Our curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:
- perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
- learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
- understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the interrelated dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations
| CREATIVITY | TALENT (SKILLS) | COMPOSITION | APPRECIATION | BRITAIN’s MUSIC |
Pupils develop an understanding of the following musical key skills through each of the topics taught:
| Pulse | Rhythm | Pitch | Literacy | Creativity | Expressive elements | Coordination | Appreciation |
Development of Musical skills at St Barnabas MAT.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 | |
| SINGING | Use voices to speak, sing and chant. | Use voices to add expression. Sing with melody. | Sing in unison, becoming aware of pitch. | Sing in unison, maintaining the correct pitch and using increased expression. | Sing in unison and parts with good expression and correct pitch throughout. | To sing in solo, unison and in parts with good expression and correct pitch throughout. |
| PLAYING INSTRUMENTS | Choose instruments to make sounds. Perform simple rhythmic patterns, beginning to show an awareness of pulse. | Choose appropriate instruments and play them to make sounds for a specific effect. Perform rhythmical patterns, keeping a steady pulse. | Perform simple rhythmical and musical parts, beginning to vary the pitch by using a small range of notes. | Play and perform notes with an increasing number of notes, beginning to change dynamics to add expression. | Begin to play and perform musical parts in both solo and ensemble contexts with increasing accuracy and expression. | Play and perform in ensemble, solo and parts with increased accuracy, control and expression. |
| COMPOSING | To know and experiment with sounds using voice or instruments. Recognise different sounds. Identify and categorise sounds using simple criteria e.g. low, high, loud, soft. | Listen to and copy short rhythmic and melodic patterns using voice or instruments. Begin to explore, choose and order sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music. | Create simple rhythmic patterns using a small range of notes. Begin to layer sounds e.g. a background beat/rhythm and a melody. | Create simple rhythmical patterns using an increased range of notes. Layer sounds with increased understanding of the effect of each sound. | Create more complex rhythmic and melodic patterns and phrases within a given structure. Create short pieces of music, layering sounds and considering the inter-related dimensions of music. | Create rhythmic and melodic phrases as part of a group performance. Create group pieces of music, layering sounds and showing a strong understanding of the purpose and effect of each sound. |
| LISTENING | Discuss how a piece of music makes you feel or want to move e.g. jump or sleep. | Consider and discuss how different sounds within a piece of music effect the mood. Identify repeated patterns | Explore and comment on the way sounds are used within a piece of music and the effect they have | Explore and comment on the way sounds are used and combined within a piece of music and the effect they have. | Describe, compare and evaluate different piece of music, beginning to use a range of musical vocabulary. | Describe, compare and evaluate different piece of music, using a range of musical vocabulary, including the inter-related dimensions of music. |
| COMPOSITION | Begin to understand that different musical elements can be used to create different moods or effects | Understand how different musical elements create different moods and effects in a piece of music. Represent sounds with a range of symbols, shapes and marks. | Begin to understand how musical elements can be combined together to create an effect. Begin to recognise simple notations to represent music. | Understand how musical elements can be combined together to create a particular mood or effect. Understand and begin to use established and invented musical notations. | Begin to identify the relationship between sounds and how music can reflect different meaning/emotions. Recognise and use a range of musical notations including staff notation. | Identify and explore the relationship, in greater detail, between sounds and how music can reflect different mood or effect. |
| APPRECIATION | To listen to short pieces of music and discuss when and why they might hear it e.g. Christmas Carol, lullaby etc. | To listen to short pieces of music and discuss when and why they might hear it. Use musical vocabulary to explain why it is fit for purpose e.g it is a soft, slow sound so it would be good as a lullaby. | Listen to and discuss music from different traditions, cultures and great composers/musicians. | Listen to and discuss music from a wide variety of different traditions, cultures and great composers/musicians | Listen to music from a wide variety of different traditions, cultures and great composers/musicians. Begin to discuss how they differ from one another/ how they are similar and how music has changed over time. | Develop an understanding of the history of music from different traditions, cultures, composers and musicians. Consider how venue, occasion and purpose effects the way the music is created and performed. |
| STRAND | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 |
| Tuning the voice | Use picture cards, hearts, non-pitched percussion instruments to sing and make organised sounds. Make critical decisions on pitch and pulse and expressive elements | Use pitched and non-pitched percussion instruments, music in head (inner hear), silent actions, longer songs with several verses and ostinato to sing and make organised sounds. Make critical decisions of pitch, rhythm, pulse, expressive elements and to improvise text. | Use pitched and non-pitched percussion instruments, music in head (inner hear), silent actions, longer songs with several verses and ostinato to sing and make organised sounds. Lead class performance of chosen song from repertoire. Direct own ideas critical decisions of pitch, rhythm, pulse, expressive elements and how to improvise text. | Use physical self to warm up, including breath, posture and an internal view, whole body, rhythms & voice, clapping games, call and response, simple harmonies and repertoire. | Use physical self to warm up, including balance, rooted position, focused attention, breathing, releasing tension, expression, intervals, legato sound and syncopation. | Use physical self to warm up, including clapping games, dynamics, marching, whole room on 3 levels of energy, tongue twisters, breathing exercises, diaphragm exercises using sounds, repertoire with and without actions. |
| Rhythm cards, improvisation & composition | Say and play picture rhythm cards. | Say and play 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8 stick rhythms, using cards and non-pitched percussion instruments. Write compositions using stick notation and the tonic solfa. Use songs that have a Q&A structure and make use of inner hear. | Use stick rhythms and notation on a stave and graphic score to improve and compose short pieces of music. Use film and images to stimulate ideas for 4 or 8 bar compositions. | Improvise and restructure a given melody. Choose duration of composition. Use call and response and ostinato rhythms. | Compose an 8-bar melody to sing or play, using notes from the pentatonic scale, and choosing from a variety of stimuli. Improvise and then compose a simple ostinato for pitched and non-pitched instruments. Work independently, using listening and inner hear. | Compose an 8-bar melody to sing or play, including chords, bass line and drum rhythm, using notes from the pentatonic scale, and choosing from a variety of stimuli. Improvise and then compose an ostinato, a walking bass line, and drum rhythm for chosen instruments. Work independently, using listening and inner hear. |
| Movement and structure | Move to a series of folk songs and instructions. | Move and sing using a series of folk songs, in 2-part form, playing non-pitched instruments, and singing or using actions of the tonic solfa. Make critical decisions on pulse and expressive elements. | Move and sing using a series of folk songs, include 3 or 4 layers in movement. Sing and play, using pitched and non-pitched instruments, sing and use actions of the tonic solfa and use inner hear. Make critical decisions on pulse and expressive elements in each group and as a whole. | Show understanding of structure and key elements/skills of pulse, pitch, rhythms, texture, dynamics, timbre and duration. | Demonstrate understanding of structure and pulse, pitch, rhythms, texture, dynamics, timbre and duration of each work and how to use these for small group performance. | Demonstrate understanding of form and contrast, and pulse, pitch, rhythms, texture, dynamics, timbre and duration of each work and how to use these for large group performance. |
| Creative singing, performing and listening | Use Song Book 1 and explore pictures to sing and then improvise on a given tune and use non-tuned percussion instruments. Use tonic solfa in each song. | Use Song Book 2 and explore pictures to sing and then improvise on a given tune and use tune and non-tuned percussion instruments. Use tonic solfa and inner hear in each song. | Listen to great works and suggest when written and why. Discuss key skills of each work. Take stimulus from great work, develop and perform. | Listen to World Music and variations of the same folk songs. Research and discuss songs and music from the same genre. Perform simple version of World Music, folk song and theme music. Lead a section of the music in performance. | Listen to great works and suggest when written and why. Research and discuss works from the same genre or period of music. Perform simple versions of a great work, using keyboards, and non-pitched percussion instruments. Show an understanding of structure and contrast. | Listen to great works and suggest when written and why. Research f works from the same genre or period of music and how these have been adapted in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Perform versions of a great work, using keyboards, pitched and non-pitched percussion instruments and other instruments of their choice. Perform in a large group at a concert. |
