Year 5 and 6 have been expanding on their ideas and musical awareness this week.

Year 5 are learning about music and the Victorians. They have been learning about the development of music halls in London, music contracts, new instruments and popular music, and notable women who were writing music and performing at the time. We have then been looking at pictures of the Victorian times, including a busy London street picture. While looking at the picture, we discussed the different scenes that might be in the picture, e.g. people attending a concert, people selling food, children playing and people in a shop. After a series of drama warm-ups, the children were tasked with devising a freeze frame based on an idea from the picture. From there, the children started to consider movement to enhance their freeze frame. We then discussed the different ways in which we could add sound by using our voices, body percussion and instruments. Next week, the children will add sound effects to create a soundscape. The class will then recreate the London picture with sound and movement as part of a performance.

In Year 6, the children have been learning about hip hop music and key style indicators. We have been listening to different tracks and comparing them, developing our musical listening and awareness. A key style indicator of hip hop is rapping and so the children have been working on writing their own rap. They have been thinking about rhythm and keeping a steady pulse for each verse. The children have also considered rhyming and how they may add instrumentation in-between verses, as well as their voice by exploring the pitch of their speaking voice. Once complete, the children will rehearse in their groups and then perform them to the rest of the class.