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Music Lessons

At Mougins, all children in Primary experience twice weekly specialist Music lessons. We follow the British National Curriculum with a focus on performance, composition, listening and appraising. 

With so much to do, our lessons are fast paced, lively and noisy! Singing and movement is an important way to introduce music to children from a young age and is at the heart of Primary Music learning. Children discover from an early age that correct posture and breathing are important for developing good vocal technique and learn to sing progressively in unison, as a round, in 2 parts and in harmony. Our Primary children are currently working hard to prepare their end of year performances for their Prize Giving assemblies!

primary music in mougins british international school

Kodaly and Orff techniques

Music lessons are largely practical and utilise Kodaly and Orff techniques; using rhymes and songs to help children to internalise pitch and rhythm. Children learn to play, listen to and write rhythms with growing complexity through games and activities. Pitch is taught using colour and music notation is colour matched to the instruments in the classroom. E.g. The boomwhackers which are colour coded to match the music that the children play. In years 1-3 children play a range of pitched and unpitched percussion instruments whilst in years 4-6 we introduce the keyboard and ukulele focussing on chords and learning to play simple melodies. 

Appreciate every kind of music

Listening to orchestral music and learning to appreciate music from different cultures is also a key part of the curriculum. Learning about different instruments, the sounds they make and exploring the instruments we have in the classroom helps to bring the music to life. Each year group has a set work which they learn about and use as a stimulus for performance and composition. E.g. Year 3 studied ‘Hungarian Dance No.3’  by Brahms, identifying key features in the music and using it to inspire their own dance compositions.

primary music in mougins british international school

Opportunities in Mougins School

In Primary, we offer opportunities for children in form 3 to 6 to attend a twice weekly lunchtime choir as well as weekly ukulele club for years 5 & 6. We hope to extend the range of extra-curricular activities available next year to include recorder club for year 3-6 which has unfortunately not been possible this year. 

Private instrumental lessons are available on a range of instruments for children who are keen to further develop their musical skills. Our peripatetic instrumental teachers provide lessons on;

  • Violin
  • Cello
  • Guitar
  • Ukulele
  • Flute
  • Clarinet
  • Saxophone
  • Trumpet
  • Euphonium
  • Trombone
  • Piano
  • Drums. 
primary music in mougins school

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to know more about our activities, to register your child, do not hesitate to meet us!