Music

Be inspired.

Be creative.

Be dynamic.

Our Music Curriculum Vision Statement

Be inspired. Be creative. Be dynamic.

Intent

Our intent is to deliver the content outlined in the music programmes of study within the national curriculum augmented with powerful knowledge carefully selected to build upon our pupils’ starting points of cultural capital.

To this end, we use the Charanga curriculum. This is a knowledge-engaged progress model which clearly outlines the key knowledge and vocabulary for each stage of learning in sequence.

Implementation

All areas of our curriculum are implemented using ten principles of effective instruction outlined in our Teaching Touchstones, which work in symbiosis with the Gradual Release Towards Independence model for teaching.

In Music, we are passionate about implementing our curriculum through reflective, creative and expressive learning because we recognise the power of music to impact our everyday lives and inspire greatness among our students.

The importance of music:

Our Music curriculum at St George’s is creative, collaborative, celebratory and challenging. We recognise that music unites us, inspires us and motivates us. Music is one of the central building blocks of any culture and the shared knowledge of music is crucial cultural capital. We endeavour to model and instil a life-long love of music in all of our students and provide a foundation for further musical adventures.

Singing:

Singing is at the heart of our vision for Music and this is expressed through the centrality of song in our Charanga units of study. Singing features as a core part of our Collective Worship and across the curriculum, demonstrating both our Christian Ethos and our celebration of diversity. Our school choir provides further opportunity to learn new songs and be a dynamic, expressive musician in a fun-loving and collaborative atmosphere.

Progression in musical skills:

The Charanga Music Curriculum develops a strong internalised sense of pulse, rhythm and pitch through a rich range of musical interactions including singing, moving, performing using untuned and tuned instruments, creating music and active listening. Pupils will gain knowledge of important moments in the evolution of music and of key musicians and composers, in a range of genres and styles as well as understanding of the stories, origins, traditions, history and social context of the music they are listening to, singing and playing. In the Charanga curriculum, we include pieces from a wide range of cultures and traditions that reflect our community as well as developing an appreciation for composers enshrined in the canon.

Reflecting on music:

We want children to be reflective, appreciating and evaluating music on a personal and technical level. Through a wide range of activities, our children will further develop their love of music, refining their individual taste and gaining confidence to be creative musicians with strong aural skills.

Creating and experimenting with music:

Pupils at St George’s will create music through repetition and improvisation as well as learning compositional techniques and structures. As pupils travel through the Key Stages, they will develop the craft of creating melodies and fashioning these into short pieces, growing to see composition as a current art form of which they can be a part. In Key Stage 2, children will have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument and play as part of an ensemble, refining their skills through feedback and rehearsal. We encourage our children to be dynamic performers express this through events such as International Evening, Christmas Musicals, Choir Performances and Class Worships.

Impact

The impact of our curriculum is directly aligned to our whole school vision and culture statements, as well as the music vision statement and the aims and purposes set out in the national curriculum.

We say to our pupils:

Be inspired

This means we want our pupils to:

Be brave:

To be curious and ask questions regarding musical style, genre and significance.
To be open-minded to listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions.

Be great:

To learn from the great artists within the canon, appreciating and understanding the history of music.
To understand the inter-related dimensions including pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and structure.
To appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music.

Be you:

To have the opportunity to experience a diverse range of musical styles drawn from different traditions around the world and through time.
To listen and appraise music in a thoughtful, reflective manner.
To share personal opinions and preferences articulately and with confidence.

Be creative

This means we want our pupils to:

Be brave:

To have the chance to explore and work with a range of rhythmic and melodic instruments, including tuned and untuned percussion.
To develop confidence in experimentation and improvisation, particularly within musical styles in which this is a key element.

Be great:

To develop skills across the musical curriculum and experience a sense of achievement for this.
To know and use the key features of musical genres when being part of a piece or when composing music.
To learn and use a range of musical notation including staff notation.

Be you:

To compose and express oneself musically, both individually and as part of an ensemble.
To develop a clear and useful understanding of music technologies and how technology influences music.

Be dynamic

This means we want our pupils to:

Be brave:

To learn to sing and use their voices in different ways to express themselves.
To be confident performers using both vocal and instrumental expression.

Be great:

To have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument.
To use voices and musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression.
To understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the use of technologies.

Be you:

To perform both individually, as part of an ensemble, class group or chorally.
To collaborate with others in musical projects and be proud of their own work.
To develop a true love of music that will stay with them life-long.

Charanga Music Curriculum Sequences

At St. George's, we follow the Charanga Music Curriculum.

Charanga say this about their Curriculum:

A step-by-step approach to teaching music in your school

Charanga’s Musical School Scheme provides week-by-week lessons for each year group in the school, from ages 5–11. It is used by 35,000 specialist and non-specialist teachers globally, and provides lesson plans, assessment, clear progression and exciting whiteboard resources for every lesson. The Scheme supports all the requirements of the national curriculum in England.

The curriculum is based on the progression of three clear strands of music:

Listening and Appraising
Musical Activities — creating and exploring
Singing, playing instruments and performing

To find out more, please visit their website, here.