Music

Welcome to Term One 2023! What an exciting beginning of the year it has been already. We have held auditions for the Victorian State School Spectacular Mass Choir which is an amazing experience for students involved and we have held auditions for the official GWPS Band. In week 4 we begin Music Innovation for Year 3 and 4 where students will deepen their knowledge and understanding of music and ensemble playing.

Prep

This term Prep students will begin to develop their singing voice. They will do this by being introduced to and learning to sing a variety of songs. Students will also be introduced to various strategies to help them begin to identify high and low sounds on different instruments including voice. They will explore pitch (high and low sounds) through instruments such as xylophones and boomwhackers. Students will also be taught many different music games to assist them in developing and consolidating these skills throughout the term. 

Year One

Throughout this term students will explore various instruments including xylophone, boomwhackers, voice and body percussion. They will be introduced to dynamics (loud and soft) through the use of instruments and voice. During the term students will continue to develop their singing voices and listening skills. They will also be introduced to za (a crotchet rest) and explore how this can be used in music. Students will be able to demonstrate this knowledge through playing songs on xylophone and through singing songs. 

Year Two

During term one students will continue to develop their aural skills and begin to learn strategies to help them work out notes on the stave in treble clef (formal notation). Students will develop their ability to read formal notation by learning songs on instruments such as keyboard/piano. Later in the term, students will be introduced to new notes (minims and semibreves) through short simple songs that will be learnt on the keyboard/piano. Students will be encouraged to count the number of beats aloud for each minim and semibreve.

Year Three

Throughout this term students will continue to develop their knowledge of dynamics adding to the ones they already know. Students will then use this knowledge to create these dynamics on a variety of instruments such as xylophone and boomwhackers. They will begin to explore tempo (speed) and how this can be used to create feeling in music. Students will experiment with tempo using instruments such as boomwhackers to discover how it affects the sound of songs. They will also be introduced to form (structure) in music specifically Binary and Ternary form. Students will have the opportunity to transfer this knowledge to the keyboard/piano and xylophone. 

Year Four

This term students will continue to explore formal notation and will be introduced to pitch patterns. Students will learn how to use pitch patterns to compose their own short songs on keyboard/piano, xylophone or boomwhackers. They will explore the use of feedback and feedforward amongst their peers and also create songs of their own through the use of a music app, Garageband. Students will continue to practice their performance skills by regularly sharing and performing for their peers. They will also be introduced to the new rhythm of a quaver followed by two semiquavers (ti-tikka).

Year Five

This term, Year Five students will develop their understanding of various rhythms and how they can be used in different combinations to create songs. They will work with cups to learn many different cup songs with various rhythms eventually creating their own cup song with lyrics. Students will also be introduced to two new rhythms, a quaver followed by two semiquavers (ti-tikka) and two semiquavers followed by a quaver (tikka-ti). These will then be explored through their cup songs and the use of instruments such as piano and guitar.

Year Six

Throughout Term One, Year Six students will investigate songs from various countries. Students will begin by choosing a traditional song from their country or one they are interested in and the instrument most appropriate for that song. They will practice these songs in small groups or as individuals and provide each other with feedback and feedforward to improve their performance. Students will then practice their performance skills by sharing their learning with the class.

How can you support your child’s Music learning at home?

• Sing a variety of different songs with words. These can be from anywhere in the world.
• Experiment with sound and rhythm. This could be with instruments you own or home-made instruments.
• When listening to music pick out any patterns you can hear.