Songs of Home
How a focus on simplicity makes classroom music more accessible without compromising on quality
Songs of Home is a collection of folk songs from around the world, created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Voices Foundation. This free resource was designed with a specific focus on accessibility and simplicity without compromising on quality. The resource has been celebrated by non-specialist teachers and specialist music educators alike, and has been used in educational settings from early years to Key Stage 3. The downloadable pack includes lyrics, basic notation for voice and piano, song descriptions, lesson ideas, and MP3 audio files. To date, Songs of Home has been accessed by over 750 teachers and leaders across 35 countries worldwide.
At Voices Foundation, we understand the challenges of selecting quality music for the primary school classroom. We are aware of the immense joy that comes when a group of children are so captured by a piece of music that it can be heard echoing through school halls, playgrounds, and even brought into children’s homes. Anyone who has witnessed this will understand the positive and powerful impact music can have on a child.
When we developed Songs of Home, we set out to collect ten songs from around the world that would address the repertoire challenge whilst inspiring a generation of children. These songs needed to be simple and accessible, but rich in quality and teachable content. Using folk songs to achieve this was the natural choice as their simple language, short forms, and often pentatonic style give them an immediacy and familiarity which make them approachable from the start.
After much deliberation and testing, we identified nine folk songs that we felt captured these characteristics. As suggested by the title of the resource, the lyrics in each of these songs focus on one central theme: ‘home’. The tenth and final piece in the pack, ‘Song of Until’, is an original song written by award-winning composer, David Bruce with lyrics by Glyn Maxwell. This song was commissioned by Voices Foundation in collaboration with children and schools to act as a ‘folksong of our time’. Together, these songs reinforce the idea that ‘Music belongs to everybody’, a core educational principle of Zoltan Kodály, whose philosophy inspires much of Voices Foundation’s work.
The ten folk songs in the pack originate from countries including Japan, Ghana, Brazil, Lebanon and Africa, exploring languages including Twi, Portuguese, Hebrew and Polish. Engaging with music from around the world is an enjoyable way for children to build an understanding of the similarities and differences between communities and their traditions. Focusing on the idea of ‘home’ can open up discussions of what ‘home’ means for each child and how this is celebrated across the world.
“It shows the children that everyone comes from different cultures, and in a school with mixed backgrounds it was excellent not just to do modern English or classical songs, and show that all heritages are respected and represented”
Reach –Local & Global Impact
The impact of Songs of Home is far greater than we could ever have imagined. The pack has been downloaded by 750+ individuals in 35 countries across the globe. We’ve seen downloads in 6 of the 7 continents (still waiting on Antarctica!) and have subsequently been nominated for the 2020 Music & Drama Education Awards in the 'Outstanding Music Education Resource' category.
Next Steps
By offering a high quality resource to the public for free, Songs of Home has helped non-music specialist teachers and music practitioners to lead and programme choral performances in their schools that highlight the importance of cultural exchange and the role of folksong in music education. This resource will remain free to download for the foreseeable future and we hope its reach continues to grow.
Since completing his MA in Music Education the UCL Institute of Education, Daniel Rooney now holds the position of Learning Officer at Voices Foundation. In this role, Daniel supports all programme activity including schools, training courses and the development of new resources. Daniel coordinates the recruitment and development of the Voices Foundation practitioner workforce. Twitter: @voices_found
