We currently use the National Curriculum to guide us to support our planning. Whenever possible and most appropriate we link Music learning to our topic work. The Trust Music Coordinator has worked to develop the Music Progression Map, which breaks down the National Curriculum objectives into the small steps needed to build towards the key end goals. Covid has been a significant factor in the recent teaching of Music lessons, and as a Trust we aim to develop the teaching of music further through more regular and consistent whole class music lessons, as we begin to head towards normality again. One way in which we have begun to successfully ensure this, is through securing an external whole class music teacher from Plymouth Youth Music Service, who has been teaching multiple year groups across our schools, how to play different instruments.
We also provide a wide range of opportunity for our children to perform to an audience across all year groups; the Foundation Stage’s Nativity, Year 6 end of year production, each class assembly and the school choirs who have the opportunity to perform in the wider community. 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 focussing 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 elements without the added complexity of an instrument.
Our Music curriculum aims to give the children the opportunity to:
- perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
- learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
- understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the interrelated dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations