Focus on Performing Arts
In the Performing Arts Room...
Foundation Students
It was a pleasure to meet our Foundation students this Term. Every student has participated enthusiastically. Term one has been about learning our routines in the Performing Arts room. We start each morning with a welcome song and review the song/game we learnt the week before. An important component of Performing Arts at Foundation level is learning to move safely in the class. This is something we have done through movement games and dances.
Grade 1 & 2 Students
We continue to build our knowledge of music in Grade 1 and 2. We have been focusing on solfège (a system of assigning syllables (like "do," "re," "mi") to each note of a musical scale) and learning to identify and remember how “Sol Mi” sounds. Our curriculum is based on a mixture of Kodaly and Orff practices so we have been using these building blocks to expose the children to tone, pitch and rhythm. We have also started some bush dancing, with a twist – by using the choreography in trending music in our student’s prior knowledge like 'APT', by Rosé and Bruno Mars.
You can find some of the songs we have been singing and dancing to in this Spotify playlist.
Grade 3 & 4 Students
It’s been an incredibly busy term (and it’s only going to get busier!) as our fabulous Grade 3 and 4 musicians get stuck into preparation for our ‘Album Release Party’ concert. We have been through the fundamentals of how to play a basic rock beat on the drums, simple chords on keyboards, and are now just fine tuning our guitar and ukulele skills. All of this will be put together at the start of next term to make some class bands, and we are so excited about showing of our amazing musicians at the concert next term.
More details about the concert, including location, times and ticketing will be sent home very soon.
Year 4 ukulele
Playing together
Ukulele skills
Year 4 ukulele
Playing together
Ukulele skills
Grade 5 & 6 Students
Our senior musicians have also been dusting off their ensemble skills and have been playing simple and complex drum beats and guitar, ukulele and keyboard chords. All of the classes have been focussing on moving smoothly between chords, playing in time with each other and the backing track, and extending themselves when they are ready for the next challenge. Students have been playing along to variety of different pop and rock songs and have quickly discovered that the world is built on 4 chords and a hook! We will use that understanding next term to start writing our own music.
Brass Choir & Big Band
Brass lessons has started fortnightly with the amazing Sean Nihil! We had such a big response this year and we are grateful for that, we look forward to some combine items with Thornbury High School.
Our Choir is bursting with energy this year. There is something special in leading a choir of about 70 students weekly. We have started singing in three parts and have even started a combined item with our big band. We are told that choir is a highlight for many of our members during the week, and truth to be told it is probably the highlight of our working week too. Thank you choir members.
Our Big Band has started with a Big Bang. We are astounded by the level of musicianship this year and may we say, we sound pretty amazing. We have been working together at music arrangement, theory and playing together as a band.
~ Keri Spence & Olivia Li, Performing Arts Teachers