Category: Music

This was our final music input and we look at alternative approaches to music by being introduced to figure notes. With the use of figure notes, an individual has the opportunity to learn to play an instrument almost immediately. This is because all you need to do is match two identical symbols and simply play what you see. Figurenotes then works by matching this symbol on a page with a note on an instrument. For example, if middle C is a red circle, then it is shown as both a symbol on the page and a corresponding sticker on the instrument.

Below is an example of a melody being displayed through figure notes and a clip of myself playing ‘Jingle Bells’ using that sheet.

Figure notes is a simple way of enabling learners to feel successful at an early stage. For many reading music sheets in their original form can be challenging, however, figure notes relieve some pressure that the child may be feeling and encourages them to be independent and have confidence in their own abilities.

During the workshop, the cohort created a grid which contained different notes. Each note was allocated a symbol to create a figure notes chart. This is a great way of engaging children as they have some input in the lesson. Therefore, it will also develop their creativity skills as a learner.

This approach allows children to look at music in a new light. This can be a huge confidence boost to many children as it stops the feeling of embarrassment through not being able to read the music from the sheet in its original form. This approach allows extremely beneficial to children with autism.

References

• Lauren (2017) Home [Online]. Available: http://www.figurenotes.org/ [Accessed 9 Jan 2017].

This was a very practical workshop where we played the Ukulele for the majority of the time allocated. Also, we discussed the various instruments that can found in a typical school music department, both tuned and untuned. The Ukulele is a stringed-instrument originally from Hawaii that has similarities to the guitar. However, the Ukulele has a much shorter scale than the guitar and as a result, it has a higher standard pitch. They typically have four strings that are made from Nylon. Ukuleles can come in many different forms including; Soprano, Concert, Tenor, and Baritone. The Soprano Ukulele is usually considered to be the standard size.

As a cohort, we learned the 4 class chords which link to many popular songs. These chords can be viewed in the video clip below.

As this was the first encounter with this instrument for most people, Julie created a diagram on the board to aid us in correctly placing our fingers for each chord. I personally found it very difficult to position my fingers correctly on the strings. I also believe that children might be more able to play the Ukulele as their fingers are smaller to place on the strings but I would teach them how to play over a number of lessons instead of one like we did.

Below is a picture of the Ukulele I used. As you can clearly see it is very small, this instrument might be beneficial for children to use as it is an appropriate size for them, especially younger children.

References

• 2017 (2017) Ukuleles [Online]. Available: http://www.gear4music.com/Acoustic_Guitars/Ukuleles.html [Accessed 8 Jan 2017].

Today’s focus was on our voice and why it is important to use it wisely when becoming a teacher. For teacher’s, their voice is the biggest tool they can use, this is why we must take care of it and protect it.

There are numerous strategies that can be used to protect the voice. It was made clear to us, that teachers get a sore throat from constantly raising our voice or speaking in a loud tone all day. Instead, teachers can gain a child’s attention by simply speaking in a softer, more quiet tone as this requires the children to pay more attention in order to hear the instructions. Furthermore, teachers can use the clapping technique to gain a class’ attention. This ensures that the teacher is not putting any strain on their voice. During my placement, I witnessed a very modern technique of gaining the attention of the class. The young teacher, when the class became too noisy, would simply say ‘mannequin challenge’ and the whole class would freeze. This was a fun and engaging technique as the children could relate to that phrase.

There are several ways in which you can protect your voice from home, such as drinking plenty of water, to avoiding spicy food. This input has highlighted the importance of taking care of your voice and also preparing your voice for the day ahead. On the way to work you can create facial expressions or sing a few songs to prepare your voice for the teaching day.

Musical resources, in today’s society, is becoming more widely accessible. In this session, we were introduced to the resource Charanga. Charanga is an amazing music resource which provides hundreds of materials for active learning for a range of levels from primary 1 to 7. Within each level, there are various songs to choose from. Lesson plans, teaching resources, downloadable music and many more activities for active learning is also available for teachers who maybe lack confidence in implementing this curricular area. the information on the website is copyrighted but can we can use any of the resources in our teaching and tailor them to suit the class’ needs.

Above is one resource in Charanga. There are numerous planning materials available which detail each week and which level it is intended for. You have the option to choose what level you are teaching and also how you wish to deliver the lesson based on the resources you have available.

Even though Charanga has lesson plans available for you to use, you can also have the opportunity to create your own. Having the opportunity to be creative is essential in a child’s cognitive development and I believe that today’s input highlighted the importance of this.

Hallam suggested that “children who studied an instrument higher than 4th grade had higher scores in mathematics.” Before today’s session, I studied the various elements that Hallam had studied and the relevant relationship between music and other aspects of a child’s development. In terms of physical development and health and wellbeing, “research shows that using rhythmic accompaniment to support physical education programmes improves performance.” (Hallam, 2010)

Alongside both of these areas, Hallam discussed the effect music had on creativity.Research shows that “secondary and university music students scored higher on tests of creativity than non-music majors.” It seems that children benefit from playing an instrument to a great extent as even “30 minutes of daily music increase creativity levels and perceptual motor skills.”(Hallam, 2010)Throughout the article, Hallam also discussed the positive effect music has in regards to social/personal development, perceptual and language skills, literacy, intellectual development, and general attainment. I strongly believe that engaging with all curricular areas of learning whilst incorporating music.

During the practical workshop, we were introduced to a crucial music tool that will benefit us when teaching in schools. The application is called Garageband and is used to create various different rhythms and beats. This provides the children with an opportunity to explore different sounds and beats. On the application, there is the option to voice record aswell which can be inserted into the child’s rhythm of sounds, instruments and beats to create a piece of music.

I found this beneficial as it is a modern way of teaching music instead of the basic song book and copy style which personally I received at primary school. This will engage the children and make music an enjoyable subject to teach. It also lowers the risk of a child becoming embarrassed through their musical ability as they do not physically have to play an instrument to create a piece of music.

Below is an image of Garageband and a short clip of the types of music you can create with this application.

References

• Hallam, S. (2010) ‘The power of music: Its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people’, International Journal of Music Education, 28(3), pp. 269–289. doi: 10.1177/0255761410370658.

Regularly playing an instrument has been identified as changing the shape and power of your brain and develops your cognitive skills. Research has suggested that both listening to and playing a musical instrument can increase your memory.

In today’s session, we had the pleasure of having a workshop with several primary 6 and primary 7 pupils from Greenmill Primary School in East Ayrshire. These pupils take part in the ‘String Project’ and play as an orchestra at many events. They only ever practice for about 50 minutes every week as no outwith school lessons are required. These children were so talented and dedicated to their instrument at such a young age.

Playing a musical instrument provides children with discipline as they must remain quiet and focus during performances. This project, I believe, is beneficial to the children as it gives them a head start in developing useful skills which they can use in the future.

During the session, after we had listened to the children play a piece of music we were then allocated a ‘buddy’ to show us how to properly hold our chosen instrument. At this point, the pupils from Greenmill became the teachers and we became the students. I was not aware of the amount the child had to learn in order to play their instrument correctly. Not just the physical music playing side but also the correct sitting position, the way in which to hold the bow and also timing being a key component. Learning all of this in a short period of time each week stimulates the child’s brain in order for them to be able to retain a large amount of information in the future.

Reflecting on this input, I found it to be extremely rewarding. It highlighted the importance of working at the same level as the students and being aware of the challenges they may face and how to address these as a teacher. Also, after talking to the children it became aware that the ‘String Project’ did not just develop their music skills but also it benefited them both academically and socially by giving them better concentration and confidence.

Below is a video of the orchestra showing their talents.

This music workshop was led by Julie and the aim of this session was to reinforce that music matters and that every child, no matter if they can read music, can play along to ‘the beat’.

Above is the Pentatonic Scale which consists of 8 keynotes to play any tune, rhythm or song.

We looked at several music notes and their meaning to gain some understanding when we moved onto to reading/ playing a piece of music. We were shown a piece of music which did not have the typical symbols on it but instead squares and circles to represent one beat notes and two beat notes. We played through a variation of patterns using those two symbols. This was an easy way of playing a piece of music and would be an excellent technique to use with primary children. This made reading music very clear and children would understand it easily as it using shapes they are aware of instead of musical notes. We practised this using any form of ‘beater’ against the floor before moving onto a glockenspiel.

It is essential to reinforce that music really does matter and plays a significant role in a child’s education. According to the Curriculum for Excellence, they believe that ‘through music, learners have rich opportunities to be creative and to experience inspiration and enjoyment. Performing and creating music will be the prominent activities for all learners. I feel that through this session I gained many tasks and activities which I can take into a school in order to create an engaging music lesson.

Below is a short clip of myself playing a freestyle rhythm to the song ‘Hit the road Jack’.

References

• 2016, E. S. (2016) Corporate zone home [Online]. Available: https://education.gov.scot/ [Accessed 7 Jan 2017].

The Importance of Music

In the section of the module, we focused on what aesthetics is and the importance of it for a child’s development in the arts. The definition  of aesthetics is ‘something which is concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty.’ In simple terms, it is what brings feelings to things and brings things almost to life.

At the beginning of our first workshop for the music section of the ‘Integrated Arts in Education’ module, we listened to a variety of music clips. Some of the clips were upbeat, some slow, some loud and also some delicate and then we were asked to associate a feeling to each piece of music. It is incredible that a simple piece of music can effect your feelings in a major way.

Music is critical in a child’s learning as it enhances their imagination and stimulates their mind. Even as adults, our mind can create stories and adventures just by listening to a piece of music. Music can also be used to help a child express their own feelings that they may not be able to do with words. Another task which we had was to listen to a clip of music from Disney’s Fantasia 2000 called Piano Concerto No.2, The Steadfast Tin Soldier. A clip of the piece of music is down below.

Then in groups, we made up a story along with characters that we believed fit the music and then we delivered our story to the rest of the class. Even though we all listened to the same piece of music it was amazing to see how different each groups story was. This further highlights that every child and person has different levels of imagination and creativity within them which can be situated by any given piece of music. In the picture below, you can see the story board my own group created with the aid of this musical track along with key words and actions that we noted down to enable us to create the story.

References

• Hallam, S. (2010) The power of music: Its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people. International Journal of Music Education. Vol.28 (3), pp.269–289.