Music Curriculum Overview
Music Curriculum Narrative
Our intent is that every pupil is a musician, developing as a performer, singer and composer; with the ability to listen and to critically analyse music. The National Curriculum is at the heart of the document, developing incremental improvement lesson by lesson and building on the ambition of the Model Music Curriculum.
Singing is a “Golden Thread” (National Plan for Music Education) ensuring that pupils sing and develop their technique every lesson. Pupils will develop deep musical knowledge of music through demonstrating the musical skills they have learnt.
The three pillars of learning; technical, constructive and expressive are all embedded through practical music making and analysis. By giving explicit singing and listening examples we are making sure that pupils are exposed to a breadth of musical styles and genres, embedding the work of the great composers as key artists in that particular style.
High quality music teaching is our goal, making sure that there is progression between all Key stages, ensuring standard use of vocabulary and being explicit in the musical knowledge and skills pupils will learn by the end of KS2, ensuring continued high-quality music teaching at Key stage 3 through deeply embedded skills. Repetition and incremental improvement is key to effective music learning, making sure that deep knowledge is embedded and that pupils don’t purely experience music.
Threshold Concepts
In music, there are seven key interrelated threshold concepts, which when combined, ensure that our students can access a deep understanding of the subject. The threshold concepts relate to core aspects of disciplinary knowledge and substantive knowledge. As students progress through the curriculum narratives, so should their understanding of the threshold concepts:
Pitch
The pulse of music is the underlying and steady beat in a phrase or piece of music. This involves exploring:
- Exploring how to feel the pulse of a piece of music using body percussion to demonstrate this.
- Identifying and working with different tempos and recognising changes to tempo.
- Understanding time signatures and how to respond to these in a piece of music.
Rhythm
Rhythm involves the changing pattern of beats that make up a piece of music. This involves exploring:
- Exploring rhythmic notation and the equivalent rests involved.
- Investigating syncopation, how this is notated and the effect this has on a piece of music.
- Understanding the concept of a bars and how notation fits within this.
Melody
The melody of a piece of music is the tune. When studying this, pupils will:
- Explore pitched notation developing as each year progressing initially working with 2 notes building up to exploring an octave range in Year Six.
Active listening and Appraising
Active Listening and Appraising involves listening to music and responding by doing something. When exploring this, pupils will:
- Explore the features of music and musical changes in the piece.
- Identify and compare music from different traditions with two or more parts.
- Understanding why syncopation is used and the effect it has.
- Identifying instrumentation, tempos, styles of music and mood and emotion.
Performing
Performing involves the act of playing or singing music to others. Pupils will:
- Learn how to perform using untuned percussion, body percussion, the voice and tuned instruments.
- Read notation and perform from this.
- Learn how to play the cornet.
- Compose using instruments
- Play with accuracy and expression both in a solo or ensemble setting.
Singing
Singing is the act of performing songs or tunes by making musical sounds with the voice. When exploring this, pupils will:
- Sing in unison whilst exploring folk songs.
- Investigate the concepts of singing in rounds and being accompanied with an ostinato.
- Sing in two parts with counter melodies in a given range.
- Sing in tune and with expression, following the direction of the conductor.
Composition
Composing involves the process of coming up with your own musical ideas that may or may not be recorded. Pupils will learn to:
- Use rhythm grids to compose using both representations and standard notation.
- Imitate and compose music using instrumentation or with either the voice or tuned percussion.
- Understand rhythm patterns and how they can be re-created.
- Compose melodies and use complex rhythms to make music exciting.
In EYFS, students will begin to develop their understanding of the musical world. They will learn how to sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs and will explore how to perform songs and rhymes trying to move in time with music. Pupils will be encouraged to make music using a range of tuned/untuned musical instruments looking at instrument names, the sounds they create and where we might find these instruments (different musical groups). They will begin to explore the seven threshold concepts beginning to understand what we mean by the terms pulse, rhythm, melody, active listening and appraising, performing, singing and composing.
As they move into Key Stage 1, students gain a greater understanding of music, studying each of the seven threshold concepts in greater detail. They begin to explore pulse and rhythm further, learning how to maintain a steady pulse using their bodies and identifying tempos using the correct terminology. They will be introduced to basic rhythmic notation in the form of crotchets, quavers and minims and two different time signatures (3/4 and 4/4). They will explore the concept of musical bars and how notation fits within these. They will be introduced to two pitched melodic notes and will use untuned/body percussion and the voice to compose. When performing, students will play or sing basic rhythms on untuned and body percussion and the voice before performing at least 2 bar phrases by the end of Year Two. Pupils will identify feature of a range of high quality live and recorded music, replicating basic rhythms heard and identifying where elements change as well as singing simple folk tunes in unisons with and without accompaniment before exploring how to sing in rounds accurately.
In Lower Key Stage 2, students gain a greater understanding of all threshold concepts beginning to explore the concept of syncopation and the effect that this has on a piece of music. Pupils will continue to work on keeping a steady pulse but this will now be done within a group and solo performance. They will work with a new time signature (2/4) and will play at three different tempos. They will begin to use instrumentation to keep a pulse whilst working with an ongoing ostinato. In rhythm, pupils will learn about the semi-breve and will be introduced to rests. They will then move on to learn about dotted rhythms, exploring how these are used to create syncopation. Pupils will learn more melodic notes in Year 3 and 4. They will initially work with three pitched notes before moving onto exploring 5 notes and the concept of chords. When listening and appraising, pupils will explore different traditions further, singing and playing back heard melodies before comparing pieces of music from different traditions which include two or more different parts. Pupils will also learn how to perform using tuned percussion, melodic instruments and the voice performing within their range of known notes. Singing will continue to progress with pupils singing either in a solo or ensemble setting being accompanied by ostinatos from another group before exploring the concept of two-part contrasting melodies and countermelodies with a range of 5 notes. Finally, pupils will also develop composition skills creating tunes using known notes and beginning to add in more developed rhythmic patterns within a four-bar melody.
In Upper Key Stage 2, students’ knowledge of music continues to progress with more emphasis being placed on accuracy and expression. Pupils will maintain a pulse independently on a tuned instrument by the end of this phase, working with different tempos and time signatures and in a solo or ensemble situation. Students will also perform using syncopation and all known rhythmic notation accurately including understanding how to read this and respond to rests. In melody, pupils will expand their knowledge of pitches from 5 notes to an octave, performing fluently and using repetition and mainly stepwise movements. When listening and appraising, pupils will identify and perform syncopated rhythms and will develop an understanding of mood and emotion. Performance in Upper Key Stage 2 is focused on accuracy and expression whilst in solo and ensemble situations. Pupils will perform regularly within their 5-8 note range on the cornet and will respond well to the direction of a conductor. Finally, when composing, pupils will explore how to create music using different tempos, time signatures and syncopation. They will initially work with up to 4 bars before created extended pieces of music. They will include their knowledge of notation here and will perform compositions accurately. This curriculum prepares them with the high- quality skills and knowledge needed for Key Stage 3 and beyond.
