Musical Futures: Just Play is a comprehensive musical skills-building approach for middle years students which supports whole class/large group music-making.
About Just Play
In her recent blog post for Musical Futures International, Mandy Sefanakis says
"Music is about a holistic sense of personal identity and connection with family, clan, world neighbours and the planet we inhabit. Individuals and communities large and small need a positive sense of identity in order to be well. These are the reasons for music’s continued ubiquity"
The positive impact that participation in music-making can engender is one that drives the core Musical Futures aim that classroom music should be fun, engaging and practical - Just Play!
And building musical skills is about more than how to play a few notes or chords on an instrument.
In order to be able to play as part of any ensemble there are many key musical skills and knowledge such as listening, following, taking turns, understanding how music is constructed, shaped and interpreted, knowing how and why different musical activities are taking place, recognising musical notations, feeling and following a pulse, all (and so many more) are an important part of foundational musical development.
More importantly, exploring these can help to make musical learning sustainable by building a holistic musical experience into the learning and teaching of music which can then lead onto creating and composing music as well.
Just Play is a key part of all our 2 day Musical Futures International workshops-find out more here.
In her recent blog post for Musical Futures International, Mandy Sefanakis says
"Music is about a holistic sense of personal identity and connection with family, clan, world neighbours and the planet we inhabit. Individuals and communities large and small need a positive sense of identity in order to be well. These are the reasons for music’s continued ubiquity"
The positive impact that participation in music-making can engender is one that drives the core Musical Futures aim that classroom music should be fun, engaging and practical - Just Play!
And building musical skills is about more than how to play a few notes or chords on an instrument.
In order to be able to play as part of any ensemble there are many key musical skills and knowledge such as listening, following, taking turns, understanding how music is constructed, shaped and interpreted, knowing how and why different musical activities are taking place, recognising musical notations, feeling and following a pulse, all (and so many more) are an important part of foundational musical development.
More importantly, exploring these can help to make musical learning sustainable by building a holistic musical experience into the learning and teaching of music which can then lead onto creating and composing music as well.
Just Play is a key part of all our 2 day Musical Futures International workshops-find out more here.
Just Play and the Musical Futures pedagogy
We believe that in order to achieve the independent and self-directed informal, independent learning that is the aspiration of Musical Futures, it is important for students and teachers to develop sufficient skills, both musical and instrumental.
In Just Play, we have embedded as many of our core values and pedagogy as possible and have scaffolded these into the training and resource program and which our workshop leaders model throughout our teacher development workshops.
The five key principles of Just Play are:
1. Explain later
2. We get better as we play
3. Learn by listening
4. Sound before symbol
5. Show don’t tell
Students play as a class supported by relevant visual tools and led in the first instance by the teacher as a musical leader to model and to support the group as they become more familiar with the approach.
The content builds and increases in challenge from basic instrumental and rhythmic skills on a range of instruments throughout the Just Play approach. The goal is for the class to be able to take part in a whole class performance based on one of our video play-alongs. These are based on songs many will recognise and enjoy playing.
There are also resources provided by Musical Futures International that explore an instrument by instrument approach, for teachers lucky enough to have full classroom sets of instruments.
Students rotate regularly so that they all play each instrument which ensures a level of challenge and breadth of experience, keeping repertoire fresh, contemporary and engaging which ensures that level of engagement that we see throughout Musical Futures wherever it is used and applied.
In Just Play, we have embedded as many of our core values and pedagogy as possible and have scaffolded these into the training and resource program and which our workshop leaders model throughout our teacher development workshops.
The five key principles of Just Play are:
1. Explain later
2. We get better as we play
3. Learn by listening
4. Sound before symbol
5. Show don’t tell
Students play as a class supported by relevant visual tools and led in the first instance by the teacher as a musical leader to model and to support the group as they become more familiar with the approach.
The content builds and increases in challenge from basic instrumental and rhythmic skills on a range of instruments throughout the Just Play approach. The goal is for the class to be able to take part in a whole class performance based on one of our video play-alongs. These are based on songs many will recognise and enjoy playing.
There are also resources provided by Musical Futures International that explore an instrument by instrument approach, for teachers lucky enough to have full classroom sets of instruments.
Students rotate regularly so that they all play each instrument which ensures a level of challenge and breadth of experience, keeping repertoire fresh, contemporary and engaging which ensures that level of engagement that we see throughout Musical Futures wherever it is used and applied.
How Just Play was developed
Just Play was initially developed to support generalist classroom teachers with delivering music with their classes. However in the hands of the Musical Futures International teacher community and our team of workshop leaders, it has become clear that there is a versatility in this approach which has appealed to teachers and students alike.
In addition, the development of a set of resources that support teachers to deliver Just Play straight away and workshops that help teachers to rethink their identity as musical leaders with their classes has made Just Play one of the most successful Musical Futures approaches to date. It is always a workshop that we love to deliver with students and/or teachers no matter where in the world we are working!
In addition, the development of a set of resources that support teachers to deliver Just Play straight away and workshops that help teachers to rethink their identity as musical leaders with their classes has made Just Play one of the most successful Musical Futures approaches to date. It is always a workshop that we love to deliver with students and/or teachers no matter where in the world we are working!
Thanks to our friends at Little Kids Rock for the Inspiration
As part of our scoping for the development of Just Play, we visited schools in New York City to see the work of Little Kids Rock, a Non-Profit organisation dedicated to "restoring, expanding and innovating music education in schools". It was their generosity in sharing resources and experiences that enabled us to define and develop the approach that later became known as Just Play. Little Kids Rock shares some fantastic free resources for teachers via their website which is well worth a visit.
Just Play was then co-developed by both Musical Futures UK and Musical Futures Australia, with the latter now leading on the further development of an entry level series of play alongs called 'Everyone Can Play' aimed at younger learners.
Just Play was then co-developed by both Musical Futures UK and Musical Futures Australia, with the latter now leading on the further development of an entry level series of play alongs called 'Everyone Can Play' aimed at younger learners.
How does Just Play work?
Implementation: A practical workshop where teachers experience Just Play from the position of their learners, with suggested approaches to delivery modelled by workshop leaders.
- Innovation: A resource* that can be taken and used straight away in the classroom from the very next day - Just Play!
- Sustainability: Access to a large international network of practice to share experiences, resources and ideas with others.
Where next?
As well as the initial skills building process, the methodology supports composing, improvising, singing and songwriting and starts to allow students to draw on their existing musical skills and knowledge and apply this to creating their own music.
Please note that if you are in the UK, the Just Play resource is free for workshop attendees and also available for stand-alone sale via www.musicalfutures.org. All resources are free when you participate in a Musical Futures International OR Musical Futures Australia workshop. Please email info@musicalfuturesinternational.org if you would like further details
Please note that if you are in the UK, the Just Play resource is free for workshop attendees and also available for stand-alone sale via www.musicalfutures.org. All resources are free when you participate in a Musical Futures International OR Musical Futures Australia workshop. Please email info@musicalfuturesinternational.org if you would like further details
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AddressSuite 148
45 Glenferrie Road Malvern VIC 3144 |
Telephone61 3 9507 2315
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info@musicalfuturesinternational.org
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