At Dunsborough Primary School, music is woven through many of our school and community activities to reflect our school Vision:
“We want our school to provide a world of opportunities in a safe and supportive learning environment where every child’s academic, social and physical needs can be met.” Our music room is a warm, fun, and welcoming place to learn and explore, where students can develop skills to support them throughout their life.
Students learning Music listen, perform and compose. They learn about the elements of music comprising rhythm, pitch, dynamics and expression, form and structure, timbre and texture. Aural skills, or ear training, are the particular listening skills students develop to identify and interpret the elements of music. Aural skills development is essential for making and responding to a range of music while listening, composing, and performing.
Our music classroom is beautifully equipped with instruments with which to experiment, explore and learn, including ukuleles, electric drums, electric keyboards, guitars and acoustic pianos. We feature ukulele, basic keyboard skills, guitar (later primary) and simple music theory. Singing, moving and playing a variety of instruments are the key elements in our class music lessons with plenty of performance opportunities, both in class and during assemblies.
Making in Music involves active listening, imitating, improvising, composing, arranging, conducting, singing, playing, comparing and contrasting, refining, interpreting, recording and notating, practising, rehearsing, presenting and performing. Our school and local talent quests are popular events.
Choir is held once per week before school for interested students in years four and five at Dunsborough Primary. We seek performance opportunities both within and beyond DPS. Every second year we combine with government schools in the south west for our WaTutti (Sing Together) Festival.
Responding in Music involves students being audience members listening to, enjoying, reflecting on, analysing, appreciating and evaluating their own and others’ musical works.
Both making and responding involve developing aural understanding of the elements of music through experiences in listening, performing and composing. The elements of music work together and underpin all musical activity. Students learn to make music using the voice, body, instruments, found sound sources, and information and communication technology. Learning through music is a continuous and sequential process, enabling the acquisition, development and revisiting of skills and knowledge with increasing depth and complexity.
The Department of Education “Instrumental Music School Services” (IMSS) program selects students with special music aptitude in Year 5 to learn the flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, baritone or french horn (selected via a listening aptitude test and school/parent consultation in Year 4). This group tuition extends to the local government high school programme (which continues to Year 10). The Busselton Senior High School and Cape Naturaliste Music Programmes combine to form “Geographe Bay Music”. It is highly acclaimed and has been awarded “School of Musical Excellence” status. The expansive Performing Arts Centre at Cape Naturaliste College provides wonderful and varied opportunities for community engagement and student participation in the music arena. Our instrumental assemblies and local performances welcome community audiences featuring our IMSS students.
Music is very much a part of the down south life. With some of our students having headed to local and international stages as career musicians, Dunsborough Primary School is happy to support your child’s musical journey.