Curriculum Intent - Music:

Our music curriculum is designed to provide all students with a high-quality music education which engages and inspires them to develop a life-long love of music, increases their self-confidence, creativity, and imagination, and provides opportunities for self-expression and a sense of personal achievement. As stated in the government’s document, A National Plan for Music - June 2022 ‘’excellent music education opens opportunities, but it is not simply a means to an end: it is also an end in itself. It gives children and young people an opportunity to express themselves, to explore their creativity, to work hard at something, persevere and shine. These experiences and achievements stay with them and shape their lives’’.

Music is a social activity as well as personal and private and to this end we believe that group work, whole-class work and individual work are all necessary for musical development. Good learning takes place in an ordered atmosphere where the work is appropriate and clearly structured. Classroom management arises from well-organised, appropriate and interesting lesson materials, a balanced programme of activities which builds on previous work, clearly defined tasks, and purposeful activity leading to perceived and understood goals.   

Our curriculum offers students opportunities to develop their talents in all aspects of music through: Composition, Performance (including singing) and appreciation through Listening and Appraising. We follow a developmental spiral in that students accumulate skills and revisit, strengthen and build upon previous knowledge and experience. The course is intended to continue and develop work of our primary school colleagues whilst providing a good foundation for GCSE Music, BTEC First Award in Music and A Level Music.

LISTENING

Through careful listening to a wide variety of music, including different genres, periods, traditions and cultures, students will appreciate and further develop an awareness of the music, expressing their ideas and feelings about it. Students will also be able to understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated through the inter-related elements of pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and silence.

PERFORMING

Students will learn to perform on a variety of instruments (including voice), to create music on their own and collaboratively, to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and to have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence.

COMPOSING

We will encourage active involvement in creating and developing musical ideas using voice and instruments. We will nurture a sense of group identity and togetherness as well as individual creativity through composing, rehearsing and performing music with others (including audience).

‘’In our schools, music can bring communities together through the shared endeavour of whole-school singing, ensemble playing, experimenting with the creative process and, through the love of listening to friends and fellow pupils performing. The sheer joy of music making can feed the soul of a school community, enriching each student while strengthening the shared bonds of support and trust which make a great school’’ (The Model Music Curriculum – 2021).