Music on Monday
Autumn 2024 - caring for ourselves
Autumn 2024
21st October
Queen
The rock band Queen are known for their massive stadium anthems, and they don’t get any bigger than “We Are The Champions”
“We Are The Champions” was written by the band’s lead singer Freddie Mercury and released as a single in 1977. Freddie said that he wrote the song as a way to bring people together…”I was thinking about football when I wrote it. I wanted a participation song, something that the fans could latch on to”. The band’s guitarist, Brian May later said “We wanted to get the crowds waving and singing. It’s very unifying and positive. People love it because it’s uplifting”.
Despite being written as a song to cheer on football teams, the song can be interpreted in so many different ways to cheer on anybody from any walk of life, but the message is always the same- “We’ll keep cheering you on because we believe you are the champions!”
So this week, think about cheering people on, as true winners cheer each other on.
14th October
Natasha Bedingfield
“Unwritten”, by Natasha Bedingfield was released in 2004 and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The song’s message is an important one- that we need to take control of our own lives and experiences as no one else can do it for us. Our futures are all still unwritten, and it’s down to us to write them!
“I am unwritten, can’t read my mind- I’m undefined
I’m just beginning, the pen’s in my hand, ending unplanned…”
We have picked this song as this week we are finding out about Britain’s trampolining gold medallist, Bryony Page, who had to spend an entire year re-learning how to trampoline after experiencing 'lost move syndrome'. We all have the power to change our story, our whole life isn't already 'written' for us and we have the opportunity to control where we go in life.
7th October
Rachel Platten
Rachel Platten had a dream: she wanted to be a professional singer and songwriter. For 12 years, she tried to make her dream come true. She wrote a lot of songs- but not one was a big hit. She travelled from city to city, singing in clubs- but often had very small audiences. She made CDs but didn’t sell many. After 12 years, she took a break and thought maybe she should give up because she was tired of not succeeding. She took a year out to think things through, however she came to the realisation that she wanted to keep singing- “even if only five people come to hear me. I’ll keep writing songs even if I never have a hit.” She then wrote a song about her decision- the song was called “Fight Song”. This song became a huge hit- a few months later she sang this song in a concert with 50,000 people in the audience, which lead to the launch of a very successful music career!
30th September
Roger Bart
This song was written for the 1997 Disney film Hercules. The film follows Hercules’s quest to prove himself worthy of living among the Greek gods on Mount Olympus. In this song, Hercules sings of how he has the strength and courage to tackle any obstacle in order to reach his goal.
“And I won’t look back, I can go the distance,
And I’ll stay on track, no I won’t accept defeat
It’s an uphill slope
But I won’t lose hope, ‘til I go the distance
And my journey is complete.”
This week we are thinking about 'working hard enough' after being inspired by Keely Hodgkinson, the 22 year old British runner, who grabbed her first ever gold medal in the women's 800m track race in the Paris Olympics. Having come second in the World Championships in 2023, Keely had narrowly missed out on any top spots in major tournaments until the Paris Olympics but her hard work has really paid off and now she is enjoying her success.
23rd September
Shikira
Featured on the Disney film Zootopia, this song talks about tough times as well as good. It says that it’s normal to be scared and make mistakes- but it’s ok to feel that way, and if we fail just try again! “Try Everything” is a song for everyone- those who dream big, those who take risks and those who don’t give up.
“Birds don’t just fly, they fall down and get up,
Nobody learns without getting’ it wrong.
I won’t give up, no, I won’t give in
‘Til I reach the end, and then I’ll start again.
No, I won’t leave, I wanna try everything,
I wanna try even though I could fail”.
See if you can have a positive mindset this week,especially when things don't go the way you thought they would. If you believe your talents can be developed through hard work, good strategies, and help from others you have a growth mindset. People with a growth mindset tend to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe their talents are innate gifts). This is because they worry less about looking smart and put more energy into learning.
16th September
Andrea Bocelli
Here is a video of famous Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli performing “Because we believe” at the closing ceremony of the winter Olympics in 2006. Andrea Bocelli didn’t start chasing his dream of pursuing a music career until he was in his thirties, but has since become one of the world’s most famous and successful classical musicians. He has since collaborated with a range of artists, from pop stars like Celine Dion and Ed Sheeran to classical musicians like Placido Domingo and Yo-Yo Ma. Bocelli has performed at the Vatican for the Pope and several other important events such as the Winter Olympics in Turin. He has sold over 90 million records worldwide, making him one of the best selling music artists of all time. Imagine if he’d thought that he was too old to start pursuing music- what a waste that would have been!
9th September
Mozart
This week’s Music on Monday piece relates to our theme because of the emotion the performer needs to perform it, and the emotional affect it can have on the listener. As with any piece of music, emotion plays a vital role. Someone once said “music is how emotions sound”. Can you imagine a piece of music being performed with absolutely no emotion? It would be pretty boring and nowhere near as good to listen to!
Therefore, showing emotions is certainly a strength to any musician- without that ability, we wouldn’t be able to do justice to wonderful pieces of music such as this one.
Mozart’s clarinet concerto is one of the greatest classical compositions of all time (and certainly one of Mrs Harper’s favourites to play and listen to!)
A concerto is a piece of music (usually in three parts- or ‘movements’) written for a solo instrument and orchestral accompaniment. This Clarinet Concerto was the last thing famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ever composed- and arguably one of the most beautiful. It was written in 1791, just several months before his death. Interestingly, did you know that the first thing Mozart ever composed (at the age of 5!!) was the tune we’re all so familiar with- “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”?!
In the video link, you will see famous clarinettist Martin Frost performing the second movement. The second movements of concertos are usually the slowest and most emotional. Whilst listening, think about what kind of emotions this piece makes you feel……peaceful? Sad? Whistful? Also, notice how Martin Frost and the orchestra play from the heart- putting so much emotion into this wonderful performance. Then try to imagine if they had played it like robots, with no emotion…..it wouldn’t be anywhere near as good, would it?
So the next times you’re afraid to show emotion, remember- all of the best musicians and performers do it well, and it really is a gift!
2nd September
The Script
This is a great song to start of our term, where we will be focusing on aiming high in everything we do. This song sends a message to believe in the impossible and that you can be anything and do anything you desire with hard work and determination. It encourages you to listen to your dreams and believe in yourself, reminding us that we will never succeed if we don't at least try.
This term we are going to be inspired by Olympians' who competed in the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics and find out what motivated them to achieve their dreams.