Just Play: whole-class rock band skills

A powerful approach used by hundreds of music teachers around the world

Incorporating our Everyone Can Play whole class instrument by instrument resources, Just Play consists of audio/visual resources that support whole class instrumental performing, composing and improvising using rock and pop instruments: keyboard, vocals, bass, guitar, uke and drums.

Just Play encourages the development of holistic musical skills through playing and creating music as a whole class band, and starts from songs in a genre and style that is familiar to learners.

This positive impact that participation in music-making can engender is one that drives the core Musical Futures aim that classroom music should be fun, engaging and practical. Just Play!

Start from a song they know, then keep going past it

What students learn

Building musical skills is about more than how to play a few notes or chords on an instrument. Playing as part of any ensemble needs a lot of musical understanding underneath it, and all of it is part of foundational musical development.

More importantly, exploring these helps to make musical learning sustainable. Building a holistic musical experience into the teaching of music develops the skills students need for creating and composing music as well.

Just Play and the Musical Futures pedagogy

The move towards resource-led approaches raises some questions about how Just Play fits within the Musical Futures ethos and pedagogical approach, which has independent and self-directed informal approaches to music learning embedded throughout.

The Just Play teacher workshop series were originally designed to increase teacher confidence with new, practical approaches they may be less familiar with, and to encourage them to develop some basic skills on guitar, keys, bass, uke and drums. The resources were provided so that learning could be used straight away in the classroom.

In the UK, the approach was originally designed for generalist primary school teachers who often felt that they weren't "musical" themselves, so Just Play helped many to take a step into leading music activities through playing and participating alongside their students.

For music specialists, Just Play has become an accessible and musical way to skill up all students on a range of instruments in a practical way, while also providing resources for large group music making.

Once students can play, it's time to look at how dipping into our core pedagogies and moving away from resource-led music learning can add breadth and depth to the music curriculum, through understanding the range of different ways there are to learn music. Our teacher workshops help teachers to support students to continue to develop as musical learners beyond the playalong.

The development of a set of resources that support teachers to deliver Just Play straight away, alongside workshops that help teachers rethink their identity as musical leaders with their classes, has made Just Play one of the most successful Musical Futures International approaches to date. It is always a workshop that we love to deliver with students and teachers, no matter where in the world we are working.

The three approaches continuum: Explore, Recreate, Create.

Thanks to our friends at Music Will for the inspiration

As part of our scoping for the development of Just Play, we visited schools in New York City to see the work of Music Will (formerly Little Kids Rock), a non-profit organisation dedicated to "restoring, expanding and innovating music education in schools". It was their generosity in sharing resources and experiences that enabled us to define and develop the approach that later became known as Just Play. Music Will shares some fantastic free resources for teachers via their website, which is well worth a visit.

Just Play was then co-developed by both Musical Futures UK and Musical Futures Australia, with the latter leading on the further development of an entry level series of playalongs called Everyone Can Play, aimed at younger learners.

Common questions