Spirited Music Spirited music can mean many things. Making music, listening to music, thinking about music, all can be spiritual. RE needs only to make the connections. Here are some starters. Try using this presentation for your NATRE local group, or a teachers’ curriculum development meeting. Everyone can suggest some music to use in RE, and what to do next – the NATRE and RE Today members’ websites have a database of hundreds of songs that can be useful in RE learning.

In RE music can be... A part of the curriculum A learning tool Inspirational Background Culturally enlightening Spiritually uplifting... Or challenging Participatory Voluntary Emotional Thought provoking Relaxing or calming Pupils could: Make music Sing music Listen to music Choose music to go with... Judge between... Suggest songs for... Write the words for a tune... It’s important that music is not mere background, but a learning tool, a way of making RE learning better.

Over my head, I hear music in the air; there must be a God somewhere. When the world is silent, I hear music in the air; There must be a God somewhere. When I'm feeling lonely, I hear music in the air; There must be a God somewhere. Now when I think on Jesus, I hear music in the air; There must be a God somewhere. This song, recorded in many versions, makes a very explicit argument that music is a sign of the reality of God. When pupils think about the question: ‘Is God real?’ then the arguments of the philosophers can miss the experience of believers, of the presence of God in or through music. What gives your pupils a sense of the spiritual, or of God’s reality? What arguments count against these experiences?

In this activity, Izzy 8, was asked to listen to a piece of spiritual music and create an image and a sentence to show what she thought was the power of the music. What music, from any religious tradition, could be useful for your classroom in this kind of activity?

Georgia, 8, uses the spiritual space provided by the activity to be emotionally articulate and thoughtful – do we need more of this in school and in RE? Why is it that lots of RE lessons never go in this simple direction? Are teachers and their planning sometimes too dominated by factual content?

Sam, 12, from Kent, has written an acrostic poem on the power of music to unite. Read his ideas, and you will see that he gets to grips with the spiritual power of music in human (rather than merely religious) life. Setting a poetry task, or some other creative task, inspired by some music, gives pupils freedom and flexibility in making quite simple – or profound - responses.

Life One melody We must play Until it fades away And then inevitably We all Die Birth A symphony Of great happiness A new small instrumentalist Brought into the Harmony of Life Death The end Of a piece By the conductor: God That ends with The final silence Life’s like music These three clever septaines deal with life, birth and death through the well worked metaphor of music. The idea of God as conductor gives Matthew the chance to draw attention to the idea that ‘there’s a destiny which shapes our ends, rough hew them how we may’ (Hamlet). it’s another example of using music to inspire creativity - once again, it seems many teachers don’t use this kind of learning method very often. Should we use it more? Life’s like music Matthew Woodcock, Age 13

Amy, 11, uses the activity of writing the words to a song to explore her own questions about the wonder and the harshness of the world we find ourselves in. Ask your pupils to write a song – they may choose a tune, or just do the words, but our experience in the Spirited Music project suggests some will surprise you by bringing in their recordings

Isabella is 6. She wrote this poem about life’s gifts. Her lovely poem is a great achievement in literacy terms (Year Two, patterns on the page). Perhaps it is even better because of the spiritual meaning she expresses. Why not get your pupils to think about writing songs or poems about life’s gifts? They may surprise you.

SOMETHING INSIDE SO STRONG The higher you build your barrier The taller I become The farther you take my rights away The faster I will run You can deny me You can decide to turn your face away No matter ’cause there’s Something inside so strong Labbi Siffre’s song is available in many youtube versions, and is a typical example of many reasons why RE should use music. There are dozens of great ways to use songs for RE themes and concepts. Teachers need to say ‘would you like to listen to a song I chose, or shall I talk to you about this?’ (The pupils prefer the song). But even better, tell them the themes you will be looking at and ask them to identify songs they love that deal with these themes.

Thanks to all the teachers and pupils who tried out ideas for spirited music and sent in examples of work. Please send some more. RE today, copyright Grateful thanks to the St Peter’s Saltley Trust, for their generous support of Spirited Music