Music
Music Curriculum
Music Lead: Ms. S.Prentice
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything” - Plato
At Holden Clough Primary School, music is taught throughout the school following Dimensions Curriculum. The aim is to develop each child’s musical potential giving opportunities for self-expression and creativity. When the children leave in Year 6 we aim to promote these goals which they will have achieved:
- Music provides pupils with a range of vocabulary to describe the features of different musical styles and genres and articulate their response to these
- Music encourages teamwork, helping build relationships by providing pupils with shared experiences
- Pupils demonstrate perseverance, persistence and discipline as they develop their musical skills
- Having the opportunity to play musical instruments helps pupils to develop self-discipline and improve memory
- Through learning about different historical periods, including genres, famous composers and musicians, pupils understand the importance of music's place in society
- Music allows pupils to express their feelings and ideas through composition and performance
We aim to foster all children’s enjoyment of Music through the experience of a wide range of musical styles and activities. Pupils are encouraged to develop their singing ability and to explore the sounds made by a wide range of tuned and un-tuned instruments, beginning to compose music and an introduction to music technology using apps like Garage Band. Through these activities the children also learn about the elements of music, for example, pitch, duration, texture and dynamics.
Key Stage 2 National Curriculum attainment
Pupils should be able to:
- Pupils should be taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They should develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory.
Pupils should be taught to:
- Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression
- Improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music
- Listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
- Use and understand staff and other musical notations
- Appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians
- Develop an understanding of the history of music.
Key Stage 1 National Curriculum Attainment:
Pupils should be able to:
- Use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes.
- Play tuned and untuned instruments musically.
- Listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music.
- Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.
Our Music Curriculum Implementation
Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
Our pupils will learn that music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. They will be inspired and engaged by music education. Music lessons will engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and develop their talent as musicians, and in turn increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to develop their awareness of composers using listening and appraising to express their understanding of the music composed.
The Dimensions Curriculum schemes of work are topic based and used from Year 1 - 6 to ensure a wide exposure to different genres of music, with lots of practical opportunities to explore and develop as musicians and singers.
Overview of topics for Dimensions Curriculum and Music coverage
Objectives that are covered in Year 1 and 2
Objectives that are covered in Year 3 and 4
Objectives covered in Year 5 and 6
The school also has whole class ensemble teaching in Year 4 where children are taught a specific musical instrument for two terms in the school year. In Year 1 and 2, the pupils are currently learning body/percussion instruments. In Year 3 they are learning the recorder/penny whistle. Whereas, in Year 4 children are taught the Violin. These lessons incorporate teaching musical notation, singing, as well as learning to play an instrument. Follow on group music lessons are also available to Year 5/6 pupils to continue to develop their skills and ability using a string specialist from Tameside Music Service on the musical instrument the following years. Opportunities are taken to perform in class, in whole assemblies and also to parents and the wider community.
Additional opportunities are offered in music, such as the Key Stage 2 choir (which performs regularly in school and at events in the local community) and is run after school weekly by Mrs Green who is a music specialist.
Mrs Tomlin who is a string specialist also runs a weekly keyboard lunchtime club for UKS2.
These additional opportunities lead into setting up of our school orchestra.
Our Music Curriculum Impact
Music assessment is ongoing to inform teachers with their planning, lesson activities and differentiation. Summative assessment is completed at the end of each Dimensions Curriculum topic to inform teachers of the improvements or skills that still need to be embedded. Music is monitored throughout all year groups using a variety of strategies such as folder/ music diary scrutinies, lessons taught by Music Co-Ordinator in all year groups over the academic year and pupil voice.
To find out more about the curriculum your school is following please contact the school office mail@holdenclough.tameside.sch.uk