PRIMARY MUSIC CREATIVELY CONQUERING THE CHALLENGES
Kathryn Hindmarch With nearly twenty years of teaching experience behind me delivering classroom music lessons to 7-11 year olds, I’m certainly no stranger to the problems that often accompany primary school music-making. From deciding what to teach, coping with aging and limited instruments to working out exactly how to make often complex concepts accessible to pupils with limited prior experience, I think I’ve just about dealt with it all. I genuinely enjoy a challenge and the more creative and memorable the solution the better. With a philosophy of ‘music for all’ and a belief that lessons should always be engaging, 100% participatory and fun, I’ve put together a summary of some of the best strategies I’ve used for conquering the challenges of primary music. Kathryn Hindmarch is a classroom music and piano teacher at Portway Junior School, a large three-form entry school near Derby. In 2019 she was invited to speak at the BBC at the launch of their ‘Trailblazers’ set of BBC Ten Pieces, and she believes strongly in the importance of ensuring that primary music has a strong representation in every curriculum.
