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As we
all move towards the end of term, many of us have written reports, hosted
concerts, prepared students for examinations and moving towards more
performances in the last 2 weeks of the term.
All while planning for Term 3 curriculum and hosting Parent/Teacher
interviews. J
I hope you are all able to access Barocca,
coffee and chocolate at this time. J
For
me personally, I am in the midst of the above, and recovering from a bit of
whiplash after a little car bingle. No
need to worry, I am on the mend, and have traversed through worse in the past.
‘The sun will always come up tomorrow’. For sMAG ENews, it just means that I
will stagger the ENews over a few editions.
This will allow me to move away from the computer every hour and do some
stretches. For you the reader, it will
mean a few extra emails, but much shorter bursts to sit and read. I hope you
understand, and are happy to read a few ENews deliveries in shorter
bursts. I also don’t really know if each
edition of the ENews will be the last, as if I l move the wrong way, there will
be a bit of pain and regression. So I
must tread carefully, daily. Never mind, there are people in the world far
worse off – she’ll be right mate!
Learning Journey
We
all celebrated the Inquiry into the extent,
benefits and potential of music education in Victorian schools 2013 https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/file_uploads/Music_Education_Final_041113_FJWsJhBy.pdf, and the 17
recommendations. We have seen many
positive outcomes as the recommendations and findings have been used to
influence improvements under various auspices.
The current Victorian government, and Deputy Premier have provided
extensive funding to improve outcomes.
DET ran the MEERG and invested 4 years of their capacity to see
extensive improvement to policy and development. sMAG and the extensive music community is
very appreciative of this investment.
Over
the last few years, I have learnt that there are many governing authorities
that surround education. Each have a specific auspice, and each may NOT cross
over to the other's domain. There are so many auspices, there are too many to
name! As I start to wind down, knowing I will hand over soon, my father's voice
comes to mind, saying 'You would have to be an Oxford Scholar.....' to
understand all the auspices and their respective regulation. sMAG has
been bringing the review and recommendations to the Federal and Victorian State
government auspices. It is my view that
the Victorian Andrews’ government has provided generous funding, significant
time and influence, and has done all within its auspice to generate the
commencement of significant change against the Inquiry 2013 recommendations.
Particularly in funding the purchase of instruments. Instruments purchased wisely can have a whole
of school, positive effect. I will tease this out in a moment – for now: If ‘a tidal wave, floats all boats’, those of
us receiving grants must (so to speak) ‘take hold of the bridge as captains of
our boats, and ride the wave’. For
those, in this vast ocean of music education receiving grants, do have it
within their auspice to make wise purchases to see long term, positive
outcomes. There will be a few sharks circling, so later in this ENews, I will
ask you to indulge me with listening to some of my thoughts on ‘where to throw
your nets for a great catch’. J
The Good News - QMEF
As
reported in a previous edition of the ENews, the School Music Action Group
Victoria we welcome the publication of the QMEF. The Quality Music Education Framework is
published. Please see the link to the framework below.
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/arts/Pages/QMEF.aspx The document is dense, and you have to hyperlink it with other documents that DET provides to support professional practice. Mandy Stefanakis http://musictrust.com.au/loudmouth/mandy-stefanakis/ has already published an analysis on the ‘Music Trust’ website at: http://musictrust.com.au/loudmouth/the-quality-music-education-framework/. Mandy’s work unpacks aspects of the QMEF, and cites references to other major relevant works across the field.
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/arts/Pages/QMEF.aspx The document is dense, and you have to hyperlink it with other documents that DET provides to support professional practice. Mandy Stefanakis http://musictrust.com.au/loudmouth/mandy-stefanakis/ has already published an analysis on the ‘Music Trust’ website at: http://musictrust.com.au/loudmouth/the-quality-music-education-framework/. Mandy’s work unpacks aspects of the QMEF, and cites references to other major relevant works across the field.
The
Framework provides specific advise to school leaders around policy and
investment to support new and thriving Music Education programs, as well as
support to the Music Specialist Teacher developing new programs. Everyone in a school setting now has at their
fingertips the professional framework to improve learning outcomes in their
domain and auspice, in their corner of Victoria.
We
applaud Dr. Neryl Jeanneret, http://unimelb.academia.edu/NerylJeanneret, as author, the Victorian
DET as support authority and the Victorian Andrew’s government for funding a
world first. There is nothing else like
the QMEF in the world. Congratulations!
“Bravo, Bravissimo – very well done!”
Online
support documents from DET are hosted here: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/arts/Pages/music.aspx
The Good News – Funding to Purchase
Instruments
sMAG welcomes
the 2018/2019 Victorian State Budget with news of specific funding for Music
Education.
The sMAG committee welcomes the commitment of $1M to further music education and we expressed the music communities appreciation at the MEERG, in our last ENews and in a letter to the Hon. Mr. Merlino on May 10.:-) -) You can view the public announcement here: https://www.budget.vic.gov.au/program_project/giving-every-child-chance-succeed and again here: https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/giving-every-child-the-chance-to-succeed/
The sMAG committee welcomes the commitment of $1M to further music education and we expressed the music communities appreciation at the MEERG, in our last ENews and in a letter to the Hon. Mr. Merlino on May 10.:-) -) You can view the public announcement here: https://www.budget.vic.gov.au/program_project/giving-every-child-chance-succeed and again here: https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/giving-every-child-the-chance-to-succeed/
We
hear from the MEERG that $600,000 will be allocated to schools to purchase
instruments and related music education resources. The selection process to receive a small
allocation from this line item of funding will be available. Low SES schools will be prioritized. A new selection process will occur for this
round of funding, as opposed to the previous selection process when the
government allocated $400,000 http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/music-in-schools.aspx
The
DET music team will publish their selection criteria at some point in the
future.
Wow –
as a teacher working in a Primary school setting, this is significant. Such investment is ‘a tidal wave to float
many boats’. An image comes to mind - the
story of ‘The Little Ships of Dunkirk’. 300,000 ordinary citizens floated their
boats across the English channel in 1940 and succeeded in a strategic
evacuation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk_evacuation
So, indulge me a little
here – I would like to speak specifically to all Primary School Music
Specialists. If you are not swimming in this ocean of music education, you can
skip a page or two J.
Dear Primary
School Music Specialists,
Funding
for instruments is extremely precious.
It can be allocated one year, and withdrawn the next – meaning that a
one off grant to purchase instruments may be all that you ever receive. You may also be unaware that there are
various other funding lines to draw from, which assists in a frugal approach.
Here
me now, make any dollar allocated go as far as possible. Having worked in this ocean for many years, I
have a few pearls of wisdom to give you.
Applying the approaches I am about to share led to my local Secondary
School HOM paying me a visit to ask ‘How do you do it? The students we inherit from you are
extremely literate in music – I’m keen to see and hear your approach’. So I
share with you now, what I shared with Wendy Harvey then.
Many of us agree that the shared vision
is to create sequential, continuous and developmental programs from P – Year
8. It is within the Primary School Music
Specialists auspice to write their own programs against the Australian
Curriculum (and in our case AUSVELS) to engage and meet the needs of the local
community. In every curriculum document,
in every overview, in every school marketing/communications portal or website I
write ‘the music program is sequential, continuous and developmental’. Foundational to all thinking and approaches,
‘the music program is sequential, continuous and developmental’. With this, no money has been spent, yet a foundation
is laid. J
Glockenspiel
and Marimba approaches provide a P – 6 ‘sequential, continuous and
developmental’ program when delivered to the whole school in one unit per
year. Personally, I use
Jon
Madin’s books http://www.marimbamusic.com.au/ and select
tunes that are age appropriate, and developmentally appropriate.
The Glockenspiel 27K retail for
approximately $65.00. I started my
program by buying 15, and said ‘One between two children’ then played every
piece twice J.
A class set of 25 will set you back
approx.: $1650 with postage – cheaper if you pick them up!
So for this price, I delivered the
foundations for keyboard, ensemble and singing skills….
Keyboard
skills: Obvious by the set up of the glockenspiel.
Ensemble
skills: Jon’s books are developmental, and as such the later books include tunes
with parts. The parts come not only with
SATB for glockenspiel but also with percussion and Marimba parts.
Singing
skills: Every tune I teach, must first be sung.
The C Major scale is taught in Prep, the C major tonic triad in Grade 1,
and the 12 Bar Blues in year 2. All must
be sung as they are played along with Jon’s CD that comes along with the book.
As
the tunes are sung, I point to the corresponding nots on the notation
poster. Once children get to year 6, and
I start the C Major Scale song with the Call “Oh The Cows and The Calves”,
students involuntarily respond with “CCC” in perfect pitch!!
Singing
is free – you haven’t spent money there.
The
poster is about $30 or $40.
From
Year 3 – 6, the marimbas are introduced, and students get to play tunes like
‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ – now made famous again by Disney.
Marimbas. Grandparents made these instruments about 25
years ago. They were crafted out of spare or discarded wood that was lying
around. J
Do
you have some spare wood on a farm somewhere?
Is
there someone out in your region who really likes carpentry?
Is
there a STEM project going at your place?
Cost
to your budget: $0.00 J
Jon Madin is happy to come out to schools and provide
incursions. Funding for incursions comes
out of a different funding line – the incursion/excursion levy. Parents pay a levy at the start of the
year. You can work collaboratively
within your school setting to secure an incursion/workshop from Jon, and really
inject some vitality into the day – without touching your precious funding for
instruments.
In my setting, I have
the children write the traditional notes for each tune, into their books in the
last 5 minutes of every 50-minute protected, and timetabled session. The books come out of the book levy charged to
parents at the start of the academic year.
The bookshelves, that each music book class set is stored in, were
purchased through the furniture budget – a different line of funding. I negotiated this with my principal when all
the classrooms were upgrading their furniture.
I wanted the music room to look the same as parents toured the school. J
My supportive principal
agreed.
A
good student Ukulele will set you back about $60 or $70 each. A half set of 15, and everyone plays twice
costs approx.: $1,000. No doubt, full
class sets are better. Get the best deal
in your area.
The Guitar hooks for the wall came out of the furniture budget.
Installation came out of the maintenance budget J
Protect
your funding for instruments! Make that
dollar stretch J
The
Ukulele community is worldwide. You can find free lessons for a continuous,
sequential and developmental program on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vJ6kN5H7FA
And
Google. There are iPad applications,
phone apps, communities, performance groups, incursion performers and
conferences. The Pacific Ocean of Uke is
wide and deep – go swim! J
Djembes
cost between $50 and $70 each. At the
most expensive end, a class set could set you back $1800. Worth every penny! You can provide a
continuous, sequential and developmental program on drumming, delivered to
every year level. My preps learn how to
hold the djembe, and play a bass, and maybe a 4 beat rhythm. By Year 3 and 4, they are independently
composing original pieces in pairs or groups, and notating the sounds.
Out
of the incursion budget, African Performers entertain our assembly once every
year or two. Then they run workshops,
out under the tree on a warm summer’s day.
The performers then impart culture, and story around the djembe to the
students.
Research
also demonstrated that drumming regulates heartbeat, and is great for welfare
outcomes in schools.
I
had enormous fun attending one adult workshop, to base a whole unit of
classroom teaching around what I learnt.
Again,
community around djembe is as wide as the Indian ocean! Go fish!
Singing is free and worldwide. Every song that was ever written is now
available on Youtube, and in Karaoke version.
Anyone can create a P – 6 continuous, sequential and developmental
program around singing, at little to no cost.
The voice connects to culture – sing! Sing everything: lullabies,
instructions, the national anthem.
Networking is low cost or free. The joining fee out of your classroom
instruments budget is well worth spending as the association provides you with
access to every expert in the field, PD opportunities and more. https://www.amuse.vic.edu.au/
A different line to any musical instruments budget funds
Musicals. Some aspects might come out of
a classroom music budget, yet this must be discussed with each individual
principal.
I wish you all happy travels on the oceans and seas of Music Education.
Happy to come and visit country towns if you are happy to
invite and play host J.
Yours sincerely!
Welcome back
everyone, hope you are ok with skipping a couple of pages, and allowing me the
indulgence of sharing.
So for all of us
swimming the 7 oceans of Music Education, what will your contribution be? We
are all in this together. Early years
education leads to primary education, which leads to secondary education and
the SIMP, which then feeds tertiary. The
tertiary graduates then come back and join us, giving forward to the next
generation.
How can we
strengthen our sector? How can we turn a
tidal wave, into a national movement? What will your drop in the ocean be? Come along to
the forum, and let’s discuss J
EVENT: FORUM
Time: 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm
VENUE: Federation Hall - VCA: 234 St Kilda Road,
Southbank, Melbourne
https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/venues/federation-hall-victorian-college-of-the-arts/
FOCUS: Victorian Music
Education Charter
Music teachers, SIMP providers, Tertiary lecturers, Music Industry professionals, Performing Musicians and all those interested in Music education are invited to the July Forum.
Speaker: Prof. Gary Macpherson
Retiring sMAG Chair: Catherine Lyons
Music teachers, SIMP providers, Tertiary lecturers, Music Industry professionals, Performing Musicians and all those interested in Music education are invited to the July Forum.
Speaker: Prof. Gary Macpherson
Retiring sMAG Chair: Catherine Lyons
New sMAG Co-Chair induction: Ms. Fiona Phillips and Ms. Sue
Buchan.
The forum will review the proposed Victorian Music Education Charter for everyone to put to all political candidates.
The forum will review the proposed Victorian Music Education Charter for everyone to put to all political candidates.
Formal hand over of leadership will occur at this event, where
reflections over the last 4.5 years will occur and Fiona Phillips and Sue
Buchan will be welcomed as new Co-Chairs of sMAG.
sMAG FACEBOOK GROUP.
Networking
and supporting one another on Facebook provides for rich sharing at times. Please join the group, and join the
conversations: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1101931139911842/
Kind
Regards,
Catherine
Lyons
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