"Our Mr Beethoven",
an integrated approach.



Source: BBC Schools WWI resources

Teacher: Alison Kelly
School: Southview Junior School Language Unit
Ages: 18 pupils, Y3 - 6
Piece: Beethoven’s 5th (1st movement)

This school have been clever to utilise a mixture of pupils throughout the school and woven the piece through a curriculum project using music, song and dance!
 

 

 

 

 

 

"We have been working on a school project about Walter Tull...

He was the 2nd professional mixed race footballer in this country to play in the top division of the football league playing for Spurs and Northampton Town. His football career was curtailed by the outbreak of WW1.

 He became the 1st infantry officer of mixed race to be commissioned in the British army and was greatly loved by his men. Sadly he was killed in the war and history has not served him kindly. He was never honoured for his bravery.

 

Having listened to the music for several weeks before the launch, when we watched the video the children exclaimed, on hearing the Beethoven “that is our music”.
Subsequently, he has become known as “our Mr Beethoven”

 I felt that the Beethoven would give a good basis for writing fanfares for a ceremony to award him with a posthumous honour. With the agreement of the class teacher, we have extended this project in music for 2 terms. [Music:] We started by learning to play the 1^st 2 bars of Beethoven’s 5^th. The children then wrote and learnt to play their own compositions using its famous rhythm and the pentatonic scale. 

[Song:] I then chose 8 of these 2 bar tunes and put them together in the best order to create a song tune. As a class, the children wrote the words of the Walter Tull song.

[Dance:] This term, after watching the 2 dance master classes on the BBC website we have created a dance to the piece (greatly slowed down) that depicts elements of his story. To finish off our project, the children are going to write fanfares for our ceremony.
At Southview this year Martin Garrod is teaching Brass L2M for the whole year. In conjunction, with him, and to finish off our project, the children are going to write fanfares for our ceremony, which his brass players will learn to play for us.

In the summer we will have his award ceremony featuring our song, dance and fanfare and invite an audience. Martin, who is a Spurs supporter has also suggested that we let Spurs and Northampton Town know what we have been doing as he believes that they will be very interested.

The children have REALLY enjoyed this work and are so excited by the BBC website and its supporting material. What a terrific success!"

 

The Walter Tull Song   

 

I’m Walter Tull, this is my song.

Enjoy it please and sing along.

I’m Folkstone born, in eighty-eight

I’m 1of 6, but my mum died

 

My dad’s new wife was called Clara.

When I was nine my dad died, too.

My step mum tried to care for us

But it was hard, so orphanage.

 

Brother Edward left for Glasgow.

Printing for me, didn’t like it.

Still loved football, played in spare time.

Spotted by Spurs, I signed for them.

 

Then war started, nineteen fourteen

We had to go, my team signed up.

Fight for England was our duty.

Because of this – no more football.

 

Officer Tull in no man’s land

Led men to fight but he got shot

My body’s lost somewhere on France.

Militr’y cross not yet for me.

 

Beethoven Symphony no.5 (1^st Movement),
with ukuleles!

Did you know?
That this piece of music and the ukulele were both created in the 19^th century…?

St Michael and All Angels CofE Infant School have been absorbing the Ten Pieces as part of their Y2 KS1 Listen2Me ukulele sessions, Julia McKinley (HMS teacher) explains…

“The class didn’t see the actual Ten Pieces DVD, although I think the class teacher showed some parts of it. However, I explained about the Ten Pieces and then played just the Beethoven extract on a CD. The class listened and responded with comments [below]. We practised playing ‘air ukulele’ along with the CD in order to find a good rhythmic pattern to use on the ukulele. Then using a C chord we strummed the opening rhythm and then plucked open strings as a contrast.”

 

Why did you choose this piece to inspire your work?

The strong rhythmic pattern of the opening

What was the theme for your creativity – how did you engage your pupils?

Used ukuleles to copy the rhythm patterns in by first strumming and then plucking

What were the outcomes?

After recording pupils were delighted to hear themselves, and then discuss ‘stars’ and ‘wishes’, i.e. best bits of their recording and improvement suggestions

Any challenges?

Keeping together when changing from strumming to plucking. Could have got round this by haing half the class strum and the other half pluck, although the class loved to be able to play it all!

Owl Class, Y2 ukulele recording (click to open)

Quotes:

“Feels strong – like a super hero”

“The rhythm pattern sounds like gong round a corner to surprise someone”

“Dramatic!”

BBC Singers come to New Hall at Winchester College to perform Zadok the Priest with over 400 Hampshire Primary School Pupils

On Thursday 29^thJanuary 2015 Hampshire Music Hub invited over four hundred primary school pupils to take part in two vocal workshops in partnership with the BBC Singers and Winchester College. The workshops took place in the wonderful newly refurbished New Hall at Winchester College and were led by the BBC Singers under the direction of one of their principal guest conductors Paul Brough along with a fabulous accompanist on the piano.

The focus of the workshops was the piece of music that George Frideric Handel wrote for the coronation of George II in 1727, and played at every coronation since then, Zadok the Priest.

 Zadok the Priest is one of the works which has been chosen for the BBC Ten Pieces national music project and we were delighted to be able to work with 15 Hampshire Primary schools in this partnership as part of own Ten Pieces programme of events.

After some initial vocal warm ups led by Lynette, one of the altos from the choir, Paul taught the children a“melancholy yet hopeful” song which they sang beautifully in a three part round. This led into a first performance of the two part children’s chorus version of Zadok the Priest that has been especially written for the BBC Ten Pieces Project.

 After a short break the pupils watched the BBC Ten Pieces film of Zadok the Priest on the huge screen of New Hall, which was a treat in itself! However a real highlight of both sessions was a live performance of the complete original version of the work performed by the full four part BBC Singers. Real spine tingling moments!

After rehearsing the style, diction, interpretation of the words and other performance details the workshops culminated in a polished performance of the abridged version of Zadok the Priest by the children’s choir with the BBC Singers. A performance the children will never forget!

Quotes:

"For most of our children this is the first time they have embarked on this sort of performance -using a score, and singing a classical piece of music but we all learnt so much and had a fabulous time."

"It was their first exposure to professional singing, and it just blew them away. The conductor got such a lot out of them. The best comment made afterwards was - "I never knew I could make a sound like that" - which rather summed it up. They have raised their expectations of themselves."

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the BBC Singers and Winchester College for their roles in enabling such a fantastic opportunity for so many Hampshire children.