The pupils in St Paul’s have been working hard in their percussion classes since they commenced this September.

Third class only began a few short weeks ago and they’ve already learnt about the beat, rhythm, call and response, the conductor, the snare drum and the marching band.

Their rhythms are really coming on and we’re hoping to have a classroom performance of a samba drumming routine learnt by Christmas.

Fourth class are doing so well remembering all the material they covered last year. This term we’ve concentrated on sight reading, syncopated rhythms, tempo, dynamics, the composer and the conductor. They even got into the Rugby World Cup spirit and sang Ireland’s Call.

Fifth class have been learning about music notation, music theory, time signatures with a concentration on 3 beats, composition and syncopated music notation. Like fourth class, they’ve also learnt Ireland’s Call.

Sixth class have concentrated on music theory; they’ve learnt about time signatures, bar lines and composing rhythms. We’ve worked on call and response rhythms with three beats, and spent some time working on syncopated music notation. They’ve also learnt “Amhrán na bhFiann” as part of the army’s recent visit to the school when they were presented with a flag for 1916.

Next term should be lots of fun as all classes begin to add the different pieces we’ve covered so far, as well as making music with our percussion instruments.

To enquire about booking a ‘Percussion in the Classroom’ programme for your school, please email us- admin@mobilemusicschool.ie