Street Beats – Urban and Creative Percussion

At Interartes, Street Beats is an innovative programme that places urban percussion at the heart of the musical experience. In this discipline, students of different ages come together to explore rhythm, body and movement through everyday objects and percussion instruments, guided by teacher Miguel Marques. The class takes place on Saturday mornings, fostering a dynamic space for expression and community.

Rehearsals: Every Saturday, 11 am

What is Street Beats?

Street Beats is much more than a drumming class: it is urban percussion, collective practice, improvisation, and fun. Using buckets, drumsticks, cans, drums—in other words, objects found in the urban environment—participants create synchronised rhythms, develop active listening, and experience group-based creation.

Benefits of the practice – beyond rhythm

Taking part in Street Beats offers multiple advantages:

• Develops motor coordination, as students synchronise hands, arms, body, and other participants.

• Promotes active and collective listening, essential for any musician interacting with other instruments or voices.

• Encourages creativity and improvisation, as the "instrument" is not fixed—the surrounding world becomes the stage and material.

• Strengthens a sense of group and belonging: students experience how the collective creates music and how rhythmic cooperation leads to a shared result.

• Acts as an exercise in presence and body awareness, rhythm, and internal pulse.

• Works as an excellent complement for those already studying an instrument or singing—helping to develop rhythm, timing, and groove that transfer to other musical contexts.

Structure of the discipline

• Weekly classes on Saturday mornings, led by Miguel Marques, who guides the practice with clear objectives focused on rhythm, dynamics, and participation. interartes.pt

• Group work where students explore rhythmic sequences, "urban beats," body percussion, and the creative use of everyday objects.

• Preparation for sharing moments: sessions in which the group performs for other students or at school events, reinforcing performance, visibility, and community.

• Inclusive environment: no prior percussion experience is required—the focus is on participation, rhythm, and the desire to be part of something collective.

Why enrol in Street Beats?

If you are looking for a different, vibrant, and collaborative musical activity, Street Beats is ideal.

• Perfect for those who want to experience music in a more physical and collective way.

• An excellent entry point into rhythm and percussion, both for beginners and for those already studying another instrument.

• Develops skills that enhance other musical areas (instruments, singing, production): rhythm, group awareness, improvisation.

• Lived in a community environment: each session strengthens bonds between students of different ages, creating a stage and a shared sound.

The role of Street Beats in the school

At Interartes, Street Beats plays a strategic role as a complementary and distinctive offering. It is a discipline that symbolises the school's openness to modern, urban, creative, and collective languages. It also represents the link between individual training (instrument, singing, audio) and community-based musical experience, so highly valued by the school. It allows students to experience the concept of "making music together" in a less conventional context and to carry that experience into concerts, ensemble rehearsals, or school performance moments.