In the last month, I have had the absolute joy of visiting around 1,600 children aged 2-7 at 23 schools and nurseries in Sheffield. They will all be coming to the Crucible Theatre next week for the WORLD premiere performances of Izzy Gizmo, composed by Paul Rissmann, based on the book by Pip Jones and Sara Ogilvie, with digital animation by Vic Craven, that will be narrated by me alongside the Ensemble 360 musicians and presented by Music in the Round.
It’s been an absolute delight to meet all of the children and their teachers in preparation for the concerts. This year, it has been especially important to make the children feel confident and excited about their trip. Because of Covid, many of the children haven’t even been inside the school hall before, let alone on a school trip to the theatre. Most haven’t had any external visitors in schools and many haven’t engaged in much musical activities over the last 18 months because of rules with singing and sharing space and equipment. And, of course, children have missed out on a lot of learning, particularly around the core subjects and social and emotional development which is so key at this stage.
In our workshops, we sang songs about pulling different faces and exploring our emotions. We made sounds like machines using vocal and body percussion. We explored the science of the cello and the ukulele and heard different styles of music performed up close. We created our own musical inventions using my toy tool box and percussion. And, tailored to whatever stage each school was at with their pre-concert learning, we learnt, practised and improved the songs that are part of the concert (including focussing on their breathing, letter sounds at the ends of words, and how we use our eyes when we sing).
Some children had invented some funky new actions and vocal exercises for ‘confetti’, ‘popping pistons’ and ‘dropping knobs’. We practised our ‘p’ and ‘d’ sounds at the ends of words. We used a wha-wha bar to practise stopping the sound and we had different leaders (conductors) demonstrating note lengths.
After telling them all of the instruments that will be in the concert, a Year 1 boy excitedly said ‘Oo Oo Ooo – [the word] Bassoon is like ‘Zoom to the Moon’ [the phonic sound they’re currently learning about]. Just joined-up learning for you!
Two schools sent in films of the Makaton signs for the songs which we will incorporate into the concert, especially engaging children who are visually impaired or special educational needs.
We discussed and asked questions; how would they fix a broken wing, what do they want to be when they’re older, what do they need to persevere with, what does the world looks like from the sky, what is an engineer? Where did I buy my sparkly shoes?! They pointed out details in the images that I’d not seen before.
These workshops are the most exciting and informative way of road-testing the new piece of music. Composer Paul is an absolute genius at writing for children; he doesn’t dumb down the music and he challenges everyone involved to be highly engaged and communicate through the sounds. We have been working on this project for nearly 4 years and it is only in these final stages that we really get to see how the children respond to the images, words and music… which bits excite them the most… and which bits I’ll be kept on my toes with in the performance!! This year, more than ever, I cannot wait for us to all come together and perform it.
I also was particularly moved that, walking down the corridor at one school, a Year 6 girl said ‘Oh hi Polly, I remember you from The Chimpanzees of Happytown when I was in Year 1’! Also, one of the girls taking part in this project (2021) is the daughter of a girl who took part in my very first project with Music in the Round (2004). How wonderful!
speech is developed through songs, warm-ups and freeplay activities.Lately, more bands have started to be formed during freeplay with the children organising themselves into groups and taking the time to listen to each other play, rather than just grabbing a drum and hitting it as happened at the start of the project.
It is not just the children who have benefited. Practitioners within settings who have embraced the project fully have reported feeling much more confident in delivering music and can be seen adapting songs to fit different purposes (tidy-up time, handwashing etc.), singing confidently and enjoying making music with their children. They also see how music can be used to help transform something ‘dull’ like phonics into a fun game or song.
Between the ages of 3-5 children can be easily distracted – by the instruments in front of them, by hearing something that reminds of something they just have to tell everyone… So it is vital to keep yourself and the children actively involved in the sessions. Throughout the project I have been shadowing Polly Ives and Vanessa Johnson and one vital skill I have learned from them is how to keep children focused. Whether it be stopping them fiddle with the instruments, by getting them to copy where you put your hands/woodblocks (“hands on your head, hands on your knees”), singing a different song that they know well then going back to the previous song or hiding the instruments under scarves/ribbons, it is essential not to make it seem like discipline. If a child feels they are in trouble then they will lose interest.
the sessions, there are always a few that prefer to observe. It is often easy to overlook these youngsters and focus all your attention on the confident individuals. Over the course of the project, we have worked on finding ways to involve all children as far as possible. In doing this we have explored different languages, more instrument use, role-play (this term we are looking at “People Who Help Us”), solo singing and ensuring they are involved when we ask questions (fast or slow, loud or quiet etc). These children seem to thrive more in a one-to-one environment and often come alive during freeplay, when they can feel free to explore the instruments and toys independently.
From the start I can see how much more involved the teachers and pupils are this term. Confidence is running high, songs have been sung in-between sessions. I am enjoying watching the eye contact between children and teachers during songs; a shared smile and enjoyment in making music together abundant today. I’m noticing the confidence and ease in singing and beating: heads are held up and voices are ringing out, ears are listening, ready to learn. Teachers are brimming with enthusiasm and children are responding to the attention and happiness they receive from workshop leaders and teachers alike.
A boy quietly sets out a music stand and with beater in hand starts conducting the freeplay session; his eyes closing, arms waving and face smiling. Three boys formed a guitar band: one boy using a makeshift bow and holding his guitar like a cello, they nod at each other when to start and stop, strum and stamp their feet to the pulse and howl in their own special way. Two children playing panpipes, keeping eye contact and watching each other for when to start and stop (and falling about laughing at the results) whilst in the background two girls play piano, one playing notes from high to low, one from low to high.
Music in the Round 