Junior
School
Music
Music at
CVAS
Junior School
adheres
to and
is in
line
with the
musical
teaching
philosophies
of the
famous
Hungarian
composer
and
music
educator,
Zoltán
Kodály.
At the
heart of
the
Kodály
Method
is his
belief
that
musical
literacy
and a
musical
education
is the
right of
every
human
being.
Kodály
stressed
that
anyone
who is
capable
of
reading
language
is also
capable
of
reading
music
and he
urged
that
music
education
should
be
accessible
to
everyone,
not just
to the
musically
gifted.
Kodály
also
believed
that, to
be
effective,
musical
learning
must
begin
with
singing
and
through
singing
and use
of the
voice,
the
musical
ear be
developed
and
students
gain an
understanding
of music
outside
the
mechanics
of an
instrument.
He felt
that no
education
could be
complete
without
music,
and that
it was
therefore
the
schools’
obligation
to offer
quality
music
instruction.
Every
child at
CVAS
Junior
school,
from
Pre-Kinder
to year
6 has 1
lesson
of
classroom
music
each
week and
at the
heart of
these
lessons
is
singing
and
music
making,
as well
as
instrumental
work and
composing
,
arranging
and
structuring
their
own
music.
Pre-Kinder
students
explore
and
become
familiar
with the
basic
musical
concepts
of
pitch,
rhythm
and
duration
through
songs,
playing
percussion
instruments
– both
tuned
and
untuned,
music
games
and
movement.
They
also
begin to
recognise
basic
music
notation,
signs
and
symbols.
Students
in
Kindergarten
build
upon
this
further
by
adding
experiences
with
other
musical
concepts
such as
structure,
tempo,
again
within
the
context
of
singing
and
playing
percussion
instruments.
Engaging
in these
learning
experiences
allows
students
to
develop
important
musical
skills,
eg
maintaining
a beat,
recognising
changes
in the
music,
as well
as a
range of
both
fine and
gross
motor
facilities.
Students
in
Year 1, along with singing begin to learn to play the recorder,
applying
there
experiences
and
knowledge
of
musical
concepts
to their
music
making.
Students
in
Year 2
expand
on this
by
beginning
to
explore
the
concept
of
harmony
by
learning
and
playing
more
complex
pieces
in
parts.
In
Year 3,
students
learn
string
instruments
– the
violin
and
guitar –
with a
specialist
string
teacher.
They
learn
some of
the
particular
techniques
required
for
these
instruments.
This
gives
added
dimension
to their
musical
education
further
developing
their
musical
ear as
well as
focusing
on more
fine
motor
skills.
In
Year 4,
students,
combined
with
singing,
continue
to
explore
the
concepts
of music
in the
context
of
playing
the
guitar,
learning
both
classical
(melodies)
and
folk/rock
(chords)
methods.
In
Years 5
& 6,
students
continue
to
develop
their
musical
skills,
as well
as
learning
to play
the
keyboard
as well
as
instruments
studied
in
previous
years.
They
experience
ensemble
playing
in the
contexts
of
exploring
various
musical
forms,
Australian
music
and
music
from
other
culture
and time
periods.
Outside
the
classroom
students
may take
the
opportunity
to learn
various
instruments
in a
one-on-one
situation
with a
specialist
peripatetic
music
teacher.
Again,
following
the
Kodály
Method’s
stress
on
singing,
we have
choirs
in each
stage
group.
Stage 3
(years
5&6)
have 1
choir
period a
week and
learn
and sing
music
from a
wide
range of
sources.
For
students
in stage
2 (years
3 & 4 –
with
year 2)
we offer
a choir
on
Tuesdays
at lunch
time and
is a
measure
of the
enjoyment
and love
of
singing
and
music
that
students
in this
group
give up
their
own time
to come
along.
Students
in Stage
1 and
Early
Stage 1
(K and
Yr1),
have
also the
opportunity
to come
together
as a
choir
group
for
various
occasions
and
events.
