Music

INTENT

“The central purpose of good music education is for pupils to make more music, think more musically and consequently become more musical.”

OFSTED Research Review Series: Music, July 2021

 

The music curriculum at St. Saviour’s, in line with the National Curriculum, will help pupils to:

♩   sing and play musical instruments with increasing control, accuracy, fluency and expression, individually and as part of an ensemble.

♩   create and compose music for a range of purposes using the interrelated musical dimensions: duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure.

♩   represent music using graphic and formal notations

♩  listen and respond to music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians

♩   understand the history of music


IMPLEMENTATION

Music is threaded through life at St. Saviour’s, forming an integral part of daily acts of worship, liturgical events and performances for a wider audience.

Teachers plan appropriate curriculum activities which allow children to develop the technical, constructive and expressive pillars of music. These will include:

♩   listening to a wide range of music from different genres and time periods;

♩    developing their knowledge of musical techniques and applying them in their own compositions;

♩    singing and playing instruments, tuned and untuned, from basic notations and improvising;

♩    developing and using a musical vocabulary;

♩    reading and using basic music notations;

♩    using, where appropriate and possible, technology to support the creation, recording and sharing of music.

The Music Hub supports the delivery of some instrumental tuition where possible. In addition, opportunities to appreciate live performances, such as by The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, or online events such as The London Sinfonietta webcasts, are integral in developing the appreciation of music which we hope pupils will carry forward with them when they leave our school.

IMPACT

The musical journey pupils encounter in school will prepare them for a diverse wider world, offering them a means to engage with and interpret the peoples and cultures they will encounter. Pupils may discover a particular strength which they go on to explore and develop as a result of their primary music education. All pupils will develop important and transferrable life skills, such as self-confidence, interpersonal relationships, and a sense of achievement. Pupils will be able to enjoy music as listeners, creators and performers and have the ability to discuss it with understanding of the “building blocks” used to achieve different effects. The ability to sing, to feel a pulse and create a melody are skills they will be able to draw on in the future and develop further if they choose to.