Music is an integral part of life at The Gap State School, involving students, staff and parents. The aim of the music program is to develop the creativity which is present in varying degrees in all children. Music programs focus on students making music and developing the ability to think and express themselves in sound.
Learning is activity based and through a variety of such activities the children are taught the basic skills of music - beat, rhythm, pitch, singing, movement, listening, musical literacy, creating and playing. Great emphasis is placed on the "enjoyment" aspect.
Students from Prep to Year 3 receive twice weekly music lessons from a music specialist teacher and students in Years 4, 5 and 6 receive a lesson once a week.
Instrumental and choral programs
Choirs
Students from Year 1 are invited to join our school choirs. We currently have five choirs: Senior Choir (for students in Years 5 & 6); Junior Choir (for students in Years 3 & 4); Sopraninos (usually convenes in Term 2, with membership open to all Year 1 and Year 2 students) and extension choirs e.g. Boys’ Choir and our auditioned Girls’ Choir.
Instrumental Music
Students undertake a selection process in Year 2 to determine their aptitude for playing a String instrument. In Year 3, students may apply to learn a Band (woodwind, brass or percussion) instrument. Following this process, offers to join the instrumental program are made to selected students.
Department funding provides selected children with one small group lesson per week and access to our loan instruments for a year. After the first year, students are generally required to purchase their own instrument.
Students selected to learn a String instrument commence lessons at the start of Year 3. The selection process for students to learn Band instruments is completed in Year 3 for commencement of lessons in Year 4.
String Instruments
Band Instruments
- Woodwind: Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone
Brass: Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba, French Horn, Euphonium/Baritone
Percussion: (all percussion students play a variety of tuned and untuned instruments)
Competitions - All of our school choirs and instrumental ensembles participate in both, competitive and non-competitive events during the year.