For those who found these activities difficult, I had included a word search using relevant vocabulary (see Figure 5 below). These words were then used to fill the gaps in a paragraph about Gamelan music. Work' 5 and required pupils to match up Gamelan-related vocabulary with its correct meaning (see Figure 4 below).

However, both before the commencement of the unit and during its progression, I produced my own listening material and worksheets in order to enhance pupils' understanding of Gamelan (see Appendices 1-4 for some examples). It is worth mentioning that this particular scheme of work was already available for use within the music department of the school. Finally, pupils completed appraisals of the work they had done, answering questions about what they found easy or difficult, how they thought they had improved and what they would change. As with the pre-prepared Gamelan piece, the pupils were placed within differentiated groups and the performance was recorded onto tape. Once the compositions were completed, they were assessed, and one piece from each class was chosen and performed by the whole group. They were then able to begin creating their lower and upper parts, using the notes from their original melody. Using the constraints of the pentatonic scale, pupils were asked to create a melody of sixteen notes, using a worksheet (see Figure 3 above). First, they were given the opportunity to practise within their groups, after which they gathered as a whole class in order to combine the various parts.ĭuring the following lesson, they heard their performance on tape and analysed the structure this was intended to help them to write their own piece of Gamelan. Those who found the task difficult were given the slowest part while the more advanced pupils were given a complicated, fast part. Pupils were placed into groups according to their ability. Subsequently, using keyboards and percussion instruments, the pupils rehearsed, performed and recorded a pre-prepared Gamelan piece (see Figure 1 above and Figure 2 below).įigure 2: Pre-prepared Gamelan Piece in Staff Notation This was designed to give pupils a clearer idea of the texture of Gamelan, the gongs only playing once a bar, and the higher, faster instruments, playing almost constantly. It began with simple listening exercises during which pupils became familiar with the characteristics and sounds of Gamelan, answering specific questions on the music heard.įigure 1: Pre-prepared Gamelan Piece Notated Using Lettersįurthermore, during the first lesson, I devised a practical whole-class activity in which pupils were split into groups and asked to say the name of a specified Gamelan instrument on particular beats of the bar. Initially, I designed a unit on Gamelan music of Indonesia to last for seven

In order to carry this out, I focus on pupils' individual and whole-class work, with comments on the assessments Although my aim is not necessarily to make comparisons between the four classes, I wish to establish the overall effectiveness of the unit, both through its musical outcomes and the way in which the pupils responded to it.

I taught the unit on Gamelan to four different Year 8 classes, each of which had thirty pupils. The school is situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and its pupils show a wide range of abilities. This article reports on a unit of work which was carried out at a large, mixed comprehensive school with no sixthįorm 1. General Music Lessons in a Secondary School: An Investigation The Teachers' Day Programme of the 8th Biennial InternationalĪn Internationally Reviewed Bulletin of the Centre for Intercultural Music Arts.General Music Lessons in a Secondary School: An

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