We have been learning about beat and rhythm in music and in the song ‘B-I-NG-O’ we could show both of these musical elements. For the first and last parts of song we nodded our heads in time and for the middle section where we spell out BINGO’s name, we used body percussion to show the rhythm.

We also learned about Boomwhackers and how they are used to create different sounds of different pitches. We worked out that the longer the boomwhacker, the lower the pitch of the note and the smaller the boomwhacker, the higher the pitch of the note.

In the clip below, you can see the class performing the song ‘BINGO’ using boomwhackers.

This week in music we have been learning about the importance of music during Chinese New Year. As part of our learning we watched a Musical Storyland episode called ‘The Great Race’ by BBC Teach, where members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra play a range of instruments and tell the story.  We saw a new Chinese instrument called a guzheng which is played by plucking the strings.  You can see all the instruments in the picture below.

Photo courtesy of BBC Teach

We also learned that this year is the year of the dragon and in the clip below, you can see us using scarves to move like the dragon dancers that perform at Chinese New Year celebrations.

Tuesday 30^th January 2024 was a special day at Sound Primary School as we were visited by both the Junior and Senior Jarl Squads of 2024.

The Junior Jarl Squad, led by Guizer Jarl Skeppare Nokkvesson (aka Oran McCulloch), were in fine voice during their time with us, supported by a group of young local musicians who did a brilliant job. ‘Yes Sir, I can Boogie’ was definitely a highlight! The clip below shows all the pupils from p1 to p7 joining in with the Up Helly Aa song.

The Senior Jarl Squad, led by Guizer Jarl King Harald Olafsson (aka Richard Moar) were also pretty spectacular both in sight and sound. A fantastic line up of local musicians provided the music for the Up Helly Aa song and also their squad song which made us all want to get up and dance! Here is a clip of all the pupils from p1 to p7 joining in with the Up Helly Aa song. The Jarl commented how loud and enthusiastic our singing was. High praise indeed from a ‘King’!

As part of their topic about ‘The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark’, 2b have learned a signed version of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’. As well as singing the melody, they learned how to sign the song using Makaton.

This term we have been continuing to develop our knowledge and understanding of pulse, rhythm and pitch through rhymes, action games and singing games. In the video you can see our performance of a rhyme called ‘Engine, Engine Number 9’.  We kept the pulse of the rhyme using our hands and arms to be the train wheels moving along the track, and look out for how we show the rhythm of last line of the rhyme.

We were treated to a performance by the Shetland Youth Orchestra last week in the Sound Hall. The orchestra is made up of children from all over Shetland including both primary and secondary, and their musical talents are amazing!

We were introduced to all the different instrument families including brass, woodwind, strings and percussion. We listened to a mixture of music including classical, swing and even a theme tune or too. We particularly liked the Wallace and Grommit theme tune which they played as we were leaving the hall.

What a very enjoyable way to spend a Friday afternoon!