Music

Intent

At Whitmore Park Primary School, our music curriculum intends to inspire creativity, self-expression and encourage our children on their musical journey as well as giving them the opportunity to connect with others. We value music because it is a most powerful and unique form of communication that can change and impact the way children feel, think and act. We believe that teaching music helps the body and the mind work together. Exposing children to music during early development helps them to learn the sounds and meanings of words. Dancing to music helps children build motor skills while allowing them to practice self-expression. We believe that every child should have the opportunity to develop their musical potential and we aim to nurture and encourage musical development across the school. We hope to instil a life-long love of music by exposing them to diverse musical experiences, exploring different genres and igniting a passion for music. By listening and responding to different musical styles, understanding and exploring how music is created, discovering their voices as singers and performers, creating their own music through composing and improvisation, all will enable them to become confident and reflective musicians.  

Skills 

The aims of our music curriculum are to develop pupils who:  

  • Learn to sing and use their voices individually and in a group 
  • Create and compose music on their own and with others 
  • Have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument 
  • Have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence 
  • Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated 
  • Listen to, review and evaluate the work of different composers and musicians from a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions 
  • Use and understand musical language  
  • Make their own judgements about different pieces of music 
  • Have the opportunity to play a wide variety of musical instruments  
  • Have different opportunities to take part in performances 

Implementation

The music curriculum ensures students listen and appraise, play, sing, perform, improvise, compose and evaluate. This is embedded in weekly classroom activities, various class assemblies and performances as well as the learning of instruments. The elements of music are taught in classroom lessons following the ‘Charanga’ music scheme. The scheme follows the National Curriculum supported by a clear skills and knowledge progression. Charanga allows children to use the language of music to discuss it, and understand how it is made, played, appreciated and analysed. In the classroom, the children also have the opportunity to play a number of instruments as well as tuned and un-tuned percussion instruments. In doing so, they understand the different principles of creating notes, as well as how to devise and read their own musical scores based on notation. They also learn how to improvise and compose focusing on the different dimensions of music, which in turn feeds their understanding when listening, playing or analysing music. Composing, improvising or performing using vocal sounds and technology is also part of the curriculum, which develops the understanding of musical elements without the added complexity of an instrument. Children who are interested, can also receive tuition in keyboard and violin. 

Impact

At Whitmore Park, children will have the opportunities to forge their own musical journey, which allows them to discover areas of strength, as well as areas they might like to improve on. The nature of music and the learner creates an enormously rich palette from which any child may access fundamental abilities such as: achievement, self-confidence, interaction with and awareness of others and self-reflection. By the time children leave our school they will have a rapidly widened repertoire which they will be able to use to create original, imaginative and distinctive composing and performance works: This will be evident through; 

  • Developing an understanding of culture and history, both in relation to students individually, as well as ethnicities from across the world.  
  • The ability to give precise written and verbal explanations, using musical terminology effectively, accurately and appropriately as well as discussing music and comprehend its parts.  
  • A passion for and commitment to a diverse range of musical activities. 
  • Children are able to enjoy music, in as many ways as they choose – either as a listener, creator or performer.  
  • Singing, feel a pulse, add rhythms and create melodies in a group and further develop these skills in the future and continue to enjoy and embrace music in their lives.