Articles about music
This article is for paying subscribers ‘A dangerous race for eternal economic growth’
Cat Stevens grew from being a teen idol of the 1960s into one of the most influential singer-songwriters of his time. In addition to his vast musical achievements, his lifelong spiritual quest has added intrigue and...
Sister Sledge and Pope Francis turn out for the family
Multisensory RE for special pupils
God the guardian? Singing Psalm 46
Stormzy: grime and grace
South London grime artist Stormzy has a debut album called Gang Signs & Prayer. It was the first grime album in history to reach number 1. This is an edited version of Miranda Sawyer’s Guardian article about her...
This article is for paying subscribers Singers and spirituality: Katy Perry, Bono, David Bowie, Richard Thompson …
One of the most prized albums in my vinyl collection is the History of Fairport Convention published in 1972, and the most memorable song is the first track: ‘Meet on the Ledge’, written in 1969 by Richard...
This article is for paying subscribers ‘Following Acts 7–10 is impossible for a Muslim living in a non-Muslim country’
The title of this article is taken from a 12-mark question at GCSE, and it raises an interesting question. We will think about answering this question to GCSE standard using the music of Canadian Muslim hip hop duo...
This article is for paying subscribers Singing the faith
Here, Julie Grove reflects on the meanings of hymns. She is a member of the REtoday editorial team.
This article is for paying subscribers We asked people from different religions and beliefs to tell us what it means to them to ‘sing their own song’
Here are replies from a Buddhist, a Humanist, a Christian, a Jewish person and a Muslim. Read these with your older pupils, and ask them to think of their own answers to the interview questions we used. The questions...
Musical theology in the infants
At the Cobbs Infant and Nursery School in Warrington, Higher Level Teaching Assistant Janet Lever taught her 6–7s about Christian understandings of God using music. The personal and thoughtful responses suggest that...
This article is for paying subscribers Musical hooks and sensory learning
Sophie Smith teaches at George Eliot School in Warwickshire. She wanted to use more creative hooks for her RE lessons. Here are some examples of what worked.
This article is for paying subscribers Teaching Christian diversity through music in RE
Gill Tewkesbury wanted to teach her primary pupils about diversity within the Christian community. Instead of thinking about Catholics and Protestants, she used music.
This article is for paying subscribers Teach through song: songs for the secondary classroom
In this article Chris Hancock offers two sets of songs to use for secondary RE. On this page are songs through which you might teach some basic concepts in subject knowledge, and on the next page there are some songs...
This article is for paying subscribers An RE mixtape on matters of life and death
Richard Robinson, who teaches RE at the John Wallis Academy in Ashford, Kent, presents 13 tracks you might like to use when you are getting pupils to think about matters of life and death.
This article is for paying subscribers The search for God
Martyn Joseph, singer songwriter, released ‘I Searched for You’ in 2015. We asked Martyn some questions about the song, and provide below some learning ideas about the search for God.
This article is for paying subscribers ‘Jesus has big shoulders’ asking the ‘Big Questions’ with songs
Stephen Fischbacher is a musician from Edinburgh with a large following wherever RE, music and Christianity intersect. We asked him what tunes up his guitar.
This article is for paying subscribers Singing in Jewish life and celebrations
Stephen Melzack is a Jewish musician who works with pupils in all kinds of schools. We asked him how music can help RE, starting with one of his most popular songs: ‘Two Candles Burn’, about Shabbat.
This article is for paying subscribers Jewish Interfaith RE
As the RE subject leader (and Year 2 teacher) at Akiva, a progressive Jewish primary school in Finchley, London, I am committed to finding interesting ways to enhance the curriculum and raise the profile of RE across...
This article is for paying subscribers Eight ways to make primary RE more musical
We asked teachers at the NATRE St Albans local group how to make best use of music in RE. Several responded, and here are their ideas. Thanks to Juliet Lyal (Cunningham Hill Infant School), Sarah Kropman (Cunningham...
This article is for paying subscribers The passion of the choral tradition of music in Christianity
Doug Rice Bowen is an RE teacher in West Yorkshire, and a member of the NATRE Executive. Before becoming an RE teacher he was a classical singer, and encourages you here to access the traditions of Christian choral...