hand. Ready go — clap [clap, thud]. Left hand on the chest. Ready to go [clap, thud]. Clap, chest. Ready? Go [clap, thud].

Good. So you got the right and the left. You got that feel. So let’s put this together. So I’m gonna go clap [clap]. And then with my right hand, I’m playing the chest [thud]. Followed by the left hand with the chest [thud]. So it sounds like this: clap. Chest. Chest.

Will you try that with me? Ready to go? Clap. Chest. Chest. Good. Ready? Go. Clap. Chest. Chest. Ready to go? Clap [thud, thud] Yep. Ready? Go. Clap, thud, thud. Ready to go. Clap, thud, thud. One more time Clap, thud, thud. Clap, right, left, on the chest.

So we’re gonna just play a series of threes, keeping the pulse. I’ll give you that. Ready? Go. Clap, right, left to clap, right, left. Ready to go? Ready to go? Yeah. Clap right, left clap, right left. Keep it light. Two more times. Clap, right, left to clap, right, left. One more time. Clap, right, left to clap, right, left. And a stop.

Now if we continue on down the body to the tops of our legs, and by the way, you can do this standing or seated, it’s up to. you. I go clap. And then right chest, left chest, right leg, left leg, just the tops of my thighs.

Ready? Go. Clap. Right, left, right, left. So that’s clap right chest, left chest, right leg. Left leg. Try that again. Ready? Go. Clap. Right chest. Left chest. Right leg. Left leg.

Yeah. You feel that pattern, how that goes. Right, left, right, left. Let’s try it again. Ready? Go. Clap. Chest, chest, leg, leg again, or ready? Go. Clap. Right, left, right, left. Again, ready to go? A clap. Right, left, right, left. Oh, one more time. Go clap. Right chest, left chest, right leg. Left leg. That’s your five. Let’s see if we can repeat that now without a pause. So it’ll sound like this. If I go one, two, three, four, five, or one, two. We’re just on that next downbeat, you come back with the clap and start the pattern again, you’re five. All right. Good luck. Let’s try it. Ready? Go. Uh, clap. Right, left, right. Go. Clap. Chest, chest. Ready, go. Chest, chest, leg. Leg. clap. Chest, Chest. Ready to go. Chest, chest. Leg. Leg. Right, left, right, left, right, left to right. Left. Yeah. One more time. Chest, chest. Leg. Leg. Ending with a clap right here.

Nice. I hope this is giving you some ideas of how doing rhythmic work can kind of bring you back to yourself for a moment. It’s kind of a slight neurological massage as I think of it. I find it very settling and soothing as well as focusing. I hope you have a similar response.

And if you’ve enjoyed doing this kind of body music work, I encourage you to invite a friend to join you because there’s nothing quite like doing body music with someone else or with a group of people. I find this kinda work, this kinda rhythmic work, helps put us back into contact with ourselves and with other people.

Thank you for joining me.

DACHER KELTNER: That was Keith Terry, a composer and percussionist who uses his own body as an instrument. If you’d like to see a video of Keith in action, check out show notes on Spotify or wherever you’re listening right now.

Try this Body Music practice with a friend and tell us how it went. You can email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu.

I’m Dacher Keltner, thank you all for making music with us on this Happiness Break.