The last session of music was spent looking at figure notes. Figure notes are essentially another form of notation. These are constructed of shapes and colours rather than notes, which can be beneficial to a lot of children who struggle with “normal” notation. This can include children on the Autistic Spectrum. These shapes and colours have a corresponding shape or colour on the instrument they are playing, e.g. a ‘C’ note may be a red circle on a keyboard. Therefore, every time this child sees a red circle, they will be able to play a ‘C’ note.

As I play a few different instruments, I am able to read sheet music to an extent. I prefer tablature for my guitar, as I can understand that better and process it faster. However, for pupils who have no prior experience, this would help drastically. It would avoid some confusion and enable them to learn songs faster.

During the workshop, we were given a choice of instruments to practise the figure notes on. I started off on a keyboard, which I shared with a couple of my peers. As we all had a turn at playing, I realised that it was easier to read the sheet music and was able to play a simple tune.

As I was already quite familiar with the guitar, I chose this next to come to grips with the new concept. While my peers were using the keyboard, I was able to accompany them while they were playing the piece of music.

I think this would be an ideal opportunity to integrate music into the classroom, as it can allow children to gain confidence on instruments before moving on to “normal” sheet music. I also think that it can benefit teachers who have little/ no knowledge of performing or reading sheet music.