Let’s Face the Music…

This may sound a little boastful but I am in a privileged position.  My job as a primary school music specialist allows me to work in a subject that I love and one that I’m extremely keen on sharing with young people. I have too many memories of sitting at the back of the class in a school music lesson and switching off as the teachers never seemed that bothered about what came out of their mouths. In fact my memory of music at school was being subjected to watching ‘Tubby the tuba’ and Walt Disney’s ‘Fantasia’ on what seemed like infinite repeat.  Perhaps I’m too far the other end of the scale and possibly I’m a little over enthusiastic about the subject but the children that I work with respond and seem to be having fun and that is the point – music is fun! 

The teachers I work with are great. They manage to engage the vast majority of their children with the subjects that they’re teaching with ease, except when it comes to music. It would seem that to a lot of primary school teachers, this subject is a bit of a hot potato and when I walked through the door, most of the responsibility was quickly handed to me – which was great.  But what is it about teaching music that terrifies teachers so much?  There is no great secret to teaching music but it does expose you in ways that most other subjects do not.  I have been running songwriting workshops this term and as a result I have performed mini tribute concerts in front of some extremely discerning year threes. I have impersonated One Direction, The Proclaimers, N-Dubz and dare I say it, I’ve even done some Gangnam style to try and help them structure a song!  I realise that this makes me look quite silly but at the same time, it tackles any confidence issues and gradually fantastic ideas and brilliant performances are starting to happen.

I’m also in charge of the ‘singing assembly’ and this allows me to pick any song (ensuring that it’s lyrically appropriate) and teach it to the school in a good old fashioned sing along at the end of the day.  However, this means I am standing in front of hundreds of children and their teachers and once again, acting the fool. Currently I’m doing some dreadful impersonations of McFly, Take that and The Muppets and every time I start to teach a song, I have the same feeling – hundreds of watching eyes and listening ears waiting to see if I can hit the same high notes as Gary Barlow. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t but I can have a laugh about it, the kids relax and the performance is all the better for it.

Music is such an immediate subject.  With the very little children, simple clapping songs, basic nursery rhymes and letting them hit drums, twang strings and plink on a piano create such an enthusiastic (and noisy) atmosphere and it exposes them to basics of music. Never think that a four or five year old doesn’t get the concept of percussion instruments, or that they won’t remember that a drum provides rhythm.  Birds tweeting are high pitched and lions roaring are low pitched (elephants cover both ends) this is a simple introduction to melody.  Play call and response games, this is the basis of most blues music but they don’t have to know that.  As the children get older, start to introduce more complex ideas and let them listen to all styles of music. See if they can recognize instruments in a piece of music. Get them to start writing their own songs – I work with  a seven year old who has already composed two original pieces,  ‘The Funky Dinosaurs’ and ‘Rock ‘n’ roll Santa’ which are now performed at his family gatherings and occasional school assemblies.  My input in this situation is merely to put the idea in their heads and equip them with the tools to make music. Once they grasp these ideas, children have the ability to leave you speechless.

Whilst I recognise that as you get further down the line with music, things can get a bit tricky, I stand by the fact that at if you are looking to engage young people in a music lesson, leave your self-respect just outside the door and your anxieties will rapidly subside.  You will then be left with a class that aren’t afraid to be creative.  They will be having fun with music and ultimately, without them realising, learning.