Music
Curriculum intent
Our vision is to nurture, grow and build a passion in our children for music. This will allow the children to express themselves creatively through performing, composing and experiencing music practically. We offer pupils the opportunity to experience these things through various instruments, tasks and musical experiences. In addition, our weekly singing assemblies value music and help to promote a love for this subject.
Through Music, by the end of Year 6 at Grange Community Junior School, children will:
- Understand how to sing and play a range of instruments in solo and ensemble contexts, from a range of genres and periods in musical history.
- Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated through the dimensions of music and how this varies in a range of musical styles/genres.
- Understand how to compose and improvise and record their compositions through graphic notation and formal written notation.
- Evaluate their own and their peer performances and use this information to improve their performances.
- Experience a range of recorded and live music performances from a range of instrument families.
Implementation of the curriculum
Music is taught weekly at Grange and follows the planning materials set out by Hampshire’s Music Service. These are adapted to best suit the demographic of the children at our school and the opportunities they require to thrive and gain cultural capital.
The curriculum is continuous, regularly revisiting key concepts and providing practice to develop fluency. The topics that are covered have been sequenced and designed so that all of the interrelated dimensions of music are explored, understood and the children are able to use them. These are revisited in every year group and built upon with new learning following our music progression. The constant revisiting of vocabulary enables pupils to commit what they have learnt to their long-term memory.
Our music planning pinpoints which interrelated dimensions of music each unit has a focus on and tells the teachers the success criteria to achieve an understanding of each dimension. As there are only 7 interrelated dimensions of music, they are referred back to and built upon in each year group, with previous vocabulary being repeated and new vocabulary being introduced. Each lessons focusses on solely or a combination of performing, composing, listening, improvising, evaluating and understanding.
All pupils will also receive musical instruction weekly in singing assemblies, focussing on developing a love of music, vocal technique and rhythm and timing. Additionally, we offer the opportunity to further develop children’s vocal technique and musical understanding through the school choir.
Pupils are given opportunities to engage in extra-curricular music through peripatetic lessons in guitar, keyboard and Rock Steady.
Pupils have the opportunity to perform for an audience through Rock Steady concerts, keyboard concerts, choir engagements, Christmas productions and a Christingle service.
Impact of our curriculum
Through our music curriculum pupils are developing a love of music in various forms. This includes;
- experiencing a varied diet of music; they hear a range of music from different periods in musical history and different genres, including live music.
- having the opportunity to play instruments and develop their own understanding of how to compose and improvise and record their compositions through graphic notation and formal written notation.
- having the opportunity to perform in front of fellow pupils, parents and visitors.