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The October 2012 edition of St Johns Prep and Senior school's Music newsletter 'Music Matters'.
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music matters Issue #02 Oct 2012
FEATURED INSTRUMENT OF THE MONTH
Read about the exotic Gamelan
MUSICIAN’S DOZEN
Solve the Word Search!
HALF TERM GUIDE See what’s happening in and
around London this Half Term
ST. JOHN’S PREP SCHOOL’S MUSIC NEWSLETTER
THE CLASSICAL
CHARTS Have a look at
BBC Radio 3
2
Editor’s
MESSAGE
Dear pupils,
Welcome to the second edition of Music
Matters, St. John’s Prep School’s very own
monthly music newsletter! As you can see,
we have upgraded to the A4 size format for
the newsletter, just so that we can squeeze
more content in!
In this month’s edition, you can find a guide
for what is happening during the Half Term.
Now remember, there is always plenty to
see and discover in London!
Also, in this issue, I will be speaking about an
amazing piece of technology, which I am
sure you will find very useful. It is called
Spotify and basically, it is a programme
similar to iTunes that catalogues and
contains almost every single song in the
English-speaking world! Just type in any song
you wish to listen to and it comes up almost
instantly. It works on your computer as well
as on your smartphone - if you have one,
that is! Best of all, it is free! I have covered
more on this fantastic programme on page
7.
In the meantime, I hope all of you have a
fantastic, musical Half Term and enjoy the
last bits of warmth before winter truly sets in
for good! Do not forget to check out the
amazing London Children’s Film Festival at
the Barbican and discover all about
filmmaking. More information can be found
on the next page.
Keep singing!
MR. JONATHAN ANG
Editor
Music Matters
CONTENTS
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Half-term What’s On
Instrument of the Month
Young Female Musician of
the Month
Artiste of the Month
Lower School Corner
Musician’s Dozen
News & Upcoming Events
Featured Article: BBC Radio 3
Play a Christmas Tune
Young Male Musician of the
Month
3
Festivals, exhibitions AND
CONCERTS
Nothing says “great day out” as well as an artsy trip in the capital! Here
is a list of what is going on in and around London. This bumper listing
contains everything you need to know for the Half Term break.
London Children’s Film Festival 1st - 30th Nov. Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS
Have you always wanted to be a filmmaker? Well now is your
chance! Throughout the entire month, there will be film
screenings and lots of workshops for you to participate in and
learn what it takes to make your own film.
You can even make your own film in a day and get a copy of
it on DVD to take home with you! Also, find out what happens
behind the scenes when a movie is being made, and how
music for films is used. It is all very much like the Science Museum, but for films! How very exciting.
Ice Age Live London Wembley Arena, Arena Square, Engineers Way, London, HA9 0AA 1st - 3rd Nov.
Sid, Diego & Manny are back and, this time, they will be appearing
live! With dance, acrobatics, flying and skating, this is definitely a
thrilling way to spend the Half Term break.
There will be a 3.5 metre tall Manny the mammoth onstage, and a
brand new character: Shadow, a bird that stretches more than 4
metres long! There will also be plenty of toe tapping tunes and ac-
tion-packed sequences, all just like the films!
War Horse Exhibition London 22nd Oct. 2012 onwards National Army Museum, London, SW3 4HT
Inspired and based on Michael Morpurgo’s hugely popular book ‘War
Horse’, this exhibition celebrates the touching real life stories of animals
who have bravely fought in wars, including Joey the war horse from the
book and films. If you have seen the film or read the book, this will be a
perfect opportunity to experience moments from the story on a large
scale.
This exhibition will be perfect for history fans and animal lovers alike! The
War Horse exhibition runs till 31 March, 2013, so do not miss it!
Half Term at the Museum of London 150 London Wall, London, EC2Y 5HN 27th Oct. 2012 - 4th Nov. 2012
This Half Term, the Museum of London will be holding a series of workshops,
storytelling sessions and exhibitions dedicated to London’s rich and varied
past. Children will get to explore the museum and get hands-on with a range
of activities, some of which will be Halloween-themed as well! All events are
free to attend.
4
Featured Instrument
of the Month
Every month we will feature an instrument, which might be a common
instrument, or sometimes a strange and mystic-looking one instead! If you
would like to see it in action, simply visit YouTube and type in the
instrument name, and there you have it! If you would like to learn a new
instrument, simply speak to your music teacher and they will point you in
the right direction.
GAMELAN The gamelan refers to traditional musi-
cal instruments from the islands of Java
and Bali, in Indonesia, a country lo-
cated in Southeast Asia.
Instruments in the gamelan are mostly
made up of metallic pots or bars. Each
pot or bar produces a different pitch
and are arranged in a specific order,
like the keyboard. These instruments are
played or struck with a beater, and this
is called a mallet.
Although most instruments are made of
metal, there are also instruments that are
made up of bamboo (called the angklung)
or animal skin (drums as seen in the photo on
the left, called the kendang). Clapping
(called keplok) also features prominently is
gamelan music!
Below are a few instruments you can find in a
traditional gamelan ensemble from the Indo-
nesian island of Java. Java is where the capi-
tal of Indonesia, Jarkata, is located, and is
also the most populous island in the world.
Gendèr Bonang Saron
5
Anahitha Vijay, F2
YOUNG FEMALE MUSICIAN OF THE MONTH
Q: Hello Anahitha, how nice to be able to have a chat with
you! Tell us, what instruments do you play, and which is your
favourite?
A: I play the violin and the harmonica, but I prefer the
harmonica.
Q: Is there an instrument you wish you could learn?
A: The drums! My friend Harry plays the drums as well.
Q: .What sort of music do you most enjoy?
A: I really like classical music. In fact, my favourite classical composers are Beethoven,
Mozart and Tchaikovsky!
Q: Very impressive. Tell me, where do you usually listen to classical music?
A: I listen to it on the radio, usually on Classic FM which is my favourite radio station.
Q: I hear you are able to learn a certain tune just by listening and then playing it back on
the keyboard. That is quite impressive, could you tell us more about that?
A: That is correct! I am trying to learn how to do that on the keyboard. I have never really
had proper lessons on the keyboard, so I am trying to teach myself at the moment. I then
imagine how they sound on the violin, before transferring it onto the keyboard.
Q: Who is your favourite singer, and what do think their best song is?
A: It is definitely Nicki Minaj, and my favourite song of hers is Super Bass!
Q: Does anyone else in your family play instruments?
A: My mum does play some Indian instruments, and she is
really inspiring to me. She plays something called the veena
(pictured on the left), which is like a guitar but it makes a
much lower sound.
MUSIC FACTS TO BOGGLE YOUR MIND!
Fact: The size of
Monaco’s orchestra is
bigger than its army!
Did you know that the world's
official fastest rapper is Ricky
Brown? He holds the Guinness
World Record by rapping 723
syllables in 41.27 seconds on
his track No Clue, in January
2005, in front of a licensed
speech therapist.
American composer John Cage (1912–1992)
composed a work in 1952 entitled 4' 33", which
consists of four minutes and thirty-three seconds
of complete silence.
The harmonica is the world’s best-
selling music instrument.
6
FEATURED ARTISTE
OF THE MONTH
Every month this newsletter will feature a musician, artiste,
composer or singer for you to discover. Remember, if you want
to know more about the featured artiste of the month, you
can always find more on the internet, especially on YouTube!
ESCALA Escala are a young, trendy group of
string players. They play electronic string
instruments, very much like the electric
guitar, except they are played with a
bow (like a normal violin). Izzy and
Honor play the violin, Chantal plays the
viola and Tasya plays the cello.
Since winning Britain's Got Talent in 2008,
they have become very popular. They
specialise in playing classical music but
with electronic beats accompanying
the music, such as hip-hop, trance and
dance music. This specific type of music
is called classical crossover. Their concerts always feature slick dance moves, shiny cos-
tumes and a dancing crowd, very unlike a traditional classical concert! You can listen to
them on Spotify - see below for more information on this amazing piece of software.
Spotify is an instant, online music streaming service that works like iTunes, but with a massive
catalogue of approximately 15 million songs! You can search via artists, albums, labels and
genres, but one of it’s best features is radio. Simply by starting with a particular artiste of your
choice, you can set up your very own radio station comprising of songs that are similar to the
artiste you started out with! You can also make your own playlists and share them with your
friends.
The basic features of Spotify are free, but they include advertisements after every four to five
songs played. However, if you buy a subscription, you will be able to play music from Spotify
from your mobile or smartphone, and save tracks on your computer so you can play them
without an internet connection. And of course, there will not be any advertisements. Monthly
subscriptions start from £4.99/month onwards.
To download, visit http://www.spotify.com/ or your smartphone’s app store!
7
LO
WER
SCHOOL
CORNER
Bailey the Piping Bear has just got himself a
brand new tartan, and he needs your help
colouring it in! Do not forget to decorate his
bagpipes nicely as well. This month’s best entry
will be awarded a special prize! Deadline: 31st
October, 2012.
To learn more about what tartan is and view
some examples, see the bottom of this page.
What is tartan? It is a pattern of criss-crossed bands in
multiple colours, and is usually associated with
Scotland and Scottish culture. Since the 19th century,
Scottish clans have adopted their own signature
patterns on their tartan dress. Currently, there are
almost 7,000 different tartan patterns in the world, with
around 150 new designs being created every year!
Clan Gordon
tartan
MacGregor
Red & Green
tartan
Maclaine
Dress
tartan
Cu
t o
r te
ar
alo
ng
lin
e
8
Z g f t c S t p D v
E U h R L f X U s f
Y I p i a n o h b B
g t t A R g E O A A
h A B n I f D I n g
J r R g n h L E J P
b u g L E A W U o I
D f W e t r q h t P
S x y l o p h o n E
E b m e j d b a s s
Musician’s Dozen
Can you find all twelve different instruments from the Word
Search puzzle below?
Piano
Clarinet
Xylophone
Tuba
Banjo
Guitar
Bonus word: Djembe
Where is this instrument from?
_____________________
How many of these instruments can you play?
Harp
Flute
Bass
Bagpipes
Bugle
Triangle
— QUICK Sudoku —
9
NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS
LION KING COMPETITION WINNERS
Form 2 & 3 pupils will be making a trip to the Lyceum Theatre at London’s
West End during October to watch Lion King the musical. They won tickets
after submitting entries in a competition last year where they had to perform
numbers from the musical and record it on video before sending it off to the
competition organisers. Their entries came in second place. Well done!
CHOIR COMPETITIONS
The Prep. School choir have started work towards recording their submission
entries for two big competitions this year. The first is the Barnardo’s National
Choir Competition, and the other is the very prestigious BBC Songs of Praise
Choir of the Year Competition. The choir is currently working very hard on
perfecting their brand-new repertoire for the year!
SCHOOL EVENTS
Rehearsals are currently under way for Speech Day performances, as well as
the combined Remembrance Day assembly in November. Mrs. Bowman has
also commenced rehearsals for the Lower School Christmas Show, which will
be held at the Wyllyots Theatre in Potters Bar on 28 November, 2012 at 7.00
p.m.
DESIGN YOUR OWN INSTRUMENT
W I N N E R
Congratulations to Ella
Robinson (LT) for winning
last month’s competition!
10
Since 29 September 1946, the BBC
has been leading the way in classical
music programmes on the radio.
However, it is not just ‘serious’ music
that this radio station deals with.
Read to find out more.
BBC Radio 3 focuses not only on classical mu-
sic and opera, but also jazz, world music and
drama. It is also a leader in the world when it
comes to asking modern-day composers to
write new music for the radio station!
Radio 3 broadcasts from central London, but
it also has recording and broadcasting facili-
ties at the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Fes-
tival Hall, so that they are able to broadcast
concerts live on radio from these venues. They
have various programmes everyday, but the
most famous one is their Composer of the
Week programme, which has been going on
since August 1943.
Each week, a particular classical composer is
studied in detail and their work is played more
often on the radio. Below you can find some
famous classical composers who have been
featured and some interesting information
about them.
BBC Radio 3 is also well known for its broadcast
of the BBC Proms concerts, live and in full, every
summer. The BBC Proms is an eight-week sea-
son of daily orchestral classical music concerts
held every year, and this has been going on
since 1895!
The Proms remain extremely popular till this day
and every year, fans known as “Prommers” get
together in fancy dress to celebrate music.
Ludwig van Beethoven b.17 Dec. 1770
d. 26 Mar. 1827
Towards the end of his life
Beethoven still continued
composing and conducting
even though he became
completely deaf!
Muzio Clementi b. 24 Jan. 1752
d. 10 Mar. 1832
Clementi was considered to
be Mozart’s strongest com-
petitor, they would often try
to out-compose each
other! He has also been
married three times.
Jean Sibelius b.8 Dec. 1865
d. 20 Sep. 1957
Sibelius is Finland’s most
famous composer. However,
he only realised he wanted to
be a professional musician
after finishing a law degree at
university!
Erik Satie b.17 May. 1866
d. 01 Jul. 1925
French composer Satie is best
known for his composition Vexa-
tions, which is simply a one-minute
long piano piece played repeat-
edly over 840 times, giving a non-
stop playing time of 14 hours!
11
PLAY A
CHRISTMAS TUNE! With Christmas quickly approaching, this is now the perfect time to pick up some Christmas
tunes! In this and the next issue of Music Matters, an easy Christmas tune will be featured. This
month’s carol is called Away In A Manger, I am sure most of you will be familiar with this tune!
The music here is written mainly for piano, but if you play another instrument such as the violin,
ask your instrumental teacher and they will adapt the music for you so that you are able to play
it on your own instrument!
12
YOUNG MALE MUSICIAN
OF THE MONTH
Q: Hello Jacob. So, what instruments do you play?
A: I play the guitar.
Q: And how long have you been playing the guitar?
A: For about two years now, I think. I go to the Sound
Garden Music School in Barnet for lessons.
Q: .And I suppose your favourite instrument must be the
guitar as well?
A: Yes, it is!
Q: Tell us, what type of guitars to you play?
A: I play the electric guitar, but I also own an acoustic guitar at home.
Q: I hear you are looking to set up a band. Tell us more about it?
A: That is right! I am looking for about six or so musicians to join me with all sorts of
instruments like the piano and drums, and I hope to form a band that plays all different kinds
of music.
Q: So when this band becomes famous and successful, what do you hope to do with it?
A: I hope we can go to Las Vegas and perform!
Editors note: If you are interested in joining Jacob to form a band, please come and speak
to Mr. Ang. It would be preferable if you have a few years’ experience on your instrument
and are able to play any one of the following: the piano, bass guitar or drums. Also, if you
sing, please approach Mr. Ang and he will assess your suitability to join Jacob’s band.
Places are limited so be quick!
Every month there will be one or two students from St. John’s Prep
School who will be featured as Young Musicians of the month! If you
have something about music you want to share, looking to set up a
band or play an interesting instrument, simply approach Mr. Ang and
you might be featured next!
MUSIC MATTERS 10/2012
Published by
St John’s Prep. School
Editor
Mr. Jonathan Ang
Jacob Haynes, F1