Introducing Music Technology in KS2

Chrome books were a fairly new feature of our school when I was asked to run a music workshop for Year 5 and 6 pupils. So I thought that this would be a great opportunity to introduce some music technology and composition. However with just an hour to spend with each group, I needed something engaging and easy to learn for maximum impact. Enter Groove Pizza!

If you haven’t come across Groove Pizza before, it’s a fun circular rhythm app, which allows pupils to create their own beats and experiment with different styles. It also has links to numeracy with concepts like shape, angles and patterns being part of the beatmaking process.

How does it work?

Firstly, by clicking on ‘Specials’, pupils can choose a ready-made topping and then add to it themselves simply by clicking the dots on the pizza. Alternatively, they can start with a blank canvas and choose ‘plain’ and add their own beats from scratch. Shapes can be dragged and dropped onto the topping, and the tempo, volume and level of swing can all be changed very simply. The best thing is that everything is on one screen making it really user-friendly and a whole class can all create a beat in 5 minutes. Children love exploring the different options and will take up as much time as you allow! It’s a good idea to demonstrate Groove Pizza briefly before starting the task, but don’t show too much as a big part of the fun is the exploration!

Moving onto Soundtrap

Once pupils have created a beat, they can click on the ‘share’ icon and choose to download as an audio or Midi file, or to continue in Soundtrap. This is a great audio workstation, which can be used for free or through purchasing it as an educational package. If you just want to try before you buy, this is an ideal opportunity to find out if it’s something your pupils will engage with and if it will be useful for subsequent projects. Most of the preset loops are only available with the premium package, however for this workshop there was enough to get on with. I modelled the next section of the workshop at the front of the class and had a an example track ready so that pupils had an idea of what they were aiming for.

The Groove pizza beat automatically sets itself up in a track which just requires extending along the track. I then set pupils the challenge of creating a backing track with three contrasting sections. It’s easy to browse loops and drag them into the ‘studio’. The task was selfdifferentiating, and every pupil achieved the goal of creating a backing track. Some picked it up amazingly quickly and had managed to layer several tracks, control the volume and even do some panning! At the end of our session they each exported their masterpiece so that their teacher could listen to them back in the classroom. Of course, the hour went far too quickly but for a class who had never used either app before, or any music technology at school, they did pretty well.

Extending the project

If I’d had a further session with these groups, what would I have done? Ideally, we would have connected a MIDI keyboard to the Chromebooks and started to record in some musical ideas. We may also have highlighted the built-in microphone and encouraged pupils to record some vocals on an audio track. There are so many possibilities. It really depends on your class situation and availability of equipment as to where you can take a project like this. But for an introduction to music technology, it’s a good starting point.

Rachel Shapey

Rachel’s Top Tips!

1. Try using both apps yourself first before letting your class loose! Anything that you struggle with, they will probably too.

2. Pre-empt any potential technology issues such as working out how pupils are going to log-in to devices and Soundtrap (do they have an email address etc) so that time isn’t wasted solving computer problems.

3. Create a 1-page hand-out with a simple guide for each app, so that pupils can refer to it if you’re busy helping someone else.

4. Give a structured challenge with a list of success criteria so that pupils have a clear goal in mind.

5. Explain and demonstrate key terms such as track and loop, and any other technology-related vocabulary.

6. Be strict about headphones. If you want their attention, use a nonverbal signal such as a hand in the air and make sure that all pupils have taken them off before you start to speak. Congratulate those pupils who respond quickly.

Rachel Shapey is the founder and director of I can compose, an innovative company dedicated to inspiring the next generation of great composers. She is an experienced music educator with twelve years experience as a secondary classroom teacher in a variety of educational settings including a state funded specialist music school, a sixth form college, and most recently at an independent grammar and preparatory school. Such is the unique nature of I can compose, both from a music education and business perspective, Rachel has been shortlisted for 3 awards within the six months of launching the company; these include the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation Award and the Outstanding Music Education Product in the 2019 Music Teacher Awards for Excellence.