The School of Noise runs workshops for children, young people and adults encouraging the exploration of music and the science of sound. Our aim is to provide creative and imaginative activities using sound in accessible, fun and educational ways.

"The School of Noise is one of those ideas that you just know is right. Bringing back a sense of wonder and accessibility to music-making” -
Jarvis Cocker

Workshops

The activities we provide are tailored for anyone to participate in having fun exploring and being creative with sound.

Our workshops provide creative and imaginative activities for children to explore sound in accessible, fun and educational ways. Workshops are tailored so that all ages and abilities can participate and have fun investigating and playing with sound.

Using a variety of analogue and digital equipment, our activities include: exploring the science of sound using a vacuum bell jar, Chladni plate and tuning forks; playing on unusual instruments such as a theremin and omnichord; sampling noises to create music; discovering Foley sound design; field recording and more.

School workshop curriculum information
We have worked with a number of primary schools running 1hr workshops for groups of up to 30 children at a time.  Our workshops can be used to accompany the National Curriculum for Key Stages 1 and 2 in Music and Science.

Science

Sound

• Sc4/4.1a – Identify how sounds are made, associating some of them with something vibrating.
• Sc4/4.1b – Recognise that vibrations from sounds travel through a medium to the ear.
• Sc4/4.1c – Find patterns between the pitch of a sound and features of the object that produced it.
• Sc4/4.1d – Find patterns between the volume of a sound and the strength of the vibrations that produced it.
• Sc4/4.1e – Recognise that sounds get fainter as the distance from the sound source increases.

Electricity

• Sc4/4.2b – Construct a simple series electrical circuit.
• Sc4/4.2e – Recognise some common conductors and insulators.

Music

• Mu1/1.4 – Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds.
• Mu1/1.2 – Play tuned and untuned instruments musically.
• Mu1/1.3 – Listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music.
• Mu2/1.2 – Improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music.
• Mu2/1.3 – Listen with attention to detail.
• Mu2/1.4 – Use and understand other musical notations (graphic scores).

Science Key Stage 3

Sound waves

• Frequencies of sound waves, measured in hertz (Hz); echoes, reflection and absorption of sound.
• Sound needs a medium to travel, the speed of sound in air, in water, in solids.
• Sound produced by vibrations of objects, in loudspeakers, detected by their effects on microphone diaphragm and the ear drum; sound waves are longitudinal.
• The auditory range of humans and animals.

Testimonials

“Your workshop provided an exciting and fascinating start to our sound topic” -
St Olaves Primary School

“Thank you so much for yesterday, the children had a great time and have had their eyes opened to a whole new world of sound design and music making that they didn’t know existed. There is a lovely musical buzz around the school.” -
Hamstel Junior School

“Thanks a whole bunch for today, kids absolutely loved it and had a blast. A lot of the teachers were jealous that they didn't get to come and play.” -
St Dominic’s Primary School