Instrumental Program
Rossmoyne Primary School has a very strong music program, which is supported by the Department of Education’s Instrumental Music School Services (IMSS). Students are invited to enter the IMSS program from the beginning of Year 3 and selections also take place in Years 4 and 5.
To see the official information document regarding the IMSS program, click the button below. All relevant information is in this document, however, at the bottom of this page is also a FAQ section which you can quickly access via the below button.
This page has video examples of each instrument but if you’re not satisfied, you can always search up the instrument on YouTube or Google to find out more about it!
The following instrument positions will be available in 2025.
| Year 3 | Violin & Viola* | 8 students |
| Year 4 | Cello | 3 students |
| Year 5 | Brass (Trumpet/Trombone/Baritone) | 5 students |
| Year 5 | Clarinet | 5 students |
| Year 5 | Flute | 5 students |
| Year 5 | Double Bass | 2 students |
| Year 5 | Percussion | 2 students |
*Rossmoyne PS is on a rotation where we offer violin and viola for two years and then violin only in the third year. In 2024, Rossmoyne PS is scheduled to offer four violin places and four viola places.
Instruments of the Orchestra Game
Want to play the Instruments of the Orchestra Safari Game? Simply click on the picture below!
Onto the instruments!
Violin – Year 3 Only
If I was a violinist, I would love to play like this young lady! So much expression and complexity in this piece.
Here’s a great video where you can hear the contrast between the sound of the violin and the cello. Extra bonus points if you’re a fan of Frozen 2. Even if you’re not, have a good listen to this video and decide which one you like better.
Viola – Year 3 Only
The viola is very similar to the violin but ever so slightly larger and sounds slightly lower. Instead of reading the treble clef, viola players read the alto clef. The process of learning the viola is the same as the violin.
Cello – Year 4 Only
Here’s a fun video of two cellists playing a classical piece and then launching into Thunderstruck. OF COURSE, cellists hardly ever play to the point where they damage their instrument so take this with a grain of salt 😉
This video is a repeat from the violin section above. You can hear the contrast between the sound of the violin and the cello. Extra bonus points if you’re a fan of Frozen 2. Even if you’re not, have a good listen to this video and decide which one you like better.
And here is the very well known piece, Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major performed but Yo-Yo Ma.
Double Bass – Year 5
Do you recognise this piece?
And here’s a very cool video of how Adam Ben Ezra can use his double bass.
Clarinet – Year 5
That wood wind instrument, with the single reed, that is the Cat in ‘Peter and the Wolf’. Here’s a well known piece called ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ by George Gershwin and arranged by Wolfgang Kornberger (what an amazing name). It’s performed by the Vienna Clarinet Connection.
Helmut Hödl – clarinet
Rupert Fankhauser – clarinet
Hubert Salmhofer – basset horn
Wolfgang Kornberger – bass clarinet
Sometimes, clarinetists also play jazz 😉
Flute – Year 5
That silver instrument that’s played on the side which is actually also a woodwind instrument….even though it doesn’t have any wood on it.
‘Flight of the Bumble Bee’ written by Rimsky Korsakov is a very well known piece. Who do you think plays it better?
James Galway – from the United Kingdom?…
Or Emme He – 9 Years old flutist from California?
Trumpet & Trombone – Year 5
Here is the amazing, Australian musician James Morrison demonstrating the trumpet and the trombone.
In this video, a group called Canadian Brass plays their version of ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’. I’m not obsessed with this pieces of music 😉
Baritone – Year 5
In the last two of years, we’ve had a couple of students learn the baritone. We offer baritones to students who are more suited to playing the trombone but may not have the arm length to slide the trombone as far as it needs to go.
Here is Katrina Marzella stunningly playing ‘The Swan’ on her baritone. Enjoy!
And here’s another video for a bit of fun.
Percussion – Year 5 Only
How cool are Western Australian percussionists Kat and Josh from Kaboom?
Here’s a video of a group called Tetrafide. These guys used to create amazing percussion pieces and performances here in Perth. You might recognise some faces…. including the Kaboom Percussionists Cat and Josh and…. Mr Iain Robbie, our own Percussion tutor!
FAQ’s About IMSS
1. If my child is learning piano or violin outside of school, can they still be selected for an IMSS instrument?
Yes. Students can be selected for any instrument that they don’t have experience in. For example, a student who learns violin outside of school cannot but selected for violin/viola in Year 3. However, they can be offered clarinet in Year 5. The idea is that all students selected for an instrument begin lessons at the same starting point.
2. Can my child be selected for more than one IMSS instrument?
No. Students can only be given one instrument.
3. What is the best instrument to start my child on to prepare them for IMSS selection?
Piano and violin are the most popular instruments to start young children on to develop their aural and musical understanding. Experience in these instruments will assist the child in learning other instruments but it is not required.
4. If my child doesn’t get selected, what happens next?
Students who don’t get selected at the end of Year 2 on violin/viola to commence in Year 3 will have the opportunity to be considered for cello commencing in Year 4 or for the 20 places available commencing in Year 5 for clarinet, flute, trumpet, trombone, double bass and percussion. If students aren’t selected in Year 5, we encourage parents to explore private lessons for the child. Private lessons cost money, yes, however, they will likely be one on one with the teacher and therefore students will progress faster than those in IMSS lessons who would receive half an hour group lessons a week.
5. For selection at the end of Year 4, going into Year 5, how do you go about offering students the instruments?
During testing, I ask students to tell me what instruments they would most prefer to learn. Selected students will then see the instrument tutors they are most interested in and tutors will test them for their suitability on the instrument. While keeping student interest and instrument suitability in mind, I will then allocate the instrument to the student and if they decline, I will then offer the place to the next student on the list. For more details on student selection, please see the document link at the top of this website.
6. Can my child trial IMSS lessons and pull out if they don’t enjoy it?
Unfortunately no. If a student takes a place in the IMSS program and pulls out after a term or semester, we are not allowed to back fill that position. Therefore, students and parents MUST be adamant that they can stick with the program until the end of Year 6. It is possible for students to pull out of the program however, this is likely to require parent and teacher meetings as well as communication on how we can best support the student in continuing the program first.
7. How much practice is my child expected to do on an instrument?
Students are expected to practice a little bit every day or at least on weekdays. As they get older, the amount of practice is expected to increase to about 30 minutes a day for Year 6’s.
8. What do I do if my child doesn’t want to practice?
Learning an instrument is a wonderful and exciting opportunity but it can also come with its hardships and at times, monotony.
Without effort and practice, progress and development can’t happen and this is when students tend to start resenting the instrument and disliking practice time. The more students can succeed on their instrument, the more they will want to play it.
Parents play a very important role in encouraging and assisting students to practice. Even at Year 6 and high school level, most students still need their parents to badger them to practice and help them set up a practice routine.
Only a fraction of children will actively pick up their instrument and start practicing without being reminded to.
If students are finding something difficult, they should spend a couple of minutes on that difficult task, leave it and then come back to it later or try again the next day.
Some tips on how turn practice into routine can be found here: https://fb.watch/jply9ThOrW/
9. What happens going into high school?
Students who are in the IMSS program can choose to continue on their instrument going into high school if they wish and if the school has this program (of which Rossmoyne SHS, Willetton SHS and Attadale SHS certainly do.) Students can also continue to do IMSS in their high school but may change instruments to ones that more obscure but needed in the secondary setting, e.g. French horn, bassoon, tuba, etc.