What would YOU like your lo to learn in Music at primary school?

[ratfly]

After coming back from maternity leave, I am now the school music teacher. I am really excited - I want to get the kids to read music and try out different instruments - but also wondering how I can broaden the music curriculum a bit..

Given that I cannot do 1:1 music tuition at school, what would YOU like your dc to learn about music in school?

[southeatsastras]

oh teach them the dr who theme with recorders

we all learnt to z cars, it made it more exciting

[TheMadHouse]

My DS is only 2.5, but loves music and it is an active part in his life. He particluarly likes Nicky Davies Stuff.

It is imporatant to me that he enjoys singing, even though it is not in tune and will happily sit in his room once he has woke up singing away.

When he goes to school, I would like him to enjoy making music, percussion is something I remember and really enjoyed. He loves to drum and shake etc. It is fun making instrumements and learning about how sound happens. Milk bottles with differnet amounts of water etc

[ratfly]

like the idea if Dr who theme on recorders!! They will LOVE that!
and making instruments too - I will research how to make some wind and string instruments using tat.

[Hallgerda]

Reading music would be a really good thing to teach. As well as helping with any musical instrument they might later play, I strongly suspect it might help some of the pupils to read words better.

[LizP]

Would love my dc to be taught to sing using the kodaly method.

[ratfly]

Halgerda - I thought the same thing. Then I went into the Y1 class, ready to teach CDE on the stave, and realised that some couldnt read CDE yet!!!!! Nightmare!!! lol

[ratfly]

liz - what is kodaly?

[Hallgerda]

Oh dear, ratfly! I suppose if they can't recognise the letters they're not going to manage to recognise notes on the stave either. I would have thought the benefit of learning to read music would come at around the phonic decoding stage - practice in a nice pure phonics system with no nasty exceptions, unlike English.

[Hallgerda]

My mother had dyslexic clarinet pupils who could cope fine with stave notation.

[ratfly]

hmmm. maybe I could just go ahead and try stave notation anyway. it IS different to reading words anyway... I just bottled when I realised how low ability the class was generally!

[berolina]

reading music, definitely. Basics (incl scientific ones) of pitch, rhythm. Basics of various musical styles/genres, perhaps with a special focus on one piece/song for each one. Get them to enjoy singing.

[berolina]

(When I say 'basics', I mean real, simply/practically put basics, not reams of complicated theory necessarily)

[samanthar]

'proper' stuff such as what a minim is and what it looks like and what it does....this must be easier now with power point and white board )not that i wd have the first clue how to do either).... lots and lots of singing old fashioned songs or hymns if this is allowed ..they seem able to sing verse after verse of ceebeebies theme songs with no trouble and really there must be sthing else to graduate to afer wheels on the bus, down at the station,row row row yr boat of which after 3 years of toddler groups we if not they a re heartily sick

[wheresthehamster]

ks1 learn to play ocarinas/recorders
ks2 school orchestra/wind band/choir
concerts
singing at daily assembly
whole school singing practice weekly
staff (who are musical!) do music clubs e.g. guitar/recorder/singing - available then to children who can't afford music lessons
speciality visitors - african drumming etc

[islandofsodor]

I would want singing to be at the core of the music curriculum. I would like the music teacher to attend something like the fantastic singposium conference to update skills.

I would also like the basics of rhythm, notation and appreciation of different genres of music.

Plenty of performance opportunities too.

[MrsJohnCusack]

where are you? There may be a local orchestra (pro or amateur) that does outreach stuff for primary school children -that's always well worth getting involved in

agree with singing, and learning to read music. if they can't read the letters, then Kodaly is based on the sol-fa notation (you know, do re me sol fa la ti do just like in the Sound of Music) and concentrates on training the ear, a lot of that through group singing exercises. It's really good. you don't have to do the full Kodaly thing to find out about learning sol-fa. I did Kodaly classes at music college and I wish I'd done it earlier as it really trains your ear.

and totally agree about learning stuff they know on recorders (and singing). Dr Who would be brilliant!

twentypence should have some good ideas too - she's online at NZ times like me

[seeker]

The music teacher at my dcs school is wonderful! They sing a lot - and a wide range of music. Particular favourites anve been music hall songs (Any Old Iron - that sort of thing) Simon and Garfunkle, the Beatles, the Proclaimers. They sing a lot of rounds - which they love and helps them learn to listen. In years5 and 6, they experiment with computer generated music using Macs. The little ones do tims of percussion, making instruments and so on, and theyre are lits of musical visitors - African Drums, a Gamelan - all sorts of things.

A minor gripe - I would have liked it if they had been introduced earlier, in a very low key to formal written muusic, though. Their teacher puts a lot of emphasis on "by ear" work, which is fab, but it means that my dds playing by ear is streets ahead of her music reading - which she is finding a bit frustrating now she's moving on and joining secondary school choir and doing music exams and things.

[arfishy]

Just feedback about my musical experiences in school to help you.



I was scarred for life by being pronounced out of tune in the school choir and ceremoniously booted out. [and it was only 30 years ago not that I'm still dwelling on it emoticon]

There were never, ever enough drums at primary school and the popular kids always got them. Triangles are not fun. And there are always hundreds of them because they are cheap. And boring. [and it was only 35 years ago not that I'm still dwelling on it emoticon]

Singing is fun (and it's not my fault that I'm tone deaf so don't be horrible to me and kick me out of the choir in FRONT OF THE ENTIRE CLASS).

Being able to read music is fun and means you can make strangulated noises play your recorder at home. Saxophones are GREAT FUN. Walking around school with a violin cases make you look like a nerd (not that it's stopped me forcing it on DD at 5 of course). People who can play "those big" recorders are to be admired.

Anyway, good luck with the music class. No scarring 5 year olds for life now

[islandofsodor]

Arfishy, I can almost guarantee that you were not tone deaf. You just didn't have a teacher who could get you to stand and breathe properly. It takes time in a 5 year old and should be approached through games rather than technical excercises but doing a fun rhyme which involves sirening, making silly hissing noises, chewing a sweet and standing correctly lays the foundations for good, tuneful singing.

[Bewilderbeast]

rhythym, beat etc great group exercises that a whole class can do at once and it's fun and you only need hands and fingers to do it!

[RosaLuxembourg]

Our school have been experimenting with ukeleles. The children absolutely love them.

[Nightynight]

Nothing. I HATED music in primary school.

[TheDuchessOfFlexiFeet]

I'd like them to learn to read music. And sing in a choir or musical etc. I'd like them to have the opportunity to try a variety of instruments and then spend more time on the one that they liked.

Which is what happens at our school. And if they haven't learnt an instrument by Year 5 then Recorder is compulsory.