Music News 

Music!

This term, students have been working on the Acknowledgement of Country by learning to use Keyword Signs (KWS) for keywords in the Acknowledgement. These signs are drawn from Australian Sign Language (Auslan). Alongside this, students have been developing their inner hearing, a vital musical skill that helps them keep in time with each other. To strengthen this ability, we’ve gradually removed the spoken words, using only the Keyword Signs. This encourages students to rely on their internal sense of rhythm and timing. The classes have made great progress and can now stay in sync while replacing some spoken words with just the signed actions. Huge congratulations to all the students. This has been a significant challenge and a fantastic way to build group listening and coordination skills.

Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 students have been continuing to build their sense of steady beat through the use of various percussion instruments. As part of this learning, they have been working on the song Inanay (a traditional Indigenous Australian lullaby, originating from Yorta Yorta Country in Victoria and sung in the Yorta Yorta language) using Claves sticks to keep the beat while also incorporating simple movement into their performance.

Students in Years 3–6 have been actively applying their learning from our Sounds and Silence unit by composing their own 16-beat rhythm pieces. Working in small ensemble groups, they’ve begun the creative process of composing and arranging their musical ideas. The first step involved developing the rhythmic patterns they wanted to feature in their compositions. As their ideas took shape, students also explored which instruments could best express their rhythms and how to structure their arrangements. Their compositions have shown great creativity, and each group has embraced the challenge with enthusiasm and focus.