Developing musicianship

Are children born musical?

There is a common misconception that some children are born musical, and some aren’t: that being musical is purely down to talent. This isn’t at all true. As with all skills, with practice, everyone can develop and progress, and giving children regular opportunities to participate in a progressive series of musical activities can really help to embed knowledge, skills, and understanding, enabling them to develop strong musical foundations, which may have a profound impact across many areas of their learning. 

Activities for a flexible approach

The activities suggested in the toolkit are intended to be part of a diverse menu of musical opportunities for all children and can be used in combination with other session plans (e.g. incorporated as part of other Sing Up Music Units), or they might be shorter activities that are fitted in during other parts of the school day – for example, built into an existing scheme of work as a 10-minute starter. 

What’s included in the toolkit?

• An explanation of the three main areas of musical learning – beat, rhythm, pitch – and suggestions about the sequence of teaching.
• Video demonstrations and activity descriptions.
• A list of resources that are useful for delivering the activities and some suggested repertoire as a place to start, including songs from the Song Bank.
• Key words and points for observation to see how children are making progress. 
• Ideas for building in short activities across the school day/week.

How will I be teaching?
 

• Active music making
  By using movement and songs, pupils become actively engaged in the learning process and can have fun at the same time. We don’t specifically follow one teaching pedagogy, however our toolkit resources draw some elements from both the Dalcroze and Kodály approaches (see the ‘Useful resources’ section below for some further information about Dalcroze and Kodály approaches).
   
• Sound before symbol
  It’s more valuable to experience concepts first and label them later, rather than the other way around. Learning through discovery means children have ownership of their learning and will be much more likely to hold onto it.
   
• A multi-sensory approach
  Music is invisible, an abstract medium, and to understand it deeply, it’s helpful to experience it in a variety of ways – through rhythmic movement, gesture, song, notations, and so on. If they can feel it, see it, and hear it, children will develop a much fuller understanding of music and its individual elements.

Exploring the three main areas of learning – beat, rhythm, and pitch

The following activities and techniques will support you and your pupils to explore the three areas of learning that form the backbone of music: beat, rhythm, and pitch. Activities are organised sequentially, from easiest to achieve to those exploring more complex concepts.

Building skills across the school day/week

Teaching a musicianship activity once a week in a music class will be an engaging activity for children to enjoy but it is unlikely to give a child a deep understanding that comes from practising often. However, as this is an introduction, the aim is to do what you can, develop confidence and get comfortable with the teaching concepts. In this next section, you’ll find a range of ideas and suggestions for building in short activities across the school day and week.

By doing some of these things you can add in some joyful social activity during the school day, which may be a welcome break from other academic learning, and additionally will develop the children’s musicianship skills and create a musical culture within your classroom.