For Lower Primary Pupils
The Brassketeers
Free teaching resources
Turn your pupils into musical math-e-magicians!
This fun, interdisciplinary project introduces children to the joy of brass instruments and the rich sound world they create, while also supporting delivery of the Early and First Level numeracy curriculum.
On this page, you'll find a short introductory film, Meet the Brassketeers, which introduces the project to your pupils, as well as all the resources you'll need to bring it all to life.
Supported by Scottish Opera's Education Angels
With thanks to the Educational Institute of Scotland for a donation towards the cost of The Brassketeers
Watch
The Brassketeers: Trailer | Scottish Opera
Meet The Brassketeers | Scottish Opera
What’s involved
The Brassketeers is made up of two elements:
- An animated musical story introducing the trumpet, trombone and French horn
- A set of comprehensive, curriculum-based teaching resources to use with your pupils
Teaching resources include lesson plans, slide shows, worksheets and games, exploring the relationship between music and maths, as wells as introducing pupils to the basics of music theory and musical notation.
Resources offer a variety of challenges for learners at different stages and are written flexibly – one or both can be used, with lessons sequenced as appropriate for pupils and curriculum priorities.
Useful Links
Here are some websites and online resources you may find useful in consolidating learning and exploring the topics in The Brassketeers further.
- Musical notes revision (YouTube)
- All about brass – Dallas Symphony Orchestra: A range of excellent web pages giving more information and ideas for additional activities on the trumpet, trombone and French horn
- Introducing the brass family – BBC Bitesize
- All about sound – BBC House of Sound: A more complex explanation of how brass instruments produce sound. Suggested for older classes only.
- Learn how to build a plastic bottle trumpet or a cardboard trumpet
Credits
Directed, animated and edited by
Jamie Macdonald
Performed by
Jason Lewis (Trumpet)
Lauren Reeve-Rawlings (French horn)
Cillian O’Ceallachain (Trombone)
Sound Engineer
Matt Harvey
Development support
Ross Stenhouse
Alex McCabe
Education resource pack by
Lissa Lorenzo
Illustrations by
Tess Wood
Contact
Questions about our digital resources?
Please contact our Producer Madeleine Coxshott using the contact form below: