Ensemble Performances in Upper and Middle Primary 

In our music program, students have fully embraced ensemble performances. During these sessions, they transformed spoken rhymes into multi-layered musical compositions. At the base is a "Bordun," serving as the anchoring bass line. On top of this, they incorporate "Ostinati," which are short, repeating musical phrases that provide rhythmic and melodic continuity. Finally, they layer a melody over the ostinati and bordun, culminating in a rich, full musical arrangement. 

As students progress through the grades, they perform increasingly complex musical tasks. By Year 6, they are capable of performing up to four concurrent musical parts, showcasing an advanced understanding of musical composition and coordination. 

To make these ensemble pieces even more harmonious, we've physically removed bars from the instruments, thus configuring them to pentatonic scales. Pentatonic scales are made up of five notes that naturally sound good together, which allows for a more forgiving and harmonious playing environment. Upper Year levels have been further challenged with La minor pentatonic tone sets to explore the minor sound. 

Of special note is our focus on improvisational techniques. Students have been divided into instrumental groups—metallophones, marimbas, and glockenspiels. Where each group takes turns performing two-bar solos, after which the class reunites to the central melody. This process supports improvisational skills whilst reinforcing the musical concept of form. 

Junior Primary Activities 

For our younger students in Junior Primary, the focus has been on fundamental musical elements such as pitch direction, maintaining a steady beat, and cooperative movement activities. These foundational skills have been reinforced using a new, unique resource: a stretchy elastic band handcrafted by Ruth Galt from Education Support called a cooperative band. The cooperative band serves as a helpful resource in supporting students coordinate movements and internalise musical concepts whilst working together as a group. 

Thank you for your continued support of our music program.