Below is the script from the film that accompanies this learning resource.  The film can be viewed here.

Film Script

Huddersfield has a long and rich musical heritage, and this is reflected in the diverse musical collections at Heritage Quay. From dance bands to brass bands, early music to contemporary music, there are over 35,000 scores and recordings in the archives, in a range of different formats. We’ve even got records made of glass, cardboard and milk resin!

• Can you find out what each of these formats are?

• What kind of equipment would you need to play them?

Soundtrack: Happy Feet by Jay Wilbur and his band

Music can change the way you feel. The 1930s was a time of mass unemployment and hard times in the UK and people wanted to listen to music that would cheer them up. This piece of music was made in 1930. It’s called Happy Feet. The composer of this track wanted to make you feel like dancing!

During the 1920s and 30s, radio was the main source of entertainment. Almost 50% of households owned a radio in 1933. Much of the music they listened to was played by bands and broadcast live from ballrooms, restaurants, clubs and luxury hotels like the Savoy and Piccadilly in London. Dancing was very popular and there were lots of different routines to learn with names like the Black Bottom, the Charleston, the Foxtrot and the Jitterbug.

Think of all the different times and places you come across musical sounds – in films and on television, in concerts and at festivals, the ice cream van, the ring tone on a mobile phone. Some schools even use music instead of a bell between lessons.

You can make music with almost any object. This is a graphic score from the British Music Collection. It’s for typewriters. The composer has used symbols instead of musical notes. Notice how the blank space on the score matches up with the silence at the beginning.

Soundtrack and score: Such Nights I Get All the Free Margins by Amber Priestley

• Which object would you like to write a graphic score for?

• Can you find out which other everyday objects people have used to make music?
  

The teacher pack that goes with this film has lots of ideas about composing, playing, recording and listening to music. And if you’re stuck for inspiration, there’s much more to discover at Heritage Quay.

Perhaps one day a piece of music you’ve composed will find its way into our archives.