Case Study: Brass Progression in Swansea
November 21st, 2023 | 3 min read
Last year, Swansea Music in South Wales began a revolutionary approach to whole-class music: empowering classroom teachers in Year 3 to deliver music classes. With training led by the music service and Chris Fower, and pBuzz resources available on Charanga, primary teachers without musical experience delivered beginner brass lessons to their students.
Their efforts were celebrated at the Buzzalong Bonanza held at the Brangwyn Hall, where hundreds of students performed tunes that they had learned with the backing of a big band. For the 2023-24 school year, Year 3 students across the region are once again playing a primary instrument like pBuzz. Teachers are again getting support and CPD sessions to enrich their knowledge and give more children the chance to experience music-making.
But what about last year’s cohort of buzzers and blowers?
The Brass Progressive Pathway in Swansea
In 18 schools across Swansea, a pilot scheme has been launched that will see the students progressing from pBuzz onto two new instruments: pBone and pCornet. Building on the brass fundamentals that they learned in Year 3, pupils across the 18 selected schools will continue to learn brass in the whole-class environment. With Chris Fower and Swansea Music staff, kids are taking their learning further.
In Sketty Primary, two Year Four classes are aiming to create a school brass band. With one class of thirty playing their first notes on pCornet, and another group of thirty children budding to be trombonists, a whole new generation of mini-musicians in Wales is about to be unleashed.
As Content Manager for pBone Music, I was delighted to be invited to the school to hear those very first buzzes as the two sectionals played the ever-popular Shotgun by George Ezra. George’s feel-good anthem was a highlight of their Year 3 musical odyssey and a standout track from the Buzzalong Bonanza. But how would the children perform on a whole new instrument after a break from playing?
To start the session, some instrument knowledge and context were needed. The kids were excited to get a glimpse of where their musical journey could lead, witnessing footage of brass bands and horn sections. The thirty-strong trombone sectional listened to an excerpt from Mahler’s Symphony No.2 and described how it made them feel.
One student was moved to tears, and it was probably this moment more than any other that made me understand how crucial today would be. You felt that this was one of those lessons that would stand out, this was an experience they would not forget: this was the start of something.
Feeling suitably inspired, the kids were ready to create their own stirring sounds.
After picking up their pCornets, Mr Knight’s Year 4 class was reminded of the buzzing technique using their mouthpieces. They were then given the chance to play along with George, singing the verses with real gusto. This group of children had never picked up a cornet, but in less than an hour, they were a working horn section.
It was amazing to see and was soon followed by Emily Jones’ trombone class. Having started on pBuzz, they created some real noise: they all did themselves proud, and I’m sure that the BandAlong event in Summer 2024 is going to be something special!
Excitingly, as the school year develops, these separate classes will become one. In the new year, they will move from the classroom to the hall and become a 60-strong brass band, with ambitions to involve more musicians from Sketty Primary as they grow. By gradually spending more time as a larger group, the aim is for even more youngsters to experience the fun of making music together.“It’ll be nice to generate that buzz” - Sam Knight, Year Four teacher at Sketty Primary, Swansea
Mike Downing and Claire Mainwaring from Swansea Music joined educational consultant Chris Fower. Together, they aim to take these two classes from those first notes to a buzzing brass band. The first term will focus on their technique and understanding of music, utilising the “Posture - Sing - Buzz - Play” method.
Term two will begin to introduce the concept of reading music through BrassTabs, the innovative brass tablature found in the recently published Learn to Play Rock & Pop books, created by Fower and pBone Music Educational Ambassador Grant Golding. Finally, term three will see the kids building themselves into a brass band and engaging with traditional notation when playing songs in certain genres, like hymns and marches.
The fabulously friendly Year 4 teachers Sam Knight - who hopefully doesn’t buy himself a “hornet” rather than the pCornet we provided - and first-time buzzer Emily Jones are also joining in the learning. As one student so aptly put it: “Isn’t it great when your teacher’s learning with you?”
Headteacher Bev Phillips and Deputy Head Simon Lloyd-Jones popped in to hear the pupils’ progress, while Year 3 teacher Joanne Griffiths showed that she has kept up her practice with some impressive scales.
It was a truly heartwarming afternoon, with Sketty Primary teachers, music education experts, and the brilliantly behaved beginner brass players creating a fantastic atmosphere...and a super sound! Days like today are what music education is all about; working together to create something special.
Hearing students in South Wales drew parallels with my recent visit to Beck Primary in Sheffield. Two areas with a rich brass band tradition, both using progressive approaches that are helping students begin on pBuzz before graduating to brass instruments. Seven schools in Swansea have already begun their whole class in Year Four, with another eleven to follow. Hundreds of young children, playing music together, having fun, and building a bright musical future.
- For more information about how the pBuzz project in Wales first began, read our in-depth case study.
- pBuzz has transformed brass progression in schools across Wales, the rest of the UK, and beyond. Find out how Hull Music Service is developing more brass players with pBuzz.
- Learn more about our innovative partnership with Yamaha, which helps more children progress from beginner instruments to premium student models from Yamaha.
Adam is the Content Manager at pBone Music. This should mean that he’s the ideal person to write about himself, but he finds boasting in the third person a little awkward. He honed his word wizardry with a degree in English Language and Literature at the University of Leeds. He has since written copy for clients and businesses across the land, from awards to something beginning with “z”. He also spent a number of years as a musician. He has written pop songs and even jingles for kids, performed more first dances at weddings than you could shake a pBuzz at, and once played a gig for a pie company at The Etihad Stadium in Manchester. When he’s not reminiscing about those good old days, you might find Adam enjoying the football (although as an Everton fan, that can be difficult). He also loves spending time with his partner, Jen, and his family and friends, and sincerely hopes they feel the same way.
