Try Therapy Beats
Explore a few sample activities from across the Therapy Beats library and see how rhythm, listening, movement, and music can be incorporated into practice.
Explore a few sample activities from across the Therapy Beats library and see how rhythm, listening, movement, and music can be incorporated into practice.
Heartbeat Exercise Demo
Heartbeat activities use the body's own steady pulse as a starting point for exploring rhythm. They can help learners become more aware of a consistent beat while connecting listening, movement, and body awareness.
Focus Areas:
Steady Beat • Body Awareness • Rhythm
The heartbeat provides a natural, steady rhythm that is always present in the body. Bringing attention to that pulse can help learners begin connecting an internal physical sensation with the idea of a steady beat, creating a familiar starting point for rhythm, timing, and body awareness.
Watch the video and follow along. Encourage the learner to notice the steady pulse and respond by tapping, moving, or matching the beat in a way that feels comfortable.
Beat Pattern Demo
Beat Patterns provide opportunities to listen to, imitate, and repeat short rhythmic sequences. Patterns can be practiced several times before attempting them independently, allowing the learner to become more familiar with the timing and structure of each rhythm.
Focus:
Timing • Rhythm Imitation • Sequencing
Beat patterns give learners a simple way to hear how individual beats can be organized into larger rhythmic sequences. Repeating and recognizing these patterns can support timing, sequencing, anticipation, and the ability to maintain a rhythm as the patterns gradually become more varied.
How to Use It:
Listen to the pattern once before joining in. Then try tapping, clapping, or playing along with the recording. Repeat the pattern as needed, and when ready, try reproducing it without the recording.
Listening Exercises
Listening Exercises encourage learners to slow down and pay attention to the sounds, patterns, and changes they hear in music. These activities provide a simple way to practice sustained listening and musical awareness.
Focus:
Auditory Attention • Listening • Musical Awareness
Focused listening gives learners an opportunity to notice musical details without needing to perform or respond right away. Paying attention to changes in melody, rhythm, tempo, and other musical elements can encourage sustained auditory attention and greater awareness of how sounds relate to one another.
How to Use It:
Listen or watch through the activity once to become familiar with it. On the next listen, encourage the learner to focus on the musical sounds and patterns throughout the exercise. Repeat as needed.
Percussion Cultures
Percussion Cultures introduce learners to rhythmic music from different parts of the world. Each activity highlights a particular percussion style, instrument, or musical tradition, giving learners an opportunity to hear and experience a variety of rhythms, sounds, and cultural influences.
Focus:
Rhythm • Listening • Musical Exploration
Percussion music offers a particularly clear way to experience rhythm because the beat and rhythmic patterns are often easy to hear and follow. Exploring percussion traditions from different cultures also introduces learners to a wider variety of instruments, sounds, rhythmic structures, and ways that music can be organized.
How to Use It:
Listen for the steady pulse and distinctive rhythm. Encourage movement, tapping, or imitation along with the recording.
STEPS Program
STEPS introduces a song gradually, allowing learners to become familiar with individual musical elements before hearing and participating with the complete arrangement.
Step 1: Introduce the foundational rhythm.
The first version introduces the rhythmic foundation of the song without the additional musical layers.
Step 2: Add the Melody
The melody is introduced while the rhythmic foundation remains in place, allowing the learner to hear how the two elements fit together.
Step 3: Build on Harmony
Another musical layer is added, creating a fuller arrangement while keeping the rhythm and melody familiar.
Step 4: Put it all Together
The final step brings the musical layers together into the complete song, including the vocals.
Introducing a song in smaller musical layers gives learners time to become familiar with its rhythm and structure before hearing the complete arrangement. As each new element is added, the music becomes more complex while still building on something that is already familiar, which can support timing, anticipation, recognition of musical patterns, and more confident participation with the full song.
How to Use It:
Listen or watch through the activity once to become familiar with it. On the next listen, encourage the learner to focus on the musical sounds and patterns throughout the exercise. Repeat as needed.
Ready to Support Listening Through Rhythm?
Explore research-informed activities designed to support listening, communication, and engagement — one step at a time.
Research-Informed Activities
Structured materials designed to support listening, rhythm, communication, and engagement.
Simple to Use
Clear, organized activities that are easy to follow and return to over time.
Flexible Across Settings
Designed for use at home, in therapy, classrooms, and other learning environments.