Fostering a love of learning through engaging with my songs creates a real buzz. I understand how to craft new material that children want to sing and love to perform. Connecting with children by understanding their sense of humour and what is relevant to them, helps me to pitch songs that will support any prior learning from other areas of the curriculum.
The Early Years
For toddlers and pre-school aged children, my songs are silly and energetic. They are diverse, for example some may be written in a Call & Response format (Hello Everybody!), a Reggae style (Sweet Jamaican Music), or use the Pentatonic scale (Mrs. Wishy-Washy). Above all, they contain themes that young children love, and they are all written in a key that young voices can access.
One of my pre-requisites when writing songs was to make the songs bearable for parents and teachers to listen to! I wanted to move way from the electronic gaming music that invades every toddler's musical palette, instead offer a more realistic sound that would also appeal to parents.
Underlying the fun factor, the music teaches the fundamental musical skills (pitch, pulse, phrasing etc) which are the foundation of musicianship.
The Primary Years
My songs for Primary-aged children are written with key classroom topics in mind and provide a platform for children to consolidate facts they have learned in other lessons. For example, Fire! Fire! (The Great Fire of London in History), The Lady with The Lamp (Florence Nightingale), or E G Y P T (Ancient Egypt).
With the ability to connect with and inspire young children through music, I recognise how the power of song can be so overwhelming powerful, and how using it as a tool to enhance prior learning, can provide a winning formula for our young learners of today.
As a practitioner, I seek to provide the necessary vocal tools to empower young musicians to embrace ‘everything music’. Whether teaching a lesson, leading a workshop session, or running a rehearsal, I keep things fun, zippy and interesting, always challenging any curious minds in the room.
