Features

Learning versus doing: singing pop songs with KS2 & 3

Composer and educator Andy Brooke investigates best practice for singing pop songs with KS2 and 3. What are the benefits and pitfalls for young singers aged 7–14, and how do we teach this repertoire with integrity?
 A Rocksteady session
A Rocksteady session - Courtesy Rocksteady

Popular music has been called ‘the world's most important art form’, reaching as it does all areas of our child and adult lives and breaking down socioeconomic barriers. In some classrooms, pop songs are regarded as a treat for pupils and teachers: pupils get to sing music that's familiar and ‘cool’, and teachers show an affinity with pupils and with life outside the classroom, gaining cachet. With TV talent shows, rock stars as national figures and wide and easy access to the music, it's no wonder we want to bring its joy and connectivity to the classroom. Interestingly, however, pop music is merely implied in the National Curriculum (although it does feature by name in the Model Music Curriculum).

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