Tag Archives: Music

Duntarvie, Glendevon, Hopetoun, Lammermuir, Lomond, Ochiltree, Pentland

A Musical Journey Across Our Classes

June 18, 2026 G Turnbull Leave a comment

🎶 A Musical Journey Across Our Classes

It’s been a busy and creative time in our music sessions, with learners across the school exploring sound, rhythm and technology in exciting ways.

🌩️ Primary and Lammermuir Classes

Our younger learners had great fun bringing songs to life. We sang Mr Macarella with enthusiasm and explored the sounds of weather through I Hear Thunder and Rain Rain Go Away. Using a range of instruments—including drums, thunder drums, rainsticks and accordion—students experimented with loud and quiet sounds, creating their own imaginative soundscapes.

🎵 Pentland Class

Pentland class combined music and technology to create pieces that were both energetic and calming. Using the Loopimal app on iPads, learners built lively beats by swiping shapes onto a timeline, creating music to move to. Afterwards, they used the Bloom app to compose gentle, peaceful soundscapes, perfect for relaxing and unwinding.

The interface of the Bloom app. A tap creates an circle and corresponding sound that then gently repeats and fades like ripples in a pond. (c) Generative Music

🥁 Secondary Cross-Class Groups

Our secondary learners explored music in a hands-on and playful way using boomwhackers. They investigated how sound is created by looking, listening and experimenting—tapping the tubes on their bodies and classroom surfaces to produce different tones. They also stepped into the world of digital music production, creating uptempo backing tracks in GarageBand, experimenting with genres from rock to house.

🌟 Soundbeam Adventures

Soundbeam switches, sensor and console (c) Soundbeam

A highlight this term has been the introduction of our new Soundbeam kit. After staff training, students had the chance to explore this innovative technology, which uses switches and infrared beams to create music. One of the most popular activities was the Jungle scenario, where students triggered animal sounds and video clips while using Soundbeams to play flute and percussion sounds.

This exciting new resource has already been a big hit, and we’re looking forward to developing our skills and creativity with it even further next year.

It’s been wonderful to see creativity, curiosity and collaboration shine through music across all classes! 🎶

Therapy Continues to Inspire

Around the school, our Music Therapists, Sophie and Ellie, continue their fantastic work with the children, providing engaging and meaningful sessions that encourage communication, self-expression, and wellbeing. Through music-based activities, children are given opportunities to explore sounds, develop social skills, and build confidence in a supportive and nurturing environment.

Alongside this, Charan’s Dance Therapy sessions remain as popular as ever. The children thoroughly enjoy taking part in movement-based activities that promote creativity, coordination, and self-confidence while offering a fun and energetic way to express themselves.

Our school choir has also continued to flourish, helping children grow in confidence when using their voices. By taking turns using the microphone, pupils are developing their speaking and singing confidence, while action songs and call-and-response activities encourage participation, listening skills, and teamwork. It has been wonderful to see the children engage with the opportunities to perform and take part.

These therapeutic and creative opportunities continue to make a positive impact across the school, helping children develop confidence, communication skills, and a love of music and movement.

Duntarvie, Glendevon, Hopetoun, Lammermuir, Ochiltree

A Busy and Joyful Term in Music

March 26, 2026 G Turnbull Leave a comment

🎶 A Busy and Joyful Term in Music

This term has been a wonderfully busy one for Music, filled with creativity, participation, and plenty of joyful noise. We’ve been fortunate to continue our partnership with Live Music Now, whose visits always bring excitement, inspiration, and high-quality live performance experiences for our pupils. Alongside them, our Music Therapists have continued their invaluable work, supporting children through personalised, expressive sessions that foster communication, confidence, and emotional wellbeing.

🌈 Early Years Musical Adventures

Our younger learners have also enjoyed a rich musical experience this term. Caterpillar Music visited Hopetoun class, with Lammermuir joining in for a series of lively themed sessions full of songs, actions, instruments, and sensory play. Early Years music has also included further activities focused on movement, choosing favourite nursery rhymes, and opportunities for gentle musical relaxation. These sessions have supported early communication, turn‑taking, and joy in shared musical experiences.

😌 Dance Therapy: Movement, Music, and Mindfulness

Our Dance Therapy sessions with Charan have also been a highlight. In addition to regular groups, a special Thursday lunchtime session has been running, where Charan collaborates with Gordon, who provides flute accompaniment.

The combination of gentle melodies, soft percussion, and expressive movement has created a calm and relaxing space for the children. It’s been lovely to see pupils engaging in this soothing environment, with singing and vocalisation in response to the calm movement and sounds.

🎧 Making Musical Choices: ASDAN Awards

Several of our secondary pupils have been working hard toward their ASDAN awards, focusing on skills such as making choices and expressing preferences in Music. Using switches, students have been selecting pieces of music and choosing which songs they’d like to hear in full.

The range of musical tastes has been fantastic—from rock classics and ABBA favourites to Gigglebellies, Louis Armstrong, and more. The sessions have often been full of energy, with pupils showing good attention and engagement. Scarves and ribbons have added extra fun as the children move, sway, and dance along to the music they’ve chosen.

It’s been a term full of creativity, expression, and meaningful musical moments. We can’t wait to see what next term brings!

Glendevon

Term 3 in Glendevon 2026

March 23, 2026 Hazel Swanston Leave a comment

Well, What a busy term! Glendevon have been busy as usual and our topic this term has been technology and software. All the children have been exploring various ways that we can use technology. We have been using switches to operate lots of fun toys. Skeletrics tracks, musical toys, vibrating cushions to name a few. We have enjoyed some competitive races using the skeletric track!

We have used technology in cooking as well. We have been making lots of nice things and using switches to operate our equipment such as the food mixer. We made smoothies, cupcakes and popcorn cakes.

Others ways we have been using technology is by using our eye gaze and smartboard to play games and make up stories as well as mark making. Everyone enjoyed making their own picture. Some of the children have been using their switch to control the drive deck to move around the school and playground as well and having game time on the Xbox and controlling our lights as the Indepen’dance’ DJ.

The focus of our sensology sessions this term has been about a kite – what a great piece of technology that is and latterly we have had some wonderful days to explore our kite in the sunshine – we are hoping for more sunny days in term 4 when our topic is Spring.

We have had music live in with us on lots of occasions this term too which has been great. The children in Glendevon all love music so it something the whole class can enjoy together. Some children have had music therapy too and others clown doctor sessions which have been great fun. Every pupil has been going to a cross class group where all the primary classes mix together and split into various interest groups. Some have enjoyed sensory stories, some walking and dancing and others art and messy play. It has been nice to see all our friends from other classes and this has been a great way for us to continue to build our Beatlie community.

We have enjoyed special events such as the healthy eating cafe, Mother’s day, World book day, Burn’s ceilidh, odd sock day and are looking forward to our Spring Clean week.

Everyone is looking forward to a well earned Easter break for some rest recovery and chocolate eggs!!

Whole School

Music with Gordon Term 1

October 10, 2024 G Turnbull Leave a comment

The children have enjoyed a term of settling into their new classes and routines.

In Primary, there has been a focus on choosing from a range of songs and instruments to play and explore, plus a movement and relaxation end to the lesson. When the weather was kind, we were also able to take our music lessons outside.

A big group from Ochiltree and Duntarvie has focused on following musical instruction and instrument types. We have taken turns to wear a crown and conduct an orchestra of Tappers, Scrapers and Shakers, the musicians playing instruments in different ways. The group also explored volume control and followed instructions from the monarch to be loud or quiet.

A small group from Duntarvie explored guitars, learning to strum and pick the strings to both uptempo and more downbeat blues backing tracks, enjoying the vibrations that the strings make.

Have a great break and I look forward to making more music together after the holiday.

Duntarvie, Glendevon, Hopetoun, Lomond, Ochiltree, Pentland

Summer Music

June 24, 2024 G Turnbull Leave a comment

It has been a busy Summer term in Music. In particular, secondary classes have focused on the culmination of a year-long project, with some of our young people working towards SQA National 1 Producing a Sound (alternative context).

For this, we have been choosing instruments and playing them correctly, then using our skills to tell a musical story. The story was a traditional tale from the Borders, that of Tam Lin and how Janet saved him from the Queen of the Fairies in the enchanted forest.

Ochiltree and Duntarvie had been working separately on the skills, but this term they came together to create the sounds. We had a star guest as Carol Robbie came back to narrate the story.

It was a great success and has opened up options for other musical stories together and with others. We will certainly we doing this again, hopefully at a time that will be easier for friends and families to participate.

Meanwhile, primary classes have been having fun continuing to choose favourite songs to sing and play.

Whole School

Spring into Music at Beatlie

March 28, 2024 G Turnbull Leave a comment

This term the children have enjoyed experiencing seasonal and Scottish music through songs and games.

In our Scottish topic, we focused on the Three Craws, with body percussion and sensory input for the calls of the birds. When the opportunity arose, we transferred the body percussion to hand held instruments to accompany the song. We used the giant scrunchie to help us move to ceilidh music and had great fun using the Circassian Circle as inspiration for our movement, passing it around and moving it in and out, up and down to the beat and where the music changed.

Across the school, Primary classes continued to build on choosing Nursery Rhymes to sing together, always a favourite activity, with the rhymes changing regularly to expand the choices.

In January, everyone sang All the Snow is Falling Down, using story massage techniques to reinforce the structure of the song and meaning in the words, in a relaxing and calming way.

As we moved into Spring, we played drums, and learned to hold beaters and keep time to When the Band Comes Marching In. The soft beaters provided a safe way to feel the beat by tapping on the arms, feet and tables.

Duntarvie and Ochiltree worked towards creating music to accompany the story of Tam Lin, choosing different instruments to play along to the Border Ballad. It’s all beginning to take shape and there will be more news on it next term.

Duntarvie, Glendevon, Hopetoun, Lammermuir, Lomond, Ochiltree, Pentland

Music Autumn 2023

December 21, 2023 G Turnbull Leave a comment

This term we have focused on making choices in Music. Lammermuir joined Hopetoun for some fun for Hairy Scary Castle, first choosing spooky sounds from switches for Halloween and then using symbols to select animals to sing about for Old McDonald’s Farm. Pentland also made musical choices with instruments and symbols and appreciated movement and relaxation.

In Lomond the children greatly enjoyed coming together, singing nursery rhymes and playing along with instruments. Sometimes this could be up tempo or more relaxed, depending on the needs of the day.

Glendevon focused on our regular routines, structure, and exploring instruments, including playing along on wooden instruments and dancing to a percussion track by Moondog – an American improvisational composer and performer.

Duntarvie worked towards their SQAs by playing different ranges of instruments for different moods and textures, such as tuned instruments in A minor or wooden instruments. This is to work towards a project in 2024 with Ochiltree, who followed similar lessons.

All the classes enjoyed some Song Massage with All the Leaves and then All the Snow as we got to December. The children had a great time moving to some Christmas songs and playing along to Jingle Bells. In case things felt too busy, we also had some sensory music time, taking some time to relax while exploring instruments to gentle music with subdued lighting and festive lights.

Duntarvie, Glendevon, Hopetoun, Lammermuir, Lomond, Ochiltree, Pentland

Music Term 1

October 5, 2023 G Turnbull Leave a comment

This term we have had fun settling into our new space in Music. Some of the lessons, the1-1 and small group sessions have taken place in the new GP room while other lessons have been taking place in the classrooms.

Lammermuir have sociably been joining Hopetoun in their classroom and have had fun choosing nursery rhymes to sing together. Lomond and Glendevon had more relaxed afternoon lessons to meet the children’s needs at that time of the day.

Pentland used the giant scrunchie to sing about The Great Big Turnip at the Bottom of the field and it became a big favourite. Tommy and Matthew found it hilarious when the different characters shouted for help and that the mouse had the biggest muscles.

All of the Primary classes also enjoyed the The Wheels on the Bus. This turned into something bigger, with everyone taking turns choosing the different things that are on the bus from a range of choices on cards. The result was like a different remix of the song each time as the order kept changing.

As we approached Scarecrow Festival time, all of the Primary classes of course enjoyed singing the old favourite Dingle Dangle Scarecrow.

In Secondary, the groups focused on playing tuned percussion instruments to rock backing tracks and there has been lots of interaction and engagement, which bodes well as we head into a musical project together. More will be revealed in due course!

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Autumn Term Music in Beatlie

December 22, 2022 G Turnbull Leave a comment

In Music this term, we had fun once more sharing and playing music together with our friends.

One of the focus points across the school has been making choices in music. In Ochiltree and Duntarvie the children have been exploring genre, from disco to indie and rock, with more to come after the holidays. In mixed groups doing ASDAN and NQs, they selected from a range of music on switches and then chose instruments to play along with the selection, including drums and electric guitars. It was surprising to find out who are the secret rock and rollers in the classes!

In Primary and Lammermuir, we have been choosing from a range of nursery rhymes and instruments. The Pentland children had great fun deciding whether songs should be loud, quiet, fast and slow. At Halloween The Hairy Scary Castle song made a return, with all the spooky sounds inside, which the children always enjoy.

Across the school we continue to have opportunities for individuals to have short Music as Therapy sessions that allows an opportunity to focus on the particular needs of some of the children. While this is different from Music Therapy with Aisling, we do confer and ideas overlap. Importantly, it is an opportunity for the children to express themselves through music away from distractions.

We ended the term with music for the Christmas show, quite a change after the last few years, with lots of creative ideas. Next year, we will continue to have fun with new and familiar songs alike, and also take time to use music for wellbeing and to celebrate Scotland as we head to Burns Night.

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Seasonal fun in music – December 2021

December 20, 2021 G Turnbull Leave a comment

We began the term in Primary with Halloween and our regular visit to the Hairy Scary Castle, using switches and instruments for all the creepy sounds of the monsters in the castle. We matched the sounds to the monster and worked together to create a sequence for the song.

As Autumn went on, we explored fast and slow songs together, singing about the falling leaves blowing around in the wind and playing instruments at faster or slower tempo. Glendevon played bass bars in sequence for this, and everyone concentrated so well. When we had the cold snap, we switched the lyrics to snowflakes falling, which felt very seasonal.

Then of course we have had Christmas songs at the end of term, which everyone enjoys.

The Nursery and early Primary groups continued their intensive interaction music and are enjoying the recognition of the increasingly familiar songs and games. The secondary groups and the 1-1 sessions have also continued their musical journeys and they have enjoyed choosing their favourite instruments and exploring genres.

Next year, the children will build on their good work and add in new seasonal songs and music. We will also explore Scottish music and dance leading up to Burns night and beyond to the February break.