Kitchen Percussion
This interactive session investigates the timbral possibilities of various kitchen items and will involve participants working in small groups to create short compositions. Participants will be provided rhythmic building blocks for their compositions and ways to incorporate choreography.

Spark Creativity with Singing Games
Let’s face it, kids love playing games no matter their age!
Reach new heights in your Upper Primary/Lower Secondary music classroom by engaging in a variety of singing games that are practical, fun and inclusive for all. Discover ways to transform these games into Orff arrangements and foster a love of creativity in your classroom.

Keeping it Cool: Creative ideas to work with rhyme and rap in middle and upper primary music classrooms!
This workshop will offer participants an opportunity to explore a sequence of accessible music and movement learning to engage students. Participants will gradually extend on text with voices, body percussion and movement, transferring compositions to found sound sources to engage and inspire even the coolest students in the class. There will also be opportunity for participants to reflect on the process and application within various teaching contexts.

Song Writing and Learning Made Simple and Accessible Using Music Technology
Note: Aimed at Grade 5/6 and older.

How do we ensure the technology does not get in the way of teaching music?
Marcel will be doing a practical song writing session using a cloud-based composing & learning app, OGenPlus. He will introducing teachers to a resource that provides a support framework that takes away the need for the teacher to know the technology.
He will guide teachers through the process of how students can learn core musical principles in a way that is engaging and accessible. How students learn about building rhythms, creating melodies, use chord sequences, how to write lyrics, layer and arrange music in a simple way.
Be prepared to write lyrics and compose music. Please bring your laptops, Chromebooks, and headphones.

The Orff Orchestra
Beginning with the body and voice, join us in a celebration of the Orff instruments as we play, improvise, create arrangements and perform for each other. This session will include singing, moving, body percussion, non-melodic, melodic percussion instruments and recorders. Suitable for 8-14 years

Perth Zoo meets Baroque
Get ready to dance and move to Baroque music in 3 as we visit Perth Zoo and all the animals. The aim of this session is to get students familiar with Baroque music, internalising, moving and composing in 3/4 and give them an understanding rondo structure. There will be some discussion at the end of how to adapt this to different year groups, particularly seniors, whilst maintaining an authentic Orff approach.

Are you game? Unlocking the power of video game soundtracks!
An immersive session exploring the captivating world of video game music. Discover familiar and modern tracks that resonate with your students, and explore how to incorporate instruments and movement. You’ll leave ready to embrace new possibilities with over 10 soundtracks and fresh ideas to boost engagement and creativity in your classroom!

Chair Dancing and the Lone Ranger - Explorations in the Four Pillars Of Learning. Chair Dancing and the Lone Ranger - Explorations in the Four Pillars of Learning
Using tools, play, and speech, this session will explore the neuroscience of the learning process. Activities (Chair dancing and Chair and Stick), are suitable for adaptation to all ages, from young children, to teens, adults, seniors and those with special needs. The process will be enacted through the music of Rossini (and the Lone Ranger).

Dance With Me
"Round and round we turn and hold each other’s hands
And weave ourselves in a circle
The time is gone, the dance goes on"
(John Krumm)

This will be a relaxed, but active, fun session in which I’d like to share with you some of the line and circle dances that I particularly enjoy doing with the groups that I work with. I teach Music to migrant & refugee high school students and incorporate some dance. I dance weekly with an Israeli Folk Dance group and also with a group of friends, with whom I’ve been dancing for nearly 20 years – so quite diverse! I’m very lucky.
Please wear appropriate footwear that will allow you to swivel & change direction without impacting knees.

Supermassive Black Hole
Prepare to get loud and do everything your teacher told you not to do! We’re transforming chairs into rhythmic machines and discovering creative ways to make music without a single instrument in sight. This high-energy session will have you learning percussion patterns, building an unforgettable performance, and discovering just how loud you can get! Perfect for grades 3 and up, this is a chance to explore rhythms, let loose and find out what Robert Patterson, FIFA and Superman all have in common. Warning: things might get loud!

Found Percussion: Discovering the Music in Everyday Things!
Join Kaboom Percussion founders Cat and Josh as we take you through our strategies for engaging students and developing musical skills through the use of found percussion.

We love showing students that music is for everyone, and we firmly believe that one of the best ways to do this is by making music with simple household items. Found percussion promotes inclusivity by removing barriers for individuals of all ages, abilities, and socio-economic backgrounds.

In this hands-on workshop, we will share some of our favourite tried-and-tested activities which explore rhythm, coordination, teamwork, and the joy of performance. Come have some fun making music together with exercises you’ll be able to use in your classroom immediately!

Finding To Our Own Music! 3 – The Sound of Different Bridges
After different preparing activities (singing and sound gestures) we will focus on the aesthetic of bridges’ architecture. It has a lot to do with dance and music. 20 attendants are invited to participate actively.

Embodiment and Cognition
Moving together, singing together, engaging with repertoire together builds musical attunement. This session will play with attuning to each other and musical concepts through embodiment.

What is Your Motif?
What is your motif? This session will explore how to lead students to creating longer compositions and choreography beyond repetition and generation of new ideas. We will do this by finding ways to develop a motif in music and dance through exploration of stimuli including visual arts.

Exploring Music Literacy Through Drum Circles and Orff Arrangements
Join me for an engaging exploration of music literacy through rhythmic rhymes and percussive melodies! In this interactive session, participants will experience the dynamic combination of drum circles and Orff arrangements, designed to inspire creativity and expression in students of all ages. Discover innovative approaches to guide students in translating musical ideas onto paper, fostering essential music literacy skills. Get ready to drum, compose, and ignite a love for music literacy!

Let's Make Music!
LET’S MAKE MUSIC!
Richard Gill once said words to the effect of: we teach music so our students can make their own music.
That has been the premise and core foundation of my time of teaching music in the primary classroom. I see my role as a music teacher primarily to equip my students with the skills and conceptual knowledge to be able to ‘make’ their own music. To that end, every activity in the music classroom is carefully planned to scaffold students towards creative expression through music making.
This session will guide teachers to developing confidence in improvisation through movement, singing and playing non-tuned and tuned percussion across the primary years. Part of the developmental and sequential teaching of concepts and skills is learning how to scaffold students to explore ways to express themselves through music making and teach students how to unleash their creative potential.
This will be an interactive session requiring participants to explore ways in which they can build improvisation activities with their students across a range of activities and in a variety of contexts. Building from the known to the unknown can be demonstrated through using the same activity across a range of year groups. All activities are linked to the current Western Australian Curriculum and can be assessed and reported on against the Scope and Sequence for Music.
Participants will play non-tuned and tuned percussion instruments, sing and move in creative and improvisational ways. Participants will receive a range of scaffolded activities within which students will feel enabled and confident to explore ways of improvising music.
Fun and learning are not mutually exclusive concepts! Come and learn while having fun.

Interactive & Engaging Music Lesson Ideas for the Classroom & Performance - Exploring World Rhythms, Dance, Song & Movement
This hands-on session, led by Marcel, offers a dynamic and interactive experience. Marcel company Bassistry Music, has provided Rhythm, Song and Dance workshops throughout the UK, Singapore, Thailand, in the US, Hong Kong. Marcel will demonstrate the ideas he uses in schools and the Cool4School resource, providing practical insights into his teaching methods. Key topics include keeping older students engaged in singing, helping students overcome inhibitions, adding variety to lessons through the use of percussion to play rhythms. He will be exploring World music rhythms, African, Latin, Caribbean and more.

Sing Me a Story
Story songs will be shared that invite young children (3-8 years) to engage in a multi-sensory experience of listening, reading, singing, moving, and playing instruments where each story sparks imagination and invites participation.
From the whimsical adventures of 'The 3 Little Pigs Rap' to the echo singing in ‘Down By the Bay’ and ‘Oh in the Woods’, each story song integrates literacy skills such as pre-reading, reading, writing, and spelling into each enchanting tale, while also nurturing creativity, self-esteem, and confidence in every child.

When Pop Meets Orff
This session is essentially a model of a listening and composition lesson. It starts with movement and body percussion. Add a bit of speech rhyme and some chairs. Then add the DJ, laying down those sweet pop tunes. Then, with the power of technology, participants get to do it all themselves! This will grow into group composition and experimentation with different pop songs. This lesson could slot into a Popular Music, Song Writing or Found Sounds topic. It is pitched at Year 7 or 8, but would work with upper Primary students too.

Musicmaker - Jon Madin
Jon is a music maker who has also worked extensively in musical instrument design - marimbas in particular, as well as many other experimental musical instruments. This session will share how to teach pieces Jon has written, a few from each of his publications. Each piece allows for differientated learning as there are different levels of difficulty that can be added or taken away, or adapted. I have also been organising Jon's visits to SA school for over 15 years and everybody loves him. It's amazing that after one workshop each class can perform at the end of the day concert and sound amazing. His pieces allow for each child to have immediate success. In 2019 a documentary was created to showcase his extraordinary talents, and this will also be shown as part of the session. If you don't know Jon's work you will love it. If you do come along and have some fun!

Discover Musica Viva Australia In Schools Digital Resources Through an Orff Lens
When your school books a Musica Viva Australia In Schools, show you’re not just inviting an extraordinary live show into your school—you’re unlocking a comprehensive suite of digital teaching resources that you can access year after year.

Designed to enrich your music curriculum, these interactive, curriculum-aligned materials reflect the playful and immersive nature of the Orff-Schulwerk approach. Empower your teaching, inspire creativity, and build confidence as you integrate music education with digital tools for the primary classroom.

Guided by Orff-Schulwerk educator Dr Sue Lane, in this workshop, you will:

• Explore the MVAIS Digital Platform: Access guided videos, audio files, and support materials shaped by Orff-inspired pedagogy.

• Engage in Interactive Learning: Experience elemental techniques, working from simple to complex, while singing, moving, playing, composing, and listening.

• Experience a scaffolded progression, including extension ideas, catering to the needs of diverse learners, and promoting continuous musical growth for each individual.

Join us for this dynamic workshop and discover how MVAIS digital resources can align with the Orff-Schulwerk approach to create engaging, hands-on music education experiences for the primary classroom.

Voice, Body, and Brain: Singing Warmups and Games
Come one, come all, to this exciting and interactive session on vocal games and warmups, perfect for choirs and for singing in the classroom. If you want some new ideas to making singing an infectiously fun part of your teaching, then this session is for you! This session is designed to expand the repertoire of any choir director or teacher with a range of interesting warmups and games for choirs and vocal ensembles. These activities help to warm up not just the voice, but the brain and body as well, and provide increasing levels of musical challenge and complexity to instil a sense of achievement in your students. Each warmup has a purpose beyond simply warming up the voice; some warm up the brain; some teach part independence; some teach full body coordination; and others combine many of these elements to create more challenging experiences. It is this challenge that leads to a sense of achievement, and that sense of achievement will keep the students wanting more. In this session you will experience dozens of games and warmups, and will have fun putting your own musical skills to the test.

Learning Chord Direction Through Minahasa’s Natural Musical Talent
In this session, we will introduce directional chords, a revolutionary method inspired by the Minahasa people’s innate musical abilities. Whether you're an educator, musician, or simply passionate about music, this session will reveal how movement and melody work together to guide chord progressions in a natural and intuitive way. Rooted in Minahasa culture and its connection to astronomy and geometric patterns, this approach uses the Kolintang Pedagogy—a simple, visual method accessible to all. We will demonstrate how to use a small xylophone, the Kolintang Orff, to teach the movement of chords and harmonies. The visual nature of directional chords also makes it possible for individuals with hearing impairments to participate and play music.
This interactive, hands-on session ensures that participants will leave with not only a deeper understanding of music but also a fun and memorable experience of learning through movement. It is an engaging, accessible way to understand music, helping anyone—regardless of their background or prior experience—unlock their natural musical talent.

Learning Links Beyond the Music Room
Take your music program to new heights! With simple, purposefully chosen songs, rhymes and activities, we open the door to learning and development beyond the music classroom. We will tease out the links between Music and Executive Function, Wellbeing, and Phonological Awareness, all through a musical, playful, and most importantly creative lens.

Exploring 'Old Joe Clark': Orff-Schulwerk Strategies for Creativity and Musical Concepts Across Ages
This session demonstrates how a simple folk song, "Old Joe Clark" can be adapted for various ages and skill levels using the Orff-Schulwerk approach. From movement, rhythm and simple class ensemble work in a primary classroom setting to using improvisation and investigating mixolydian harmonies in upper primary and early secondary, this folk song serves as an engaging foundation for teaching core musical concepts and enhancing creativity. It can also be a useful tool for teaching basic concepts of blues and rock and roll composition. This session is most appropriate for teachers of Upper-Primary and Middle School ages.

Brincadeira - Music Games
It is a meeting with the children's world of Brazilian popular culture. Songs, dances and rhythms that are played in folk festivals are reinvented in the classroom.

Hidden Path - Connecting Sound, Body and Soul
Activating bodies and minds in movement and song we connect and journey through various landscape prompts. This session is an invitation to create and play collaboratively in a scaffolded improvised flow setting.

We begin with:
A landscape to play in
- images and thoughts on a theme; a sound backdrop
A small song
- an anchor for our playful experimenting
Tree rhythms
- spoken, played in body percussion, vocally improvised
Collaborative creating
- moving pathways and sound cues for arrangement

We develop further:
A poem to sing
Transition to live accompaniment
A new landscape, taking the familiar into new spaces

As we build and layer simple collaborative ideas inviting musical thinking and reflective listening we contribute, delight and experience together.

Melodic Body Percussion: Mapping Melody on the Body
In this session, we will explore a unique approach to body percussion, where participants will not only learn rhythmic patterns but also engage in mapping melodic movements on their bodies. Inspired by the Guidonian Hand—a revolutionary tool developed by Guido of Arezzo to teach Western music notation—this method allows participants to experience melodies physically. This interactive workshop is especially tailored for children's music education and will feature engaging activities using handcrafted paper props and t-shirts designed to map notes on the body. Together, we will explore the concepts of tonal centers, symmetry in scales, and directional movement of melodies, creating a dynamic and fun learning environment.

The Paper Dolls
Come and be connected like a Paper Doll whilst dancing, jumping and singing.
This session will give you an experience of the Orff process from Imitation to Improvisation using creative movement, speech, singing and playing a range melodic and non-melodic instruments from the amazing book: 'The Paper Dolls' by Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb.
By the end of the session you and your new friends will have created your own musical arrangement of this breathtakingly beautiful story of one little girl and her five paper dolls.

Incorporating the Orff Approach into Japanese Seasonal Songs
I will introduce four Japanese seasonal songs Oshougatsu (Japanese New Year), Kodomo no hi (Children's Day celebration), Tanabata (Star Festival) and Otsukimi (Moon viewing) incorporating the Orff Approach.
Participants will learn four Japanese songs and explore ostinato and will be able to use this material in their music classes. I will introduce art craft work for each Japanese celebration.

Time to Sing
Join in with heartfelt songs that are uplifting, energising and inspiring to take away and use immediately with your students.
Susie will share original songs, rounds, folk, pop, jazz and multi-cultural repertoire. Incorporate movement, actions, solfa, handsigns, AUSLAN signs and simple percussion instrument accompaniments adding to your choral and classroom singing repertoire. Discover the joy of music through your voice – songs suitable for all ages.

Are the Instruments Slowing Down the Learning?
Are you a band conductor? Do you ever wonder how you can help your students learn the notes faster? This session will look at a few ways to think about band through an Orff approach. Maybe the learning can happen faster away from the instruments. It is okay to put the instruments down and try band in a different way.

Into A Fantasy
Dive into a world where art, rhythm and movement come together to create something unforgettable! In this hands-on session, you'll explore unique artworks, dynamic movements, build group rhythms, and transform unexpected tools into musical magic. Through collaboration and creativity, we’ll craft a performance piece that’s all about teamwork, imagination, and a bit of wonder. Come move and make music with the unexpected and let your creativity soar!

Latin American Musical Games
It is, especially meeting designed for teachers, parents and anybody who believes on the educational value of the the music games.
Beginning from the great richness of traditional folklore, we will keep it alive by re-creating it in imaginative ways.

Orff Schulwerk is Alive and Well at Eton Farm Primary School
In 2020 some eager parents and I began a school on my farm in Serpentine with 5 full-time students and 3 staff members. In 2024 there are 47 full-time students, a waitlist, and 15 staff members.
All students begin their day with music before heading off to their class teacher. The success of the school has been overwhelming and we are very excited to share where we are heading in the future.
This information session will give you an insight into what it took to start a Non-government primary school, and how we became the first Associated School of International Orff-Schulwerk Forum in Australasia.

Mentoring: A Supportive Strategy to Take Music Education to New Heights
Considering the impact of mentoring in the building of skills and confidence to bring Music Education experiences into primary school classrooms. Exploring mentoring processes and strategies to inspire and support success. Participants in this presentation will be encouraged to reflect on the process of mentoring, exploring the features of successful mentoring relationships that lead to sustainability of music education programs within schools.

Orff to a Great Start!
Start the school year with fresh ideas using singing, percussion, movement and more! This interactive workshop will provide participants with activities that can be taken straight back to the classroom, making sure you get off to an Orff-ully good start!

Songs My Students Taught Me - The Nature Set
Songs to sing with students come from a variety of sources but it can be more powerful if the students themselves have had input into the creation of what they sing. The songs presented here are based on student ideas or have had significant input from them. The subject matter is predominantly from the natural environment.
This session is song based with opportunity to; play Orff & other available musical instruments, have creative input into how each song is performed on the day, hear the stories of their origins and gain insight into the song writing process. My hope is to inspire you to be observant and open to your own opportunities to compose songs for yourself and your students.

Highs, Lows and In Between : Tree-ful Ways of Connecting with Melodic Shapes
In a shopping centre carpark in the south eastern Perth suburb of Armadale there is a Jarrah tree that is estimated to be between 400 and 800 years old. It is a marvel. This old beauty has sprouted, thrived and grown through many changes on this land, including being a play area for the students of the ‘old’ Armadale Primary School. This tree, and other endemic species have inspired different music educational experiences in this workshop.
Trees are so beautiful and important. Their grandeur. Their diversity. Their fragility. Their ability to support atmospheric, geological, geographical and biological systems is mind blowing. Shape, tree shape as well as melodic shape, is explored through movement, reflection, improvisation, artistry, and composition activities in this workshop that preferences First Nations Australians knowledges and voices.

In this playful workshop Jane will highlight ‘safe public knowledge’ that can be shared by non-Aboriginal teachers. She also will reinforce protocols that need to be observed when using First Nations people’s knowledges and artworks.

Play, Learn, Inspire: 5 Engaging Musical Games That Work!
Join Katie for an immersive workshop where you’ll experience 5 games and activities that have proven successful across diverse educational settings. Designed to be taken straight back to your classroom, these activities will be demonstrated using the Orff process with minimal equipment, ensuring they are accessible and engaging for all students.

In this interactive session, Katie will guide you through collective music-making experiences that introduce musical concepts and incorporate Social Emotional Learning skills. Watch your students take ownership of these activities, adapting and leading them in ways that enhance their learning and classroom community.

The workshop includes detailed notes with extension, variation, and adjustment ideas, allowing you to customise these activities to fit your unique teaching environment. Come prepared to play and learn … and bring new energy and creativity to your music classroom!

Literacy and Musical Play - The Orff Way!
Music provides so many benefits to all aspects of early childhood development and really is the pinnacle of fostering key language, literacy and numeracy skills. This hands-on session will provide the opportunity for you to explore the use of singing, musical games, speech rhymes, fingerplays, kinaesthetic movement, and song stories. These examples may assist you to nurture and support the development of these skills in your early years programs and how you can implement these in your own context using the Orff method.

Sleeping Outdoors
In this session we will use the poem ‘Sleeping Outdoors’ to inspire and connect as we respond in movement exploration including the use of various props (fabrics, scarves, hoops) and accompaniments (speech, silence, soundscape).
We will play in the roles of composer, arranger and conductor with our created pieces of speech, movement, soundscape, ostinati and body percussion.
Then, as we approach our own melodic composition, we will use sequencing to transform the simple to the wonderful. All from one small poem!

Long Way From Home
This is an experience designed to build feelings of empathy and respect through the lens of belonging and what it means to be ‘home’.

Performing Arts can provide gentle understandings of human life experiences that are perhaps different to our own. This is a hands-on, practical session incorporating light movement and music making, multimodal texts, games and singing. Beginners are welcome; this session is for everybody.

Participants will create tableaux, respond to music using cup percussion, sing and chant before layering simple body percussion patterns and transferring these to classroom instruments. There will be room for individual creativity before we finish with a song composed by the talented American singer, Moira Smiley.

Resources have been mindfully selected, including a clip from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) website which promotes empowerment for refugees. Participants should leave the session feeling thoughtful, relaxed and supported to engage with meaningful content in performing arts education.

Mini Musicians: A play based session that uses music to enhance emotional regulation and learning in 3-5 year olds. Mini Musicians: A Play Based Session that Uses Music to Enhance Emotional Regulation and Learning in 3-5 Year Olds
This session is targeted towards ELC educators. It will use songs, rhymes, games and instrumental activities to teach some early literacy, numeracy and foundational music skills. The session will also include action songs and activities designed to support behaviour management and emotional regulation in our youngest learners.