Music at Hardwick
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Music at Hardwick
‘Music is the greatest communication in the world. Even if people don't understand the language that you're singing in, they still know good music when they hear it.’ - Lou Rawls
Music is about engaging and inspiring pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians through first hand experiences of learning an instrument, performing to a range of audiences and listening to live and recorded music.
It gives children new skills and self-confidence through learning to play instruments and exploring different genres of music and their features. It helps develop their self-expression and creativity through exploring sounds instruments make but also the sounds they can make using their bodies and when composing their own music.
Without it they would not be able to develop their knowledge of music, apply their creative skills and develop a greater understanding of how sounds are made and used to communicate ideas and emotions with others including a large audience. It also teaches the children to work as a team, listen to others and express themselves.
It feeds into our curriculum intent by giving children the first-hand experiences that provide them with opportunities to explore and talk about different musical genres and to give their own opinion on music whilst developing specific musical vocabulary and knowledge. Learning is carefully planned to ensure children are given a chance to learn to play a variety of musical instruments as well as the opportunity to apply the vocabulary, knowledge and skills they have learnt.
Music is taught across the whole school from the very youngest children in our nursery to those in Year 6. Our curriculum ensures that children progressively learn new knowledge and skills so that they become competent musicians.
Our curriculum ensures that our children:
- Perform, listen to and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, style and traditions, including the works of great composers and musicians.
- Learn to sing and use their voices, to compose their own music with others, have the opportunity to learn an instrument (mainly in KS2) and begin to use technology appropriately.
- Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notation.
In addition, children are given opportunities to learn a variety of musical instruments and perform what they have learnt to an audience either in school or in a public place. Some of the places that children visit are INTU centre, Genting Arena in Birmingham and play with the Halle orchestra in Derby.
As the children progress through the school, they learn simple notation in KS1 and Year 3 and this develops into musical notation in Year 4, 5 and 6 which is applied to musical instruments. This year, we have children learning the handbells, fifes and flutes. Children are learning to compose and record using different technology so they can share their creations. Music is linked to many other curriculum areas and is used in other lessons such as where a famous musician is from and how they have changed music. The children take part in a weekly music appreciation lesson where they will listen to a variety of music from different cultures and historical periods.
Please see below our curriculum progression grid for Music, detailing how our children through knowledge and skills from Nursery to Year 6:
Useful Websites
Useful Websites
https://www.classicsforkids.com/kids/ - this explores classical music for children. It has a tune of the week with some information about it. It also allows children to explore composers, play music game and explore different periods of musical history.
https://www.dkfindout.com/uk/music-art-and-literature/musical-instruments/- Give information about musical instruments in their groups and introduces the children to the orchestra.
https://www.dariamusic.com- explores world music and instruments.