Music

 

 

The aim of the Music Department at Hall Grove is to give opportunities for all pupils to enjoy and explore music of all types. Pupils are encouraged to participate in both group and individual practical activities and are given opportunities for achieving high standards of music making. It is our policy to include all in many opportunities, as well as providing an opening for more able pupils to excel. We want children to enjoy music in their own individual way, whether that be through listening, playing, performing or composing.

The Department can cater for children wishing to learn a musical instrument too, with a team of 14 specialist teachers, delivering over two-hundred individual lessons in any given week. Pupils are also given the opportunity to perform on a regular basis, through our near-weekly Informal Lunchtime Concert series. But for those pupils for whom performance is not their sole focus, our suite of 10 Apple Mac Mini’s which are installed with both GarageBand and LogicPro provides them with the opportunity to develop their compositional and listening skills instead. Music Technology is introduced in Year 6 and is taught throughout Year 7 & 8 and also offered as an after-school club. 

During their class music lessons, they will be introduced to music from all areas of history and music from other cultural traditions around the world. Academic music in the Pre-Prep years is very much about participation, movement and most importantly enjoyment. In Years 3 – 5 we continue to develop their musical ear and also equip them with a more advanced understanding of musical notation. We also want children to understand music in a wider social context and in Year 6, 7 & 8 topics will feature links between music, politics, sport and emotion.

Our ensembles are perhaps one of the main strengths of the department. We have ten ensembles that run throughout the school week, and pupils in those groups regularly perform at school events, but also nationally and internationally. The Choristers have sung live on BBC Radio 4 for a number of years now on their Daily Service programme, have sung in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and this year will perform in the Royal Albert Hall.

We passionately believe that music is an essential part of a child’s development, helping with self-esteem, developing social skills and promoting teamwork too. We want them to understand what can be gained through a love of music, and strive to provide them with the opportunities to discover that.