Teach-Primary-Issue-19.2

Advancements in technology have helped bring us the music we love, argues Rachel Walker , so we shouldn’t exclude digital from our lessons I don’t make any secret of the fact that I believe music should be the life breath of a school. I also work a lot with tech, and am the digital transformation lead at my school. And the two go so well together! After all, we can trace the positive impact of technological innovation on music throughout history, and even the primary music curriculum states that children should ‘have the opportunity to use technology appropriately’. To that end, I try and deliver music through a balance of musical awareness, creation and performance, both with and without tech. One, two, three, four! One of my favourite projects is a simple improvisation to composition task that results in a very profession- al-sounding piece, using the app GarageBand on iPad. Many of the songs we listen to are based on very simple four-chord patterns, using chords 1, 4, 5 and 6 (more info at tinyurl.com/ tp-4chords ). First, listen to several pieces of music that are based around different simple four-chord patterns (something like ‘Where is the Love?’ by Black Eyed Peas, contrasted with Pachelbel’s ‘Canon in D’). From that, over the course of a few lessons, the children add layer by layer to a piece of their own. Normally I begin with pupils recording the four-chord pattern (video tutorial by the wonderful Eoin Hughes at tinyurl.com/tp-4BarLoop ) , then build in a drum beat, record a bass guitar, and if I’m looking to really stretch the class, or particularly high attainers, they can record a melody on top. They can then export it to share on Showbie. We are fortunate to have 1:1 devices with headphones at my school (music lessons can be some of my quietest!). I teach our children how to play the keyboard using the piano instrument on GarageBand, and the beauty of this as a teacher cannot be overestimated. I can teach pupils a melody (or give them a set of notes for improvisation) which they can then practise, and I can submit screen recordings via Showbie. I am able to monitor every child’s screen using Apple Classroom, and after the lesson I can listen to each recording and give specific feedback, too. Prior to the lesson, I can record my demonstration – which they can watch as many times as they like – or I can share a labelled, colour-coded screenshot of the correct notes to play. Sing, sister Another project that always goes down well is one based on the gospel song ‘Joyful, joyful’. You can easily link this to a more traditional piece, since it uses the melody of Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’; of course, the children always enjoy watching the Sister Act version, too. Within most recordings of ‘Joyful, Joyful’ there’s a rap section, which lends itself perfectly to children learning about rhythm and timing (example backing track at tinyurl. com/tp-Joyful ), and last year I gave my Y5 class the challenge of rewriting and then performing the rap. This can be done easily without tech by simply asking children to rehearse and then perform for the class along with the track, however they achieved a more precise result when they were given the opportunity to record themselves on their devices with the correct tempo metronome, and then simply press ‘play’ at the right moment on performance day. The results were fantastic! If you’re new to GarageBand, I can highly recommend the free Apple Teacher resources, which have a whole module on how to use it. If you have different devices, fear not! Another wonderful option is the Chrome Music Lab, which has a huge number of resources for children from EYFS, and this can be used for all sorts of musical skills: learning pitch, rhythm, experimenting with sound, and much more. With technology, we really can take music teaching to the next level and open up a world in which anything is possible. In my view, we’d be remiss not to include it in our lessons. TP Video didn’t kill THE RADIO STAR www.teachwire.net | 57 T EACH PR I MARY MUS I C SPEC I A L I N AS SOC I A T I ON W I TH Rachel Walker is a teacher, Apple Distinguished Educator, and maths & digital SLE at Sneinton Primary blueskyteacher.wordpress.com @mrswalkerteach