Junior Music

Innate Talent or Learned Skill?

MRS SUE FIGLIANO & MS SHANNON TOBIN

Despite the common myth, being musical is not an innate talent and musical skills can be learned through early exposure to high quality, effective music teaching.

St Aidan’s is the perfect place for young students to develop the necessary skills to become lifelong musicians. Music tuition in the Junior School commences in the Kindergarten with Everyday Music Classes delivered by specialist music teachers. These classes involve singing, listening, moving, playing and improvising to music. Though engagement with age-appropriate repertoire and games, neural pathways are activated, and foundational knowledge embedded. Early exposure to daily music learning has been widely researched with amazing benefits not only to student’s music cognition but going beyond to enhance academic and social skills. St Aidan’s is one of only a few schools in Queensland to offer this highly enriching program from such a young age, with students continuing in the Everyday Music Program until the end of Year 3. To extend the vocal and theoretical skills presented in the Everyday Music Program, students in Years 2 and 3 participate in “Junior Singers Choir”, run in activity time once a week during the school day.

As attention spans lengthen, students in Year 4 can engage in longer classroom music lessons where more complex musical skills are introduced. Classroom learning is organised into a carefully sequenced order to allow maximum student engagement and understanding. All girls in Years 4 – 6 are offered the opportunity to attend “Children Crossing” a non-auditioned extra choir to extend their vocal capacities.

To consolidate this foundational understanding of music offered through the classroom and choral program, St Aidan’s students have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of instrumentally based music experiences. Private instrumental tuition is offered from Prep and due to finger size and physical suitability, piano and string lessons are the most appropriate at this age. Older students have access to more diversified instrumental options. Those girls taking private tuition have the opportunity to perform solos at “Performing Arts Recitals” once per term. These concerts allow students to present repertoire with an accompanist in a nurturing and encouraging environment which develops critical performance skills and is helpful for those preparing for AMEB examinations or competition performances. All Year 4 girls participate in the Beginner Band Program. Although this program is purely instrumental, it is run as an extension of the classroom program. Pre-learned melodic and rhythmic concepts are utilized to provide a seamless translation from classroom to band setting. The Beginner Band Program is free of charge to St Aidan’s families and involves weekly group lessons with specialist tutors alongside whole band rehearsals and concert performances. Girls are later invited to take private tuition on their band instrument and join the junior extra-curricular band “Charma Band”, with a small number of girls also being accelerated into “Con Brio Band” with the secondary students. Students who are learning brass instruments at a high level are also able to join “Back-Beat Band” which is the school’s Jazz band to begin expanding their skills into differing repertoire.

St Aidan’s boasts a variety of string ensembles in the Junior School changing from “Staccato Strings”, which is an aural based 6-month ensemble as a steppingstone into “Dolce Strings” for our beginning students and “Vivaldi Strings” for the intermediate players. Our advanced Junior School girls are playing in “Corelli Strings” to provide them with an extension opportunity. The “Junior School String Quartet” provides for those students who are ready to take on the additional challenge of playing a solo part within a small group; ready for the Senior School.

Students involved in this enriching musical environment are provided with many performance opportunities throughout the year such as concerts, open days, assembly performances and liturgical performances to share their musical achievements with the school and wider community. With all these opportunities, St Aidan’s is definitely the perfect place for young students to develop into lifelong musicians.