Teacher's Page
This page contains various workshop related materials. Please contact us for more information.
Sample Workshop Plans:
A project aimed at Key Stage 2: 1 or 2 sessions of 1 or 2 hours
Object
The object of the day is to think about sound: how it can be grouped, what are the similarities and differences that we hear.
Method
Take a large group of random percussion instruments and arrange them into types. There would be no preconceptions about what constitutes a ‘type’ but it could be, for example, shakers/hitters/scrapers or wood/metal/plastic or tuned/drum/other. The grouping could be as specific or as vague as seems appropriate to the class, but the plan would be to have all the instruments arranged into 5 or 6 groups.
There could be discussion about instruments that could fall into two categories. As far as possible, I’d play the instruments out of sight of the children so that the choice is purely aural.
The class would be divided into the same number of groups as there are instruments. Each group would devise a simple piece of music with those instruments.
Each group would be assigned a colour, and there would be cards available in those colours. We would put together an arrangement of those cards and treat this as a graphic score. There would be an order of combinations and we’d sort out the arrangement that we like best.
For the benefit of colour-blind children, each colour card would have a symbol drawn on it to differentiate them.
Results
- A discussion on musical differences
- A discussion on pigeon-holing – what’s the point? Good or bad?
- Listening to sounds in a new way
- Thinking of sound as colour. Relating this to other ways we combine ingredients e.g. cooking, painting, dressing, gardening
A project aimed at Key Stage 1: 1 session of 1 or 2 hours
Object
This project explores narrative and descriptive composing. It’s aimed at early primary school (years 1 – 4) but could be adapted for older classes.
Method
Simple descriptive pieces of music are put together quickly; sunrise – forest waking – city waking – rainstorm – factory - samba
These are put together with a few simple techniques: conducted responses, listening stimuli, cumulative reactions, learned dance rhythms and quasi-Gamelan number systems.
A story is told, of Chico the Brazilian peasant boy (if appropriate! Nationality, gender, name and background are fairly irrelevant, as long as he or she has a rural setting: the samba can be adapted to be a different ethnic dance music). He wakes, hears the sounds of nature around him, plays music to himself, goes to the city, has a party, he endures a rainstorm and returns. Sunset and sleep.
Having learned the constituent parts, the workshop ends with the performance of the music describing a day in the life of Chico.
Results
- An introduction to different methods of composition
- An introduction to narrative forms of music making
- Development of group and ensemble skills
- Introduction to unusual instruments (I would play Chico’s music on some ethnically based instrument e.g. berimbau for Brazil, riqq for Egypt, gyil for Ghana)
A project aimed at Key Stage 2: 2 sessions (separate days) of 1.5 - 2 hours
Object
To look at a culture and a people through their music, focussing on a particular festival. Often these have spiritual or religious significance and part of the workshops would look at this aspect of music in a cultural context.
Method
The rhythms from a particular piece of music are put together with whatever level of sophistication is appropriate. A procession is arranged with dance steps taken from the original festival or devised in collaboration with the students.
There will be wide-ranging discussion of the country using photos, descriptions and recordings of the music. Comparisons will be made with other areas of the world, particularly those relevant to the ethnic background of the students.
Hopefully there’ll be some research by the students in the interval between the two sessions. This will be led by the teacher, although there’ll be some pointers from me to work from. This section can obviously be tailored exactly to the abilities and interests of the class and is independent of the musical element.
One example would be to try to create a tourist brochure advertising the festival. This could have photos, descriptions of the area and the country, and advice about both the positive and negative aspects.
On the second day there will be further rehearsal and discussion, and a presentation of the music and procession. Ideally this would be to an audience: again, this would be at the discretion of the teacher. I feel it’s better for the audience to be of a size and nature that the children feel that it’s a special occasion, but without it becoming a highly pressured situation.
Results
- An introduction to different styles of music
- An introduction to aspects of the country’s religious and social characteristics
- Development of group and ensemble skills
- Introduction to unusual instruments
- The workshops are intended to raise interest in the festival and the country, which can then be explored in whatever manner the school feels is appropriate.
A project aimed at Key Stage 2: 3 sessions (on separate days) of 1 or 2 hours
Object
To create a story set to music; to start from a completely blank slate and make an entertaining and fun piece of music-drama. This is aimed at the older age range, perhaps most suitable for years 5 and 6.
Method
After a few warming-up exercises on the first day, we’ll do some thought disassociation. Getting the children to think of everyday things (a drinks bottle, for example): in context (containing a drink) / unusual context (being used to move sand) / out of context (using it to hit a drum). What is the word you first think of when I say ‘apple juice’? What is the opposite of apple juice? Imagine someone you’ve never met who likes apple juice. What’s his/her name? What job does he/she do?
All sorts of short, quick-fire exercises like this can be moulded together to create characters and situations that then, over the course of the first day, become a story. Between the first and second session there could be elaboration or tightening-up of this story, if the teacher wishes.
We’ll have been doing musical exercises over the first day. During the second day we’ll create themes to accompany each character and scene-setting music for the events that happen in the story. Some words might be written or worked out and the plot line decided. There’ll be some work on tableaux and stage presentation.
On the third session we put the whole thing together, practise it and perform it. As in the other workshops, ideally this would be to an audience, at the discretion of the teacher. I feel it’s better for the audience to be of a size and nature that the children feel that it’s a special occasion, but without it becoming a highly pressured situation.
Results
- Increased performance skills
- Development of stage awareness
- Creative composition and use of music to create atmospheres and scenes
- Discussion of the way music affects the way you hear things (e.g. incidental music to TV programmes)
