Hi, Jessie here!
Over the past few weeks, I have been working on Class Jam- one of Junior Jams new courses which will be commencing later this year in September 2021. Class Jam involves classes learning a range of popular songs which will be rehearsed and performed as an ensemble! The instrumentation ranges from glockenspiels, keyboards, boom whackers through to African drums and a wide variety of percussion.
Over the past few weeks, I have been working closely with other Junior Jam staff, breaking down the songs and writing the instrumental parts. Some of the songs pupils will be playing within Class Jam lessons are: Let It Go – Frozen, Stand By Me – Ben E.King, Can't Stop The Feeling – Trolls… as well as many more!
Joe, Luke, and I have come up with a new and innovative coloured notation method which pupils will use to learn their individual parts. As well as this, every song has its own unique video for the children to follow, each pupil will be allocated a colour – when their colour appears on the video, it is their time to play!
To accommodate all levels, we are in the process of creating different versions of the same song, these vary in difficulty. This ensures that all classes are practicing at the desired difficulty level for their year group and individual class ability.
Tomorrow is the first test run of Class Jam which I am very excited to trial! We will be playing an exciting arrangement of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as a class ensemble! This is a great opportunity to see how our plans and ideas translate into a classroom setting. We have planned Class Jam so that it aligns with the new musical guidance and incorporates as many curriculum links as possible, ensuring the pupils get the absolute most out of our course, which is our top priority!