Music

Music curriculum

Music

Intent

“Music is all around us. It is the soundtrack to our lives.”

Music has the ability to draw everyone together and provide a sense of community which we feel strongly at St Anne’s, especially through whole school singing. Through music, children are able to express themselves, develop a variety of skills and learn how to perform to an audience. Although there will be many different styles of music shared with children through their learning, each year group will focus on a particular style and / or artist with the aim being that by the end of their learning journey at St Anne’s, the children will be able to make comparisons between composers, develop and express personal opinions and feelings about pieces of music and compose and perform their own music. Music is also part of the broader arts curriculum, which incorporates art, dance and drama.

Implementation

Music skills are taught discretely in blocks throughout the year and there are various opportunities for extra music making including whole school singing and clubs. There are also nativity performances and an end of year show where music plays an integral part. Each year group has a specific artist and / or musical style that they focus on each year. This allows a more detailed look at what inspired many of the great composers; exploring styles, instrumentation and form. Each year group also builds on their knowledge of the musical elements and technical vocabulary of musical terms so that they can develop the skills to be able to listen to, appraise, compose and perform music with increasing confidence. Over the course of time, this provides children with a firm foundation of knowledge. Every child will have access to learn a tuned instrument during their time at the school during class sessions and there are also extra possibilities to have private lessons if desired. The school also has a music specialist who supports the teaching of the class sessions and runs extra -curricular clubs.

Impact

The music curriculum at St Anne’s enables all children to be part of an ensemble, whether this be in paired compositions, performances in class assemblies or whole school singing. Being part of an ensemble is a key feature of many musical activities and so teamwork and the ability to discuss ideas together is paramount. Through the development of skills, children will be able to compose and record these creations using a variety of forms including traditional staff notation. Through their study of various composers and musical styles, children are able to develop a musical knowledge bank. This will help the children to form their own opinions and compare and analyse their own compositions and performances alongside those of others. The skills which are developed through the music curriculum are designed to challenge, inspire creativity and encourage perseverance.

Music is a wonderfully creative subject for children to experience. The Music curriculum at St Anne’s each year group will explore a specific style of music and find out about a specific composer. Over time this will support children to develop an appreciation of a wide range of different music styles and genres.

As well as listening to different types of music and discussing pieces in class, children also learn about the basic principles of the written form of music and have regular opportunities to take part in practical music making sessions led by one of our music specialist teachers.

We make use of resources such as Charanga and also provide opportunities for children to take part in peripatetic teaching. The school has a long standing relationship with Rocksteady, which provide children with the opportunity to be part of a small pop ensemble and includes performance opportunities each term.

For the complete overview of the schools Music Curriculum click on the link below.