Visiting Specialists of Music

Music plays a vital part in child development.

Through music, our children are socialised by:

Working together with peers and teachers
Learning to share
Turn taking
Developing their personal and national music identity
Affirming their identity in the context of world music
Team and individual contribution
Exploring emotions

Children further develop:

Listening
Motor skills (hand to eye coordination)
Timing
Reading music
The relationship between symbol (orthography) and sound (performance)
Internalising pitch and pulse
Keeping a beat
Preparing for a group performance (an important contribution however modest can have a huge impact)

The role of the visiting specialist of music is to provide children with a vehicle for personal expression and to help children participate in their community through performance.

In the music classroom, children have opportunities to play, create, perform and - most importantly - enjoy music. They also develop the skills to appreciate a wide variety of musical forms critically. The specialists encourage the sharing of knowledge, understanding and music skills.

The VSMs also support choirs and recorder groups at the Arbroath festival each Spring.

Curriculum for Excellence

Through the development of tuned and untuned instrumental skills and a way of recording and reading music from the early years, we can link to the popular topic areas of interest being investigated in other curriculum areas, giving children real motivation to use and develop their skills further.

This is often based on a book study, sound story, topics such as World War 2 or Africa and creating a musical / drama for a specific audience.

We hope children are inspired to be involved.

They are encouraged to reflect on their performances.

Viewed in the context of the journey from infancy to adulthood, the visiting specialists provide vital music in-put which can lead to learning an instrument, singing or a broad appreciation of music with all the pleasures this brings to enrich our lives as adults.

Visiting Music Specialists

Scott Petrie
Kathleen Fairlie
Diane Heron
Moira Grier
Steven Watt (YMI Coordinator)
Kelly Marshall

Among universities and conservatoires, staff have studied at:

Statistics

We have 4.2FTE visiting specialists of music.
They see 6,000 children every 4-6 weeks visiting 53 schools.
They support over 150 music events each year including Christmas, Easter and summer presentations and other school shows and music for important visitors etc.