Being a musician

Being a Musician Curriculum Intent 

What is the point of being a Musician?

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. It has the capacity to improve and enrich children’s lives. Our children learn to appreciate music and have many opportunities to listen to, compose and perform their own music.  A high-quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.

 The aims of being a Musician are:

• 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 inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations

 

Being a Musician Curriculum Implementation

At Stickland’s School we want all children to develop the self-confidence, skills, knowledge and understanding to develop a lifelong love of music, whilst also providing a secure foundation that enables them to take music further should they wish to.  We follow Sing Up Music lessons as it is delivered in a fashion that is engaging for teachers and students alike. With each unit and every lesson plan skills and knowledge and understanding is set out clearly for children from EYFS through to Year 6 to develop knowledge and understanding.

Drawing upon the principles of the musical program Sing Up, teachers are able to produce inclusive lessons for all children to access the musical curriculum in a fun and engaging way, further promoting a love of learning. Teachers deliver music following the Sing up programme, designed specifically for the teaching of music in primary schools. Sing Up lessons are planned in sequences to provide children with the opportunities to review, remember, deepen and apply their understanding. The elements of music are taught in 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, children learn how to play the recorder, the guitar and a variety of percussion instruments. Playing various instruments enables children to use a range of methods to create 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 elements without the added complexity of an instrument.

 

A class in Key Stage 2 partake in the Musicianship Program, receiving a 10 week period of  instrumental tuition as a year group, delivered by Dorset Music Service.

 

Since 2021 all children KS1 and LKS2 have the opportunity to learn ocarinas for half a term, building on previous year's  knowledge which will show progression in playing a musical instrument and learning more detailed notation.

Every assembly will start with a genre of music from Charanga’s The Listening Calendar which offers a collection of songs or music for each month of the year. The Listening Calendar brings together interesting facts related to the songs and the composer of each song. The children will find out many other interesting facts about great composers and musicians from all eras.

The school is actively involved in forging links with the wider community. The school frequently performs in pyramid projects and invites members of the community to attend school concerts and other musical events like church services.

 

All children in Key Stage 2 are offered the opportunity to join the school choir and attend rehearsals on a weekly basis. They have the opportunity to perform within school and at wider community events.

We also have a peripatetic music teacher available currently offering violin lessons and our musicians enjoy performing in assemblies and at some of our special services throughout the year.

Being a Musician Curriculum Impact

Children's knowledge of and awareness of different genres of music is enhanced

Children are able to enjoy music in as many ways as they choose, either through listening, creating or performing.

They are able to break down music and identify different parts, develop and compose music and start reading musical notation.

Children at Stickland’s School are given opportunity to aspire and know how to further develop their skills as they grow up.