Music at Landewednack
Our intent, through our music curriculum is to:
- Enable pupils to learn to listen carefully, fine tuning their auditory skills and developing their ability to evaluate and appraise
- Increase pupils’ confidence through self-expression and performance, as well as providing a sense of achievement
- Provide pupils with a range of vocabulary to describe the features of different musical styles and genres to enable them to articulate their responses to these
- Encourage teamwork, helping pupils to build relationships by providing them with shared experiences
- Enable pupils to demonstrate perseverance, persistence and discipline as they develop their musical skils
- Help pupils to appreciate and understand a wide range of traditions and cultures
- Help pupils learn how music is created, produced and communicated, through the elements e.g. pitch, timbre
- Provide pupils with the opportunity to use technology appropriately, to enhance and communicate their own compositions and performances
- Ensure pupils have the opportunity to play musical instruments which will help develop self-discipline and improve memory
- Ensure pupils understand music as a universal language enabling them to break down barriers and enabling communication
- Allow pupils to express their feelings and ideas through composition and performance
- Learn about different historical periods, including genres, famous composers and musicians, which will help them to understand the importance of music’s place in society
We strive to ensure our children develop the key characteristics of a musician:
• A rapidly widening repertoire which they use to create original, imaginative, fluent and distinctive composing and performance work.
• A musical understanding underpinned by high levels of aural perception, internalisation and knowledge of music, including high or rapidly developing levels of technical expertise.
• Very good awareness and appreciation of different musical traditions and genres.
• An excellent understanding of how musical provenance - the historical, social and cultural origins of music - contributes to the diversity of musical styles.
• The ability to give precise written and verbal explanations, using musical terminology effectively, accurately and appropriately.
• A passion for and commitment to a diverse range of musical activities.
Music is taught through thematic units within our ‘Learning Means The World’ curriculum, both through specific Skills Development Tasks and through learning within the units which allow pupils to apply those skills.
Music is taught through a combination of subject knowledge and composing, performing, listening and appraising skills. Learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom.
We learn about a range of famous composers from history, such as J.S. Bach, Ludwig Van Beethoven and Rimsky-Korsakov.
We also learn about more contemporary composers, such as Andrew Lloyd-Webber.
In music, our curriculum includes the following (however, we explore music through different events, visits, visitors and experiences):-
Notation
Graphic scores
Signs and symbols
Soundscapes
Sound effects
Singing
Sea shanties
Folk songs
National anthems
Slave songs
Battle chants
War songs
Cyclic patterns
Instrument families
Evolution of instruments
African music, including drumming
Celtic music
Hannukah music
Jingles
Film music
Musicals
Inuit throat singing
Progression
The Skills Ladder acts as an incremental model for skills acquisition and provides a benchmark for each year group, with teachers using the skills statements as a model for progression throughout the school. Growing in complexity and demand across Key Stages 1 and 2, the Skills Ladder enables our children to make good progress in their learning.
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MUSIC SKILLS PROGRESSION |
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EYFS Expressive Arts and Design Imagination and Creativity Self-expression Communicating through arts |
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Nursery:
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Reception:
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Music Skills Ladder |
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Year 1 Mu1 Use their voices confidently in different ways Mu2 explore how sounds can be made and changed Mu3 Recognise how sounds can be made and changed Mu4 Identify the beat in different pieces of music Mu5 Identify long and short sounds in music Mu6 Respond appropriately to musical instruments Mu7 Respond verbally and physically to different musical moods Mu8 Create and choose sounds in response to given starting points Mu9 Follow pitch movements with their hands and use high, low and middle voices Mu10 Repeat short, rhythmic and melodic patterns to a given beat
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Year 2 Mu11 Select and order sounds within simple structures and sounds in response to given starting points Mu12 Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using inter-related musical dimensions e.g. tempo, pitch Mu13 Represent sounds with symbols Mu14 Play musical instruments with expression and control, listening and observing carefully Mu15 Identify the beat and join in getting faster and slower together Mu16 Recognise and explore how sounds can be organised Mu17 Begin to sing in tune with expression and control Mu18 Recall, perform and accompany simple songs, sequences and rhythmic patterns Mu19 Perform long and short sounds in music in response to symbols Mu20 Respond to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
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Year 3 Mu21 Explore the way sounds can be combined and used expressively Mu22 Improvise repeated patterns Mu23 Compose and perform simple accompaniments recognising different musical elements and how they can be used together to compose music Mu24 Explore sounds using symbols and ICT Mu25 Begin to recognise, recall and perform simple rhythmic patterns Mu26 Recognise and explore different combinations of pitch sounds Mu27 Listen carefully and recognise patterns and increase aural memory Mu28 Begin to sing in tune expressively with an awareness of beat and rhythm Mu29 Perform with control and awareness of audience |
Year 4 Mu30 Explore and extend the ways sounds can be combined and used expressively to convey mood and emotion Mu31 Improvise simple tunes based on the pentatonic scale Mu32 Compose and perform simple melodies recognising different musical elements and how they can be used together to compose music Mu33 Explore, recall and plan sounds using symbols and ICT Mu34 Combine several layers of sound, observing the combined effect Mu35 Listen carefully, recognise and use repeated patterns and increase aural memory Mu36 Internalise sounds by singing parts of a song ‘in their heads’ and attempt to play simple melodic phrases by ear Mu37 Perform with awareness of different parts that others are playing or singing
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Year 5 Mu38 Improvise melodic and rhythmic phrases Mu39 Compose from different starting points by developing ideas within musical structures Mu40 Explore the use of notation and ICT to support creative work Mu41 Suggest improvements to their own and others’ work Mu42 Identify the relationship between sounds and how music reflects different intentions Mu43 Describe and compare different kinds of music using key musical vocabulary Mu44 Listen carefully, developing and demonstrating musical understanding Mu45 Perform by ear Mu46 Perform rounds and part songs, maintaining their own part with awareness of how different parts fit together to achieve an overall effect Mu47 Sing songs with increasing control of breathing, posture and sound projection Mu48 Use ICT to change and manipulate sounds Mu49 Compose their own instrumental and vocal music and perform their own and others’ compositions |
Year 6 Mu50 Explore the use of notation and ICT to support creative expression Mu51 Refine and improve their work through evaluation, analysis and comparison, commenting on how intentions have been achieved Mu52 Perform significant parts from memory, with awareness of their own contributions Mu53 Analyse and compare musical features and structures using appropriate musical vocabulary Mu54 Listen carefully, demonstrating musical understanding and increasing aural memory Mu55 Perform solo and lead others from notation Mu56 Subdivide the pulse and identify the metre of different songs through recognising the pattern of strong and weak beats Mu57 Use a variety of notation Mu58 Perform their own and others’ compositions in a way that reflects their meaning and intentions |
'Knowledge Building' ensures breadth and greater depth of learning within a subject. Based on six distinct learning pillars, the knowledge builds on (EYFS, KS1, LKS2 and UKS2), using progressive cognitive blocks, linked to each pillar. These are then further applied to each music theme in the form of knowledge statements that increase in complexity through each phase.
The Knowledge Building Pillars form a robust model of progression for knowledge and understanding, helping pupils to assimilate, synthesise and apply their learning within different musical contexts. This also means that concepts are cumulatively built upon. For example, Cultural Understand would show children in Key Stage 1 learning about the traditions of Inuit Throat Singing, in Lower Key Stage 2, pupils would learn to recognise the main features and instruments used in African music while in Upper Key Stage 2, Pupils would examine the broad features of national anthems, analyse and compare them, looking for similarities and differences.
By using a rigorously planned curriculum map, the objectives of the National Curriculum are cross-referenced to our ‘Learning Means the World’ Curriculum, supplemented with Model Music Curriculum ‘Skills Development Tasks’.
Due to the mixed year groups in our classes, rolling programmes are created and mapped using the knowledge building and skills ladders above. The Learning Intentions or 'end points' are broken down into sequenced steps.
We plan for enrichment days, visits and visitors to inspire our children- to ensure they have the opportunity to see and hear live performances and to ensure they have opportunities to perform themselves.
We use the Cornwall Music Hub and ‘First Access Music’ to provide a source of CPD for our teachers.
Assessment and Recall
We use Quizzes and end of unit tasks for diagnostic assessment as well as ‘distance’ recall tasks and ‘Time Machine’ questions to ensure knowledge is remembered and to ensure prior learning is linked to new. 'Time Machine' enables pupils to travel through time to revisit prior learning. We also use performance and use of technology to record their work in order to assess children’s progress in music.
SEND
To ensure all of our children with Special Educational Needs can access music, our teachers use adaptive teaching approaches which allow all children to learn the necessary knowledge and develop a range of skills. This can take many different forms such as pre-teaching concepts, providing additional support, accessibility tools or implementing 'scaffolds'. Each child is unique and is supported according to their own individual needs.
Impact of our Music Curriculum
EYFS
Our aim in teaching music in EYFS is to enable pupils to begin to develop an understanding of, and enjoyment in, musical expression. By the end of this phase they should be able to listen attentively and demonstrate an ability to respond simply to music they have heard (including pieces reflective of their own heritage(s)), expressing their thoughts and feelings. By the end of the phase, they should be able to sing a range of simple songs and join in with singing games, with an awareness of tempo and dynamics. They should know the names of and know how to play some basic tuned and untuned percussion instruments. Pupils should also be aware of how symbols can be used to represent sounds in music.
Key Stage One
Our aim in teaching music in Key Stage 1 is to expand their musical repertoire and expose them to wider forms of musical expression. Pupils should have developed their range of singing skills in relation to pitch, diction, and posture. They should also be using more technical vocabulary in the correct musical contexts. They should be able to use graphic scoring techniques to notate and should have a secure knowledge and understanding of the elements of beat, rhythm and pitch and be able to demonstrate this. They should also know the names of an increasing range of instruments and how they are to be played.
Lower Key Stage Two
Our aim in teaching music in Lower Key Stage 2 is to develop pupils’ appreciation of how the musical elements combine in the construction of music, to realise an expressive intention. They should be developing their own musical tastes and be able to give reasons for their personal preferences. They should know about different instrument families and ensemble groupings and be able to play a range of instruments with increasing accuracy and fluency. They should also be confident to try playing by ear, showing an increased aural memory. Pupils should know about a range of musical styles and their origins and have developed singing techniques that include a focus on breathing and phrasing.
Upper Key Stage Two
Our aim in teaching music in Upper Key Stage 2 is to increase their confidence in improvisation, with a clear awareness of form and structure. Pupils should have a deeper understanding of how the musical elements combine when constructing pieces to create a desired effect or intent. They should have experience of singing across a range of styles, such as rounds, two parts and call and response. Their use of technical vocabulary should include more advanced terms, such as Italian musical directions that indicate how a piece should be played, and they should be able to compare musical forms and structures using appropriate musical vocabulary. They should also have an understanding of how music is used for different purposes within different cultures. The historical aspect of music, including the development and evolution of instruments over time, should be an area they are increasingly aware of.
