Music
Aristotle said, "Music has a power of forming the character and should therefore be introduced into the education of the young". Plato said, "Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, and life to everything… Without music, life would be an error." Music helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives and emotions and, as such, is an important part of our life at school, whether singing together in collective worship, creating music as a class or taking part in individual music lessons. (A number of our pupils take part in individual piano, drumming, guitar, ukelele lessons or take part in our choir - if you would be interested in this for your child, please contact the office for further information.)
We believe that children from all backgrounds should have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument; to make music with others; to learn to sing; and to have the opportunity to progress to the next level of excellence if they wish to. Our music curriculum is based on the National Curriculum, and aims to help pupils develop an enjoyment of both listening to and creating music. It aims to inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about how music is created, the different instruments and how they can be played, the different effects that can be created and the way these influence the audience.
In the classroom, we develop our skills in music through two routes. Our Cornerstones topics often have a musical focus, such as Rio de Vida in Sparrows Class or Playlist in Robins, and other topics that focus on other subjects often include a number of musical activities as part of the cross-curricular approach to learning. However, in order to ensure a comprehensive, engaging music curriculum which develops children's skills over time, we also use Music Express, an online resource which supports children's ability to create sound with instruments and their voices, develop understanding of concepts such as beat, pitch and rhythm and develop confidence in their own musical ability.
Please read on below to find more information on what we teach, how we teach it and how we ensure we are creating musicians of the future!
Why do we learn music?
We are creating future musicians by ....
- developing children's confidence to sing - solo, in pairs, groups and as a school
- recognising the power of music and singing to improve well-being and change lives
- ensuring children have opportunities to listen and respond to good quality music of all different kinds
- revisiting key skills and knowledge across the primary years to ensure children's understanding of music is embedded and built upon each year
- equipping children with the knowledge of music they need to hold a conversation or respond through movement
- developing children's ability to use tuned and untuned instruments to compose, rehearse and perform music
- introducing children to the wide range of jobs musicians can do and nurturing their ambitions to work in music-based jobs in the future, contributing to their communities and the wider world
- offering opportunities to learn to play an instrument, either individually or as a class
What do we learn?
Whole School Curriculum Map
Our Whole School Curriculum Map for Music can be found here - Year A Year B. It shows how different skills will be developed over your child's time at Great Tey.
(To decide which year we are in, Year A or B, please think back to September - if it was in an 'odd' year - 2023, 2025 - we are in Year A; if it was in an 'even' year - 2022, 2024, we are in Year B.)
Class Maps
Please see below for our Class Maps, which give further information on skills development in your child's class through both Music Express and our Cornerstones topics.
Please see these class maps for further information on skills development in your child's class
Ducklings EYFS
Woodpeckers Y5/6 - Year A Year B
Cornerstones music activities through topics -
Click on your child's class below for Music Cycle A -
Ducklings (Cycle A and B are the same in Ducklings Class)
Click on your child's class below for Music Cycle B -
Ducklings (Cycle A and B are the same in Ducklings Class)
What does our learning in music help us to do?
- develop our understanding of the world around us and the music of different places, cultures and times
- ask and answer questions, developing our ability to ask questions of increasing relevance
- develop our vocabulary to talk about music with increasing clarity
- enjoy composing, making choices and working as part of a team
- make connections between our lives and emotions and those of others
- prepare for our future, whether working in a music-based career or continuing to develop our interest in music for enjoyment, either through listening or playing.
