The Sonic Garden: Introducing the theme of sound exploration in a project for SEN pupils

At the beginning of the Sonic Garden project we looked at subtleties of sound creation and ran a series of short exercises and challenges designed to encourage the pupils to think about and discuss the possibilities of creating sound from items that were not traditional instruments. One exercise was based around exploring how many sounds could be made from a piece of paper. Pupils were each given two sheets of plain paper and we went around the group exploring the sound possibilities. There was ripping, scrunching, flapping and many other approaches. Each sound was recorded to be used later in the project. We found that the pupils enjoyed activities such as this that were framed as challenges

As the subject matter we were exploring was the nuances of sound, I really noticed how the pupils were focusing on the sounds around them and the sounds that they were creating. This had an interesting effect on the class dynamic, the pupils became focused and more attentive, listening to each other and discussing the challenge.

Music teacher, Saxon Mount SEN secondary school

We also found that giving the pupils the chance to work on these short activities and in small groups encouraged them to develop team working skills

The pupils worked with peers who they would not usually work with and the outcome was positive. They were able to develop their communication skills with adults who they had not worked with before, which is important as they have been unable to do this due to the restrictions in place over the last 14 months.

Music teacher, Saxon Mount SEN secondary school

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