Crawshaw students also use the near-ubiquitous Sibelius notation software package, which Knowles says has had a positive impact on GCSE results by improving students' composition and score-writing skills. Indeed, Sibelius is popular across the secondary sector (it is used by over 75 per cent of UK secondary schools), opening up the world of composition to students who may have limited or no notation skills.
ICT expert Juliet Joy of RM, the leading technology supplier to schools, says Sibelius is like the Microsoft Word of the music world. She stresses, however, that music theory still has its place.
"You can't escape the theory of music, nor should you," says Joy, who works with schools across the Dudley area in the west Midlands. "Even very gifted musicians need theory. They need to internalise it in order to enhance their understanding and help with composition."
Sibelius Software also produces a range of software packages for primaries – Groovy Shapes (ages 5 to 7), Groovy Jungle (7-9) and Groovy City (9-11). These animated music programs look more like computer games than the music sequencers and editors they really are, enabling children to explore musical sounds and rhythms, and create their own original music.
Topologika's Music Box package also lets children make music on a classroom computer without knowing anything about notation. Pupils can explore sounds, chords and percussion, and create single- or multi-part compositions using more than 200 instruments. It provides colourful "paper strips" that they can slide up and down to change pitch, and stretch, shrink, split and join to make different notes. The company's Words & Music package allows learners to add lyrics so that compositions can start with words, music or both. It auto-writes the notation alongside the creation of the song.
"Learning notation can put off a lot of children from getting into music, particularly composition," says Roger Broadie of Frog, the learning platform supplier. "These software packages make composition much more accessible. It keeps their enthusiasm for creativity going until their skills level catches up."
He believes ICT can really open up the world of music to children who might otherwise lack the skills or confidence to engage with the subject. Schools that have invested in learning platforms that span the whole school community are seeing the benefit as students' out-of-school enthusiasm for music creeps online.
"You can get a lot of music stuff on to the platform," says Broadie. "Anything the children have created, whether it's their own performance displayed on YouTube or just their own playlists of music they like, can go up there, reach an audience and get a debate going."
At Attleborough high school in Norfolk, for example, a group of Btech music students used the Frog learning platform to promote a gig. "They got 200 people to come and then streamed it live to the whole school," says assistant head Harry French, who says the learning platform is taking the school by storm with around 1,000 people logging on every day. "It creates a really wide audience for their performances."
Another useful tool for young musicians seeking an audience is the www.radiowaves.co.uk website, which allows students to create radio programmes, videos, podcasts and blogs. Yet this wonderful world of internet radio stations, online tuition, electronic recording studios and automated score-writing packages needs to sit within a traditional music department with old-fashioned pianos, metronomes and flesh-and-blood teachers. "This isn't an alternative to music teachers," says RM's Juliet Joy. "It's complementary and adds an extra dimension."
