The Magic of Music

Not only did our School musicians provide the entire musical accompaniment to the whole School musical Little Shop of Horrors recently, but Mr Woodley, our Director of Music, has also been holding Rock Band after School club and teaching students about the importance and impact of music in film in his Film Music Composition lessons.

Music for Little Shop of Horrors

Our whole School musical took place the week before half term, we hope you managed to get tickets to see the sell-out performances, and experience and hear our wonderful musicians provide all of the musical accompaniment for each of the five shows.

Ordinarily students’ theatrical performances feature our own as well as outsourced musicians, brought in to support and complement our own music provision, to enhance and capture each scene of School performances. However, the decision was made this year for the band to be solely sourced from our own pool of talented and confident musicians, and what a delight it was to hear them play throughout, as our musical Little Shop of Horrors told the story of Seymour, Mushnik and Audrey.

Mr Woodley said,

“It was incredible to see and hear our students playing in the pit during the performances, I had the pleasure of conducting as well as contributing, playing the guitar for some of the scenes. Watching our students prepare and commit to perform for the show has been wonderful, and I believe they’ve learned a great deal as well as thoroughly enjoyed the experience – particularly playing live to a packed out theatre five times in a row! Exhausting, but exhilarating!”

He continued,

“Some of our students played more than one instrument, and watching them pick up and play in between different scenes, feeling and understanding the difference their instruments made and contributed – was wonderful for me and them. Well done to all of them, I’m incredibly proud.”

Film Music Composition

As part of their music lessons in School each week, Year 8 have been having great fun working with Mr Woodley on Film Music Composition. Students attend the lesson, spend time watching and considering the musical element of different films, and then take time to compose their own piece of music for particular scenes; considering what those scenes needs in order to elevate the film beyond the visual element.

Watching Guardians of the Galaxy on the screen, Year 8 have thoroughly enjoyed working on the Marvel superhero film, Mr Woodley commented,

“This film is providing great food for thought when it comes to learning about the importance and impact of music, and is certainly inspiring our young musicians to get creative! It’s not enough to have brilliant actors, film sets and scenes – they only really come to life when the musical element comes into play, and we’ve been taking time to appreciate the importance of different instruments, tones, rhythms and beats when it comes to portraying emotions in film. It’s been a great experience and I really think our students are thinking about this more than they ever were when they’re watching films now! It’s a really fun and interesting way to learn about the importance and relevance of music, to appreciate how dynamic is can be, and the way it influences interpretation in film.”

Rock Band Club

Inviting students from Years 7, 8 and 13, Rock Band Club is open to every student, no matter what their level or instrument, or even experience might be, and provides an opportunity for enrichment – and enjoyment.

Even for those that have never played before, this after School club provides students with the chance to consider instruments they’d like to play, and teaches them about transferring and/or learning new musical skills, including those relating to working as part of a larger group of musicians.

“This club supports students’ learning from the classroom and possibly private tuition, in a fun and engaging way. Even if they don’t play an instrument already, they can come along, pick something up and have a go, and for those already learning particular instruments, they’re able to try alternatives, learning how to transfer learned skills and experience music in a different way. The songs played are decided by the students, it’s a great and fun way to teach them how to explore music and instruments, and teaches confidence.”

explained Mr Woodley. He continued,

“There’s no other feeling quite like playing in a band, and no other way to get the feeling that can only come from seeing and experiencing the power of rock!”

The club takes place every Tuesday during term time, from 4.30pm in Music Room 1, and is open to all students no matter what their level of instrument playing.

For more information, visit Music Studies.