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Classroom Resources

The Young Composers resources are presented The Sea Dogs
as workshops and are deliberately not over-prescriptive, giving teachers flexibility and allowing the imagination of teachers and pupils to drive the work. The resources aim to encourage pupils to see themselves as Welsh composers. The title, Young Composers, has two meanings - the featured composers as children and the children in the classroom as composers.

Young Composers gives pupils the opportunity to appraise and perform Welsh music, whether it is Welsh music they have composed themselves or music composed by someone else. As you will see, many of our music resources use a narrative as a starting point for composing descriptive music. The stories have all been written by authors living in Wales. The composition element of all the resources is easily differentiated up or down.

  • The First Dragon
    The First Dragon is a 20 minute piece for chamber orchestra and narrator, written by Welsh composer Mervyn Burtch and author Francesca Kay. This resource works best for year 4 upwards.
  • The Lost Island
    The Lost Island is a construction kit for composition and performance for classroom orchestra and pupils learning instruments. Written as a Tŷ Cerdd education project by Welsh composer, John Hardy, the project is strongly rooted in Curriculum Cymreig. This resource works well for all year groups including secondary.
  • Sea Dogs - a pirate tail

    View Sea Dogs - a pirate tailResource
    Sea Dogs - a pirate tail
    Brand new for 2011, and written for the Tŷ Cerdd education project, Sea Dogs is a 20 minute work for brass ensemble and narrator, music by Welsh composer Gareth Wood and story by Francesca Kay. 'Tis all about pirates, dogs and the ghost of Black Bart himself...
  • The Princess and the Sea

    View The Princess and the SeaResource
    The Princess and the Sea
    The Princess and the Sea tells the story of Princess who longs to know what the sea is like. The class composes its own soundtrack, experimenting with instruments and sounds to portray the noises of the sea and seashore. Ideal for lower primary classes.
  • The Little Welsh Dragon who forgot how to fly

    View The Little Welsh Dragon who forgot how to flyResource
    The Little Welsh Dragon who forgot how to fly
    Written by Francesca Kay, this story is about a little Welsh dragon and his group of animal friends. Pupils investigate which instruments make appropriate sounds for the animals, and use the basic elements of music to convey their ideas. Well suited for infants and lower primary.
  • Graphic Score PowerPoints

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    Graphic Score PowerPoints
    This series of PowerPoint workshops are designed to enrich your teaching of Sound Pictures and Graphic Scores. They are easily broken down into their component parts for a mix 'n' match approach!
  • Welsh Composer Biographies

    View Welsh Composer BiographiesResource
    Welsh Composer Biographies
    Booklet style biographies aimed at children. Focussing on the composers when they were young, these contain photos and stores about their childhood hobbies and interests.