Background to the Project
Wider Opportunities at Key Stage 2 is a national programme that has evolved from the government’s pledge that
“over time, all pupils in primary schools who wish to will have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument.”
In December 2007 the government pledged £82 million for the next three years of continued funding for Local Authorities to spend on music education, with a further £40 million to purchase new instruments.
The aspirations behind this funding, is that by 2011 all primary school pupils who want to can have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument for free, normally in a large group or whole class setting for a least a year.
What is Musicians in Residence? (MIR)
The MIR involvement allows children the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, using curriculum time, in a large group or whole class setting for a full academic year. Instruments are provided free of charge by Leicester-Shire Arts in Education for pupils to borrow for the duration of the MIR programme.
At the end of the first year, all pupils are able to make an informed choice and to genuinely decide if they wish to continue to learn a musical instrument. Working closely in partnership with the music service, schools are then able to buy in instrumental provision for those pupils who wish to continue learning the instrument of their choice. Many schools buy in ensemble teaching from the music service to allow pupils to continue playing in an ensemble setting.
Musicians in Residence help enhance the school’s overall provision for music including the National Curriculum.
MIR is a way to involve more students in the early stages of music delivery. In conjunction with Musicians in Residence and Wider Opportunities, Leicester-Shire Arts also still have all the elements of individual tuition for those pupils that choose that path.
Thringstone Primary School
Twenty eight children, who were all in the same class and their teacher, were divided into three groups of nine. One group would begin at the start of every term. There would also be a continuation group for those who were interested. Thus the first group began the process of learning the basics of the French horn.
It was decided in a pre-group meeting that the teacher would also learn horn along with the children. This was beneficial in two ways; firstly, the children would have the opportunity to observe their own class teacher in a learning role and secondly she would share her classes’ experience of the project.
For me as the MIR, the class teacher would have an in depth knowledge of the learners and as a result behavioural disruption would be kept to a minimum. In conjunction with this her management skills would enable me to get the maximum effort out of each fifty minute time slot.
Discussing experiences garnered from SoundStart, SmartMusic and small group teaching, the class teacher and I decided that we would use no notation. Therefore, listening, reflecting and observation skills would be the paramount learning tools.
As a result of our no notation decision, it was important to introduce sounds and pitch at a very early stage in the proceedings. This was done by repetition of the note C, until everyone in the group had a grasp of what and where it was. This procedure continued until the group could play five notes, they could then start to play simple tunes. When rhythmic patterns were introduced week by week this gave all the children a basic tool kit to use for improvisation. All three groups went along at much the same tempo. They as learners differed in their group dynamics and interactions but all achieved the planned outcome of five notes-five tunes.
Thringstone School has a very supportive head teacher and a staff group who welcomed the MIR programme with great enthusiasm. Both children and teachers said how much they enjoyed the weekly sessions and this was reflected in the good rate of progress made and the very positive dynamics of the group sessions.
Although of mixed abilities the children seemed to become very supportive of each other in their music making. At no time did any child show any signs of distress at not getting it right first time. In fact, an atmosphere of mutual respect developed and the teacher was impressed by their team endeavours.
Conclusion
As a teacher of brass instruments, the MIR experience gave me the opportunity to learn from my class teaching colleague as well as my personal and teaching skills being evaluated and assessed on a weekly basis. This has given me greater confidence in my work and much greater knowledge of wider education strategies. Valuable lessons have been learnt by all professionals but those who seem to have gained the most are the children.
In my opinion, it is great that we as music professionals are involving more children in music. It is also good that we give pupils a chance to see how they would take to an instrument rather than use aptitude tests to try to predict whether they might succeed. However, wider opportunities tuition is only an introduction to the world of music and a first step in the process of learning an instrument.
As music teachers we should all remember that the key benefit from Wider Opportunities/Musicians in Residence is the chance for every pupil to engage with music – the instrument needs to be the vehicle to further opportunities, rather than the obstacle.
