Music

Lots of handy free printables

https://makingmusicfun.net/

Mr Scullin's YouTube channel

www.youtube.com/MrScullinsMusicRoom 

Inspiration for children with a keen interest in music

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/ten-pieces/primary-resources-ks2--2nd-level/z6xjrj6

10 Musical activities

1. Listen to the sounds outside your house. Open your window or stand in the garden, how many different noises can you hear?  Are they high pitched or low pitched? Are they pleasing to your ears or unpleasant? Write them down with a description of each sound you discover. (Listen out for animals, machines, vehicles etc.)

2. Recycled instruments. Before you throw things in the recycling bin, could you save them and turn them into an instrument? Think of real instruments that shake, twang, bang or even go toot and use your creativity to come up with your own. (Elastic bands and tissue boxes make great guitars, perhaps put the tissues over a comb and blow???)

3. Lyric generator game. Find an old newspaper or magazine and, with the permission of the grown up in your home, cut out as many different words from headlines that you can find, put them in a bag, mix them up and pick them out at random. See if the words that come out inspire you to write the opening line or verse of a song. (This method was used by David Bowie, one of the UK’s greatest songwriters. Maybe have a listen? I recommend the albums Hunky Dory or Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. One of his most famous songs was called Space Oddity. Have you heard it performed by anyone else?)

4. Music and pictures. Grab a piece of paper and your art equipment, pick your favourite piece of music or maybe even some classical music (there are a few ideas at the bottom) and draw/paint a picture that’s inspired by the music. ​​​​​​​

5. Musical families. There are 4 different musical instrument families: strings, percussion, brass and woodwind. Arrange these different instruments into the appropriate families (look up the instruments that you don’t recognise, watch out for the weird names): (drums, violin, piano, trumpet, trombone, flute, cello, harp, cymbals, bassoon, euphonium, timpani, xylophone, tuba, viola, oboe, glockenspiel, guitar, clarinet, piccolo. Can you think of any more?)

6. Fruity rhythms. Head to your fruit bowl and see what’s inside. Say the names of the fruit and clap out each syllable. Can you turn the names of the fruit into a funky rhythm? (Apple, apple, banana, kiwi! That might sound quite groovy)

7. Music journalist. Choose your favourite musician/band and write a review of one of their songs/albums. Be as descriptive as possible. This is a great opportunity to explore the use of adjectives. (Maybe see what other people had to say about your favourite musicians)

8. Merchandise stand. Still thinking about your favourite musical artist, design some merchandise for them. (Think posters, T-Shirts, badges etc.)

9. Movie music. Grab some popcorn (if you’re allowed) and put on your favourite movie. Listen to the music throughout the film. How does it affect the mood? Does it always work? Identify which scenes of the film have quiet music and which parts have loud music. What is happening at these moments?

10. Composers. At the end of the film, look for the name of the composer in the credits. Find out what other movies they have written music for. Listen to the music from these films and see if you can work out the genre (adventure, mystery, romantic, science fiction, comedy).

List of some classical music to inspire your art:

Hedwig’s theme – John Williams

In the hall of the Mountain King – Edvard Grieg

5^th Symphony in C minor – Ludwig Van Beethoven (it’s loud)

Clair de Lune – Debussy

Cavatina – John Williams