Our vision for music is for it to be creative, varied and include key knowledge and terminology. The children should have opportunities to both listen to and create music in a range of ways, using different instruments and experience composition, performance, solo and group opportunities.
Implementation
The music curriculum ensures students sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate music and Kapow is used to support this.
The elements of music are taught in the classroom lessons so that children are able to use some of the language of music to dissect it, and understand how it is made, played, appreciated and analysed. In the classroom students learn how to play an instrument, from all four main instrument groups of wind, strings, percussion and keyboards. In doing so understand the different principle of each method of creating notes, as well as how to read basic music notation. They also learn how to compose focusing on different dimensions of music, which in turn feeds their understanding when listening, playing, or analysing music. Composing or performing using body percussion and vocal sounds is also part of the curriculum, which develops the understanding of musical element.
Resilience: In music we often make mistakes and this is part of the learning process. Children show resilience by making errors and experimenting with new ideas as well as facing their nerves during a performance in front of others.
Respect: Our children show this when they actively listen to each others performances and ideas. Respecting genres, cultures and musical traditions during music lessons and via active listening sessions. Our children also show respect for our equipment too.
Risk-taking: This is encouraged when children try new instruments or explore different music genres and ideas as well as taking the risk by performing in front of others.
Responsibility: This extends to taking care of our instruments, taking on a collaborative role in group work and therefore contributing to it’s overall success.
Reflection: Children reflect back on performances by assessing their work and contributions taking feedback too from their peers and therefore consider how they can improve their performance.
Impact
Whilst in school, children have access to a varied programme, which allows students to discover areas of strength, as well as areas they might aspire to improve upon.
The integral nature of music and the learner creates an enormously rich palette from which a student may access fundamental abilities such as: achievement, self-confidence, interaction with and awareness of others, and self-reflection. Music will also develop an understanding of culture and history, both in relation to students individually, as well as ethnicities from across the world.
Children are able to enjoy music, in as many ways as they choose- either as listener, creator or performer and understand how it can enrich their lives.
They can dissect music and comprehend its parts. They can sing and feel a pulse. They have an understanding of how to further develop skills less known to them, should they ever develop an interest in their lives.
