Folk Music: A resource for creative music-making - Key Stages 3 and 4

The material in this pack grew out of work on The Full English project at Hanham
High School, South Gloucestershire. We worked with students at Key Stages 3
and 4 (11-15 years) in their music lessons and in after school activity. They played
a range of instruments including melodeon, piano accordion and banjo, plus the
school’s tuned percussion and keyboards. The project ended with a performance
as part of The Full English national showcase conference in June 2014.

The Full English was a unique nationwide project unlocking hidden treasures of England’s cultural heritage by making over 58,000 original source documents from 12 major folk collectors available to the world via a ground-breaking nationwide digital archive and learning project. The project was led by the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS), funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and in partnership with other cultural partners across England.

Folk music has always been remembered and transmitted principally by ear, and
only in recent years has it been played by a significant number of people with
much formal musical training. Consequently there are a huge number of folk
tunes and songs that lend themselves to being taught by ear (and/or by basic
notation) to a mixed-ability group. Folk music has always been music for participants, which means it is a great resource for developing practical musical skills, and is a great starting point for creative music-making with young people.

Audio recordings by Rob Harbon of the pieces provided in this pack are available
for free download from www.efdss.org/resourcebank

This resource is one of over 100 educational materials in the English Folk Dance and Song Society’s Resource Bank of free, downloadable materials. These are designed for you to use in your teaching and learning, incorporating English traditional folk song, music, dance, drama and other arts. They are suitable for use in formal and informal settings including primary, secondary and SEN schools, youth ensembles, community choirs, adult learning and more.