Music
CHIJ Secondary's Music Programme helps students grow through performing, creating, and listening to music, while building values like respect and teamwork.
Music for Every Student, Expression for Every Voice.
Where Every Voice Finds Its Sound
Student Outcomes
We envision our students to be:
music-makers who creatively and confidently express their ideas
collaborative and self-directed learners
lifelong appreciators of music
Curriculum
The Music Programme enables students to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills for meaningful music participation through different modes of learning. Students actively engage in analysing and evaluating works of music and musical performances through various media platforms and EdTech tools. This promotes student decision-making through the process of performing, creating, and listening and responding to music.
Signature Programmes
Performing Arts Based Learning (PABL)
A core learning experience in the Lower Secondary Music curriculum, developed in partnership with the National Arts Council, provides students with opportunities to experience live music performances in professional arts venues, connecting classroom learning with authentic real-world arts experiences.
Through PABL, students deepen their appreciation of music, develop curiosity and pride in Singapore’s arts scene, and build meaningful connections to local artists, culture, and heritage. The programme also supports holistic learning by extending music education beyond the classroom and fostering a stronger sense of identity and community.
Our students have had the opportunity to attend Our Singapore Songbook by Metropolitan Festival Orchestra. This programme takes students on a guided listening journey to deepen awareness of what it means to have a common multi-cultural core that resonates with Singaporeans, while making space to celebrate differences that enrich and strengthen our community.
Inspired by the popular streaming platform Spotify, SCOTIFY by Singapore Chinese Orchestra is a programme that introduces students to the different instrument families of the Chinese Orchestra and allows students to curate their own unique concert playlist of songs from diverse music genres.
Boomwhackers
The Boomwhackers module introduces students to music-making through hands-on ensemble performance using tuned percussion tubes. Designed for Lower Secondary learners, this module develops foundational musical skills in an engaging and collaborative environment.
Students learn to read and interpret basic music notation, apply rhythmic patterns accurately, and perform as part of an ensemble. Through group activities, they build coordination, listening skills, and a strong sense of teamwork.
The module emphasises active participation and creativity, allowing students to experience the joy of making music together while strengthening their rhythmic precision and overall musicianship.
Pop Music
The Pop Music module engages students in exploring contemporary music through both listening and instrument playing. Students learn about pop artists and examine key elements of pop music, including song structure, common chord progressions, musical textures and compositional devices such as repetition.
Through practical music-making, students are introduced to instruments such as the cajón, ukulele, guitar, and keyboard. They develop the ability to play basic chords and perform simple chord progressions, applying their understanding of pop music in an authentic and interactive way.
This module fosters creativity, collaboration, and confidence while equipping students with the foundational skills within popular music context.
Film Music
The Film Music module introduces students to the role of music in shaping storytelling and audience experience. Students explore key musical elements such as melody, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, and timbre, and learn how these elements can influence mood, tension, and emotion in visual media.
Through guided analysis of film excerpts, students develop an understanding of how music enhances narrative and supports different scenes. Through the digital platform BandLab, students create and produce their own original compositions based on a given video stimulus.
Students present their work to the class, explaining their creative choices and how their music supports the intended mood and storyline. This module fosters creativity, critical thinking, and confidence while equipping students with foundational skills in film music analysis and technology.
Songwriting
The Songwriting module provides students with a guided, step-by-step process to create their own original songs. Students learn how to craft meaningful lyrics, develop melodies, and structure their music, gaining insight into the creative process of songwriting.
Through this module, students explore techniques for expressing ideas, emotions, and personal experiences through both words and music. They are encouraged to experiment with musical elements and apply foundational concepts such as chord progressions and song structure. EdTech tools such as Hookpad are introduced to help students explore possible melodic lines over chord progressions, thereby strengthening their aural skills.
This hands-on experience allows students to step into the role of a songwriter, fostering creativity, self-expression, and confidence as they bring their musical ideas to life.
Our Students
Boomwhackers Assessment Performance in Class
Pop Music Module Keyboard Practice
Pop Music Module Cajon Practice
Songwriting Module HookPad
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything— Plato (Ancient Greek philosopher)
Performances
Boomwhackers Rehearsal Music Room
Boomwhackers Performance Backstage
Boomwhackers Performance IJ Flair
Duo Performance IJ Flair
