Guildford Living Dec - Jan 2020 10.29.04

ADVERTISING FEATURE
music matters
Music is an emotive subject and its impact
on children’s spiritual, social and intellectual
development is widely researched and
discussed. Here at St Catherine’s we champion
its benefits.
Studying music is an imaginative pastime, requiring mental
imagery and creativity to interpret emotion and style. A
physical discipline, the rhythm gained during music-making
develops sensory awareness. A social endeavour, participation
in ensembles is a cooperative, collaborative and creative
experience; all skills highly sought after in our classrooms.
A mathematical manuscript, the understanding of musical
notation, manual dexterity, coordination, precision and visuospatial
processing are super-food for our brain. A library of
poetry, language, rhyme and rhythm, lyric songs are key for
speech development, pattern recognition and cultural heritage.
In a world of targets and tests, where there is a growing pressure
to conform and achieve amidst increasing diagnoses of mental
health disorders in children, subjects such as music become
crucially important. Whilst some believe that music serves a
lesser purpose within schools than the core academic subjects,
governments, schools and parents should campaign for music
to play a more integral role within primary schools.
“A recent refurbishment project to
the Music Room at St Catherine’s
Preparatory School highlights the value
we place on music within school life.”
A recent refurbishment project to the Music Room at St
Catherine’s Preparatory School highlights the value we place
on music within school life. The new space is visually uplifting,
with a vibrantly coloured orchestra painted on the ceiling,
rainbow-hued wobble stools lining the wall, jungle drums,
Boomwhackers and chime bars creating splashes of brightness
throughout. The main focus is on engaging children with handson
experiences - a magnetic wall with musical notation provides
a concrete platform to play with notes, stools for seating double
up as drums, instruments are accessible at a primary-friendly
height, ‘teacher talk’ is delivered with an iPad, increasing the
technological dialogue between pupil and teaching content.
Lessons are now much more interactive and physical. The
simple addition of recording equipment and an iPad has made
music production accessible to pupils as young as 5, and the
platform has increased the confidence of those who may have
performance anxiety.
The project undertaken at St Catherine’s was funded by
donations from the parent community, who recognised the
need and have seen the immediate benefits to their daughters.
The very definition of community spirit from conception to
completion, the aptly named Soundscape Room will also enable
sharing of musical opportunities within the local community.
Mr Matthew Blunt, Director of Music
St Catherine’s Prep School
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