Bring the magic of music to the classroom

Students playing music in the classroom

Classical 100 is a free resource for primary schools in the UK that’ll ignite enthusiasm for classical music in your classroom. Classical 100 features 100 pieces of classical music in a dynamic list, ranging from Bach to Bernstein and Handel to Haydn. You can sort the music by mood, instrument, tempo and historical period, or in any other way that suits you.  “Classical 100 offers exciting opportunities for teachers and pupils to explore and enjoy a wide range of classical music. The 100 pieces are a perfect stimulus for storytelling, drama and dance, with lots of ideas for music-making activities. The resource is ideal for introducing pupils to the joy of classical music, where pupils can improve their aural skills in identifying a range of orchestral instruments along with interpreting the emotions of the music while developing concentration in listening skills.”Kate Picken, Music Teacher and Youth Music Development Officer in Dumfries & Galloway Council Make your lessons more engaging Each of the 100 pieces features its own musical challenge. Challenge your students to complete the activities. Listen, learn and explore all 100 pieces. The challenges are fun and flexible enough to use in a number of ways – from short starter activities to longer pieces of work spanning several hours.  “The children clearly loved taking part in the Classical 100 lessons, they were intrigued by the challenge titles and are looking forward to taking part in their next challenge and collecting more stars. It was great to be asked ‘when can we do our next challenge?’ at the end of the session!” Helen Wiles, Leader of the Arts at St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Accessible to all You don’t have to be a specialist music teacher to use it in your classroom.  Each challenge includes a helpful guide and all the resources you may need to tackle it with your class. Even if you’re not too confident with music, you can still bring the magic of music to your classroom. How did Classical 100 come about? Classical 100 was developed by industry experts with a wealth of primary teaching knowledge and professional experience compiling syllabuses and other education materials, and has been rigorously tested by a broad community of teachers, music services and music education experts. Michael Elliott, Chief Executive at ABRSM: “Classical 100 is about igniting enthusiasm for, and keeping children engaged in, music. This is really important for all of us and is part of ABRSM’s commitment to support and inspire achievement in music.” Classical 100 was developed in collaboration with Classic FM and Decca, and is supported by the Department for Education.