Robert Piggott Subject Overview: Music

Curriculum Intent:

• 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, can learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and can progress to the next   level of musical excellence
• understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations

Implementation

Our pedological approach to teaching this subject in the Robert Piggott CE Schools:

We aim to foster an enjoyment and appreciation of music to include the development of an understanding of the elements of music: pitch, dynamics, duration, tempo, timbre, texture and structure. Furthermore, we aim to encourage self-expression through music and to develop an awareness of the music of ours and other cultures including an awareness of a variety of musical styles.

We work with the children to develop a range of musical skills including listening, appraising, composing, interpreting and memorising.  At our school, we believe the opportunity to be able to play a musical instrument is very important to a person’s development and we also try to develop familiarity with a range of musical instruments. As part of their musical understanding, children are encouraged to explore how music can create moods and feelings and provoke an emotional response.

We use the ‘Charanga” scheme as a basis for most of our music teaching. Through our long-term planning we link the scheme to topics where relevant. In some topics we use additional teacher material to ensure that children receive the best opportunities possible.

During Year 3 and 4, children spend one term learning an instrument with specialist teaching from Berkshire Maestros.

Impact:

The impact of our Music curriculum can be constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson includes

guidance to support teachers in assessing pupils against the learning objectives and at the end of each unit there is often a performance element where teachers can make a summative assessment of pupils’ learning.

Assessment quizzes and knowledge catchers are used throughout each unit. These can be used at the start and/or end of a unit to measure pupil progress.

After the implementation of our music curriculum, pupils leave school equipped with a range of skills to enable them to succeed in their secondary education and to be able to enjoy and appreciate music throughout their lives.

The expected impact is that children will:

• Be confident performers, composers and listeners and will be able to express themselves musically at and beyond school.
• Show an appreciation and respect for a wide range of musical styles from around the world and will understand how music is influenced by the wider cultural, social, and historical contexts in which it is developed.
• Understand the ways in which music can be written down to support performing and composing activities.
• Demonstrate and articulate an enthusiasm for music and be able to identify their own personal musical preferences.
• Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Music.
• Understand and appreciate that music can help them to understand and express their emotions and help to regulate them too.