Music News

Term 1 in Music

This year, our music program is a little different than in the past due to the construction of our new music space. Until it is built, the program will be held in regular classrooms.

We will be focussing on developing our singing voices and exploring body percussion patterns, as well as using instruments that are easier to carry from room to room such as ukuleles, hand percussion, recorders and our new set of boom whackers (plastic tubes cut to length to play notes of the C major scale). Of course, the students will still be developing foundational musical knowledge and skills including keeping in time, counting the beat, and understanding pitch, melody and harmony.

In our composition pieces, and in our classroom procedures, we will be focussing in on our school vision and values, incorporating them into the music and how we create it.

Prep

In term 1 music classes, the preps are learning all about routines, musical techniques, and how to take care of the musical instruments and each other. We are playing ukuleles, clap sticks, drums, tambourines and shakers, as well as singing and moving our bodies to music, feeling the beat and having fun together. We are responding to low and high sounds, soft and loud music, and fast and slow tempos while learning lots of new and familiar songs including Mr Clickety Cane, Inanay, Flea, and more!

Year 1

The year 1s have started the term exploring the difference between the beat and rhythms and have been learning to use the boom whackers safely and respectfully. We will be creating our own short compositions as well as learning to accompany our singing with root notes and ostinatos played on the boom whackers. We will be working in groups to play known songs as well as learning hand clap games and chants to develop our skills of keeping in time with each other, singing and creating body percussion patterns simultaneously. We will be blending the sounds of the boom whackers with ukuleles to continue developing our knowledge of chords as well as improving our gross and fine motor skills.  

Year 2

The year 2s have also started the year exploring the difference between the beat and rhythm and are being challenged to play both at the same time, overlaying rhythms on a steady beat, creating original music in pairs and small groups. We will learn increasingly challenging hand clap game songs and will also be combining the sounds of boom whackers and ukuleles as we sing developmentally appropriate traditional and contemporary songs. We will be finding out about parody as we write our own verses to the Kookaburra song. 

Later in the term we are going to be exploring quiet and short sounds as we are introduced to playing the recorder note by note.

The junior school will participate in our music specialist program in Semester one. 

In Semester two the middle / senior school will participate in the music program.