Samba Workshops
Samba Percussion Workshops In London
For schools, teams and events across London, the South East and beyond
I bring a full set of Brazilian carnival drums to your room or event space and get everybody playing together. Great for team building. No experience needed, no sheet music necessary, just simple rhythm games that transfer straight to the drums, until the sound of Rio is in your hands.
Meet Our Main Instructor: Dave Holmes
Musician, composer, producer, and Director of Soul Tonic, based in London.
Hi, I'm Dave Holmes
I've spent over 25 years inside Brazilian music. More than twenty trips to Brazil, and family ties to the country. Fluent in Brazilian Portuguese.
I've played guitar for over 40 years and took up samba percussion in 2007, and that road has led to years of collaboration with Brazilian musicians, including bossa nova pioneer Roberto Menescal, singer Andrea Amorim, and past members of the Rio samba collective Monobloco.
I teach, perform, produce and release music rooted in the Brazilian sound. What I teach comes from real experience and a real love of the music, years of study, time with fellow enthusiasts here in the UK, and time with authentic Brazilian performers.
Sessions cover samba and other Brazilian rhythms of African origin, such as Ijexá, Coco, Jongo and Ciranda. They involve singing and movement, along with the stories behind the music and the instruments. Everything is tailored to your group's needs.
Qualifications: Celpe-Bras (Brazilian Government certificate of proficiency in Portuguese) · Certificate in Portuguese, Goldsmiths, University of London · Diploma in Audio Engineering, Alchemea College · BTEC in Popular Music and Sound Recording · BA Hons Music Business (SAE / ICMP, in progress)
Enhanced DBS
Certificate on request
Fully Insured
Public liability cover
RAF & Army Bases
Secure sites no problem
25+ Years
Inside Brazilian music
Our Samba Workshop Sessions are...
Relevant
Workshops can target specific curriculum areas: pulse, rhythm, dynamics, pitch, timbre, ensemble performance. Or they can support wider topic work: Brazil, South America, Carnival, sound, world cultures.
Flexible
Any group size, from a handful to a full year group playing at once. Any length, from a ten-minute assembly demo to a full day of rolling sessions with a performance at the end.
Professional
Punctual, easy to deal with, and straight-talking about what will and won't work in your space. DBS checked. Public liability insured. Every session is delivered by me personally, or another trusted professional-level percussionist agreed at the booking so you get the person you booked.
Authentic
Real samba school instruments from Rio: surdo, caixa, repinique, tamborim, agogô, chocalho. Taught by someone who learned this music from some of the best samba professionals in Brazil and Europe.
Fun!
The most important part. Playing samba is fun, guaranteed joy and smiles all round, carried on the spirit of Rio Carnaval.
Samba Workshops for Schools
Primary, secondary and specialist settings.
Samba is the fastest route into music I know. You don't read anything, you don't audition, and within twenty minutes a class that has never held a drum is playing a real Brazilian groove together. That moment, when it locks in and they hear it, does more for a child's confidence than a term of theory.
Along the way they're building listening, concentration, self-control and ensemble awareness, and getting a genuine window into another culture from someone who's lived in it.
Ideal for enrichment weeks, themed days, cultural days, end-of-term, and INSET for staff who fancy a go themselves.
Samba Workshops for teams and corporate away days
One rhythm, one team. Fastest ice-breaker in the business.
A samba band only works if everyone listens. No one part carries it. The surdo holds the pulse, the caixa drives, the tamborim sits on top, and the whole thing collapses the moment someone stops paying attention to everyone else. In a short time, using the universal language of rhythm, your team learns to lock in like never before.
Team building, away days, conferences, team socials, end-of-year parties. Reset and revitalise the office energy, and I'll have them all playing a carnival groove in front of their colleagues in no time.
Past bookings have included RAF and Army bases, so work on secure and restricted sites is straightforward.
Samba Workshops for Events and Celebrations
Birthdays, hen and stag dos, community groups, festivals and cultural celebrations.
All ages together, everyone playing, and an optional parade at the end if the space allows.
Everybody gets involved! Give me a hall, a garden or a field and half an hour, and a group of people who've never met are playing the same groove. It works as the centrepiece of a party, or as the thing that gets everyone talking at the start of one.
Indoors or out. Tell me about the space when you enquire and I'll tell you straight whether it'll work.
Samba Percussion Workshops In Action
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Book your Samba Percussion Workshop?
(Nós falamos português. Fala connosco em português a qualquer momento.)