Inclusive primary school music lessons: busting myths about Charanga.

Heard a few things about Charanga, and not sure if it’s for you? Here’s a tongue-in-cheek Q&A about our platform, which takes the stress out of teaching and learning music in and out of school.

Name: Charanga Musical School (for primaries), Charanga Secondary, or Music Professional.

Age: 27 years young.

Appearance: Colourful and beautifully organised!

What is it? A world-leading music teaching and learning platform.

What does that even mean? It’s a website that contains everything a teacher needs to liven up their music lessons. There’s even an app so you can use resources offline. “My lessons don’t need livening up!” I hear you say. Even so, Charanga makes them a breeze to deliver and will have your students racing to their next music lesson like it’s a Taylor Swift concert or Oasis ticket queue.

Who’s it for? Anyone teaching music in primary, special or secondary schools, whether terrified or terrific, a shaky soprano or a groove guru… Err, ok, whether you’re an experienced teacher looking for fresh ideas, music lesson plans and materials or someone completely new to teaching music.

Sounds like just another scheme to me. Nooooooooooo! Don’t let anyone at Charanga hear you saying that. It’ll set them off. The fact is, it’s so much more than a scheme. Yes, you’ve got model schemes for primaries, but you’ve also got all sorts of other goodies on tap, including (wait for it, deep breath):

• YuStudio: easy-to-use music creation software (a digital audio workstation – or DAW for short – for those in the know) that pupils can use to create music in the cloud.
• Creative Tools: to support students’ music-making, exploration and learning in and outside the classroom.
• Yumu: an online workspace where you can set tasks and share assignments, projects, lessons and resources with learners. They can access everything from home, too.
• Assessment tools: making assessment a breeze (well, almost).
• Projects and courses: everything from cross-curricular topics to support for Arts Award.
• First Notes to First Band: a classroom instrumental programme for children working towards their first live performance.
• Special needs: specific resources and courses.

Sounds complicated. Not at all. And they offer tailored one-on-one support, on-demand workshops and real-life training you can book on to.

Well, I’ve heard it’s just about pop music. Really? Haven’t you heard about their partnership with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra? Has no one tipped you the wink about creating music online using YuStudio? And as for the range of music, they’ve got everything from Contemporary Classical to Hip Hop.

Is it going to help me impress my head? I dunno; how good are your Ofsted jokes? 12,500 schools seem happy.

Sounds pricey. It isn’t. Subscription fees are based on the number of students in your school. Better still, you may even get it for free or heavily subsidised (they’ve done deals, guvnor, with most hubs, music services, and the National Music Service in Wales to help deliver their National Plan for Music Education). Aaaaaand … you can try Musical School and Charanga Secondary before you buy, with a 30-day free trial.

Do say: I reckon my class will ace music this year.

Don’t say: They’re just not that musical.