Integrated Arts: workshops – music and art // drawing.
Music:
We started with an introduction to music and discussed our views and opinions of learning music. What was learning music like at school? Did you have a positive experience? We then listened to 5 different genres of music and noted down how the music made us feel. Everybody seemed to have the same feelings towards the music, whether that was happy, peaceful or sad. We then split into small groups and listened to a piece of music // Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2. This is well known for being in Disney’s Fantasia 2000. As a group, we had to listen to the piece and create a storyboard to go along with it. I thought this was a great lesson idea which I could take on board as I further my career as a teacher. My group decided to make our storyboard about a man on a winters day. We drew him sliding down icy hills and having snowball fights. This idea was initiated by the changes in the music.
** Inspired by a range of stimuli, and working on my own and/or with others, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings through musical activities.
EXA 0-18a / EXA 1-18a / EXA 2-18a ** (Scottish Government, 2004, p.67)

Art: Firstly, we were given a decorated stick and asked what it was. At first it wasn’t clear but after investigating we discovered it was a paintbrush. This was to show us that you can create your own equipment and tools if you don’t have access to them in your school. This idea would definitely help enhance creativity. We then returned to the art room and discussed in groups our personal experiences of Art in school. There were a lot of mixed opinions such as limited, messy, fun and dreadful. We then copied a drawing from the wall. This showed us that we could all actually draw, even though many said they couldn’t.
** I can create and present work using the visual elements of line, shape, form, colour, tone, pattern and texture.
EXA 1-03a ** (Scottish Government, 2004, p.61)

Reflections
Music: Music can be used to help create feelings for the listener. Happiness, sadness, anger etc. can all be felt after listening to a certain song which has memories behind it. During the Music input, it was evident that Music can be used across the curriculum. We used the example of Music, Art and Literacy being connected through listening to music, drawing a storyboard then completing a short story from the ideas given after listening to a song. Music not only helps creativity but also “musical skills correlated significantly with both phonological awareness and reading development” (Anvari et al, 2002, cited in Hallam, 2010, p.272). Music extends life skills and parts of the brain which may not always be used. Learning to read musical notation at a young age would be helpful for children to adapt their reading skills. In the Music workshop, I developed my listening and teamwork skills as we listened to various songs and worked in groups to share ideas. Listening to others and sharing ideas is vital in teaching, so this workshop was important. Allowing children to participate in Music throughout their time in school is not only helpful academically, but also fun and engaging. Children can create their own songs and perform them for their class and even their school. This would majorly increase their self-confidence, a thing which a lot of children are lacking in the modern day. However, finding the time and confidence for teaching Music can be difficult. This is why we should use Music to teach, for example, the 9 times table. Pupils could create their own songs and teach them to their class, which would also help with group-learning.

Art: People believe they have no ability in Art, which is not true. Everybody has different strengths, abilities and weaknesses. Art, again, can be used across the curriculum, with creating stories to do with a piece of art which was either created or viewed. In this workshop, my confidence in my own Art capability was increased. I could actually draw to the best of my ability, which was good enough. Communication skills were also improved as we had to create a picture copying 4 easy art concepts such as lines and curves. Some children may believe that they cannot draw, however, using the exercise that we did today, would should those children that they can draw and be creative. Allowing children to draw and sketch as a calm down activity could improve their drawing skills or allow the pupils to see their capabilities. There are a number of barriers to teaching Art in schools, for example, if a teacher has a negative view of the arts, then there will be a lack or even no reflection of the Arts in their class (Garvis and Pendergast, 2010, cited in Lemon and Garvis, 2013). Teachers need to put the children and creativity first and allow pupils to engage in Art as its beneficial and fun for the pupils.

Link
The link for the workshops would be having confidence in yourself. Believing that you are capable to learn an instrument or to create a piece of Art. Teachers need to give their pupils confidence in order for those to succeed.

References
Anvari, S. H., Trainor L. J., Woodside J. & Levy B. Z. (2002). Relations among musical skills, phonological processing, and early reading ability in preschool children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 83, 111–130. In: Hallam, S. (2010) International Journal of Music Education. [Module Resource] Available: Integrated Arts in Education module on Moodle. [Accessed: 13 December 2017].

Garvis, S. & Lemon, N. (2013) What is the Role of the Arts in a Primary School ?; An Investigation of Perceptions of Pre-Service Teachers in Australia. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(9).

Scottish Government. (2004) Curriculum for Excellence [online] Available: https://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf [Accessed: 18 December 2017]