At Tunstead Primary School, it is our intent that music is an enjoyable learning experience. Music is a unique way of communicating that can inspire and motivate children. It is a vehicle for personal expression, and it can play an important part in their personal development. Besides being a creative and enjoyable activity, music can also be a highly academic and demanding subject. It also plays an important part in helping children feel part of a community. Children are encouraged to participate in a variety of musical experiences through which we aim to build up the confidence of all children. Singing lies at the heart of good music teaching. Our teaching focuses on developing the children’s ability to sing in tune and with other people. Through singing songs, children learn about the structure and organisation of music. We teach them to listen to and appreciate different forms of music and as the children get older, we expect them to maintain their concentration for longer, and to listen to more extended pieces of music. Children develop descriptive skills in music lessons when learning about how music can represent feelings and emotions. We teach children to make music together, to understand musical notation, and to compose pieces. The children are taught technical language such as volume, pitch, beat, rhythm, dynamics and are encouraged to discuss music using these terms.
The objectives of teaching music in our school are to enable children to:
- know and understand how sounds are made and then organised into musical structures;
- know how music is made through a variety of instruments;
- know how music is composed and written down;
- know how music is influenced by the time, place and purpose for which it was written;
- develop the interrelated skills of performing, composing and appreciating music.
Our school uses the national curriculum for music as the basis for its curriculum planning. While there are opportunities for children of all abilities to develop their skills and knowledge in each teaching unit, the progression planned into the scheme of work means that the children are increasingly challenged as they move through the school.
