Music

What has been going on in the Music Classroom… 

Year Prep 

Our Year Prep students have started their year in Music with learning how to be safe and responsible when handling instruments and equipment in the Music room. Through the use of boomwhackers and musical games that involve physical movement, students are practicing how to follow changing beats and tempo. This is a helpful ability that can assist their instrumental learning journey in the future.  

Year 1/2 

Students have been learning how to identify the five elements of music: Harmony, Tempo, Melody, Dynamics and Timbre.  Each week we focused on a different element, and students were given opportunities to improvise, play and identify these elements of music using percussion instruments, singing, drawing and dancing. Students also learnt about the four instrument families (Brass, wind, percussion and strings), and had the chance to try out different instruments in class such as the flute, violin, guitar and trumpet. 

Year 3/4 

Year 3/4 students are learning about the history, plot and music in the ‘Nutcracker’ ballet. Using their knowledge of the five elements of Music, students have been practicing their ability to analyse Music by describing what melody, harmony, tempo, timbre and dynamic they can hear in the different pieces. This skill is important for many reasons; it is not only a skill that is being tested in VCE Music subjects, but is also one that supports composition and instrumental performance as students can analyse what other pieces or performers are doing well. Our year 3/4 students have also used various instruments in the Music room, such as the maracas, tambourine, clap sticks and boomwhackers. 

Year 5/6

Students have been learning about the major and harmonic minor scales in Music, and have been integrating their understanding of these two scales into their music-making. Using the online piano, students learn to compose nice sounding pieces through trial and error, and by following the rules of major or harmonic minor scales. Students will also start learning about ‘The Magic Flute’ opera composed by Mozart. They will learn about arias (i.e. a song sung by a character in the opera that showcases the character’s emotions and thoughts), and will compose an aria for one of the characters in ‘The Magic Flute’.