Ukulele Club is back on, after school each Thursday. It’s great to see so many children from across Key Stage 2 excited about making music and already getting the hang of Three Little Birds and Hound Dog.
The children in Year 3 have been having whole class ocarina lessons with Mr Hardy building on skills learned in Year 2. They have started to recognise the names of the notes on the treble clef stave and relate this to what they are playing. The music the children have been playing has been a delight to hear across the classrooms! We have also been able to have Yr3 and Yr4 group singing again in assembly time and the children learnt two African songs, one from Ghana and the other South African – ‘Tue Tue’ and ‘Siyahamba’- celebrating Black History Month.
Year 4 have enjoyed learning the song Hoedown this half term. We first learnt to sing it so that we were familiar with the melody and then we began to play it on the glockenspiels. The children have loved exploring how to get the best noise out of their glockenspiels e.g. by holding the stick loosely in one hand and not hitting the keys too hard or too softly! The children were also fascinated to learn that they could play an A# instead of a B♭!
During autumn 1, Year 5 looked at three songs: Ghost Parade, Words Can Hurt and Joyful, Joyful. The children have played the Glockenspiels, as well as working hard on performing as a class. In particular, Year 5 enjoyed Ghost Parade.
Year 6 have enjoyed investigating how music brings people together throughout this half term. They have played the recorder and glockenspiel to a range of songs. They have played up to 5 notes and also challenged themselves to read music. Their favourite song to sing and play this half term has been ‘It’s all about love.’
Children at the Junior School joined classes from all over Norfolk for a special online music assembly to celebrate Black History Month. Lead by the amazing Anna Mudeka, pupils were introduced to the culture and customs of Zimbabwe, through music, stories and song. Children learned about Anna’s childhood and joined in call and response singing. The sound of the Mbira (thumb piano) was mesmerising and Anna’s stories transported us to village life in Africa.
