PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Kindy students love to engage in music ! Children are introduced to musical concepts such as pitch , dynamics , beat and exploring the singing voice . In a recent game , the children learnt about the differences in timbre ( tone quality ) between wood , metal and shaker percussion instruments . Each child had a selection of instruments within their reach , ready to respond to sounds they heard played behind a screen . If they heard a wooden instrument , the response was accompanied with tapping sticks playing the beat . “ Here are some wood sounds , wood sounds , wood sounds . Here are some wood sounds . Let me hear them play !”
“ We play musical instruments and we have to guess which one is playing .” – Hamish
“ When you play music you can use tapping sticks .” – Grace
“ We sing .” – Morgan
In Pre-Primary , the exploration of music concepts continues with an increased focus on rhythm and individual responses . It is a joy to hear students ’ solo singing voices developing from such a young age . As part of a song / game called “ Charlie over the Ocean ”, each child had the opportunity to sing solo phrases , substituting their own name into the song , with the class echoing each phrase . This led to a duck-duck-goosestyle chase around a circle to determine whose turn was next !
“ I like playing the music games like “ Charlie over the ocean ”. We got to sing a solo and then play chasey around the circle .” – Austin
“ I like the parachute . It ’ s nice when the air blows on your face in time with the beat really , really fast .” – Olivia
“ I like playing on the drums because they go boom , boom , boom .” – Hugo
In Year 1 , children learn to distinguish between beat and rhythm . They learn specific pitch relationships for a limited pitch set and practise all their skills through music performance and responding to the music of others . The children learnt a folk song called “ Bow , wow , wow ” with actions . They practised singing the song so they were confident to ‘ audiate ’ ( imagine ) selected phrases in their mind . The ability to think music is critical to developing as a musician and listening to music with comprehension .
“ We learn to sing songs like “ Bow , wow , wow ”. Sometimes we just think the music in our heads and do some actions .” – Michael
“ I like the games that we play in music like Lickety Spry . You have to guess what note is being played on the xylophone .” – Alistair
“ I like it when we use puppets to learn music patterns . The dog called Fluffy is my favourite .” – Harry
Year 2 represents an important musical milestone as the children are given the opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge to learning a string instrument – violin , viola or cello . The children engage in string lessons as part of a small group as well as fortnightly string ensemble sessions . Development of knowledge and skills in pitch and rhythm and other music elements continues . Recently , the Year 2s learned a song called ” Lucy Locket ”, performing it with the singing voice , learning the corresponding solfa hand signs ( mi , so and la ) and playing the melody on tuned percussion in a variety of different keys . Students experimented with different starting notes , discovering that not all starting notes on the xylophone sound right , due to the different pitch relationships .
“ You learn how to play different instruments and to play songs starting on different notes .” – Lachlan
“ We learn hand symbols and you can do some songs with them .” – Amelia
“ We get to learn new songs and we play the songs that we know on the violin .” – Xavier
In Year 3 , while many students continue learning a string instrument , all children begin instruction on the descant recorder as another music-learning tool . Music reading skills continue to develop as students create and perform music . One project involved the notation of a 4-beat rhythm pattern to be played on the following recorder notes : G , A , B and C . The students recorded their performances on iPads and created a simple backing track using Garage Band .
“ My favourite thing about music is playing the recorder . We have learned the notes G , A , B and C .” – Harriet
“ I like how we get to play in a band with recorder , xylophone and drum for a song called Gina Dallapiccola .” – Jace
“ My favourite thing about music is the rhythm house . We chose some rhythms and then we clapped two of them . Other people had to guess which ones we clapped .” – Jack
Year 4 students continue learning the recorder in combination with class percussion instruments and extensive use of the singing voice . Music vocabulary increases
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