Music

Intention

Music is an important part of the wider life of Booker Avenue Junior School. Weekly singing assemblies, an active choir comprising children from every year group and instrumental groups ensure that music is enjoyed by all. As a foundation subject, children are provided with the tools to appreciate music in its historical context, identify musical styles and develop the language to discuss these with confidence. Alongside these listening and appraising skills, children develop musical skills through singing and playing, take risks and develop leadership skills through improvisation and composition and learn the power of reflection and evaluation through regular opportunities to perform.

Implementation

Curriculum music is currently taught through a scheme called Charanga Musical School. Charanga's New Model Music Curriculum (released Autumn 2021) is aligned to the listening, notation, skills and year-by-year progress pathway of the DfE's Model Music Curriculum (Mar 2021). A major focus is on allowing children to experience a broad range of repertoire, taking in significant music from around the world and familiarising them with the Western Classical tradition too. 

At the start of each lesson, the key skills to be covered in the unit are explored in an activity which is repeated weekly, embedding the knowledge on to which the creative activities can be built. Examples of this might be counting steadily in a time signature of 4/4, moving with ease between the first 3 notes of the C major scale (C, D, E), understanding the terminology and use of minims, crotchets and quavers. 

At least two different styles of music are introduced with each unit - with opportunities to learn to sing and play in the style, and understand the historical and societal context of the piece.

Opportunities for improvisation and composition occur throughout so that children can apply their skills and demonstrate increasing musicianship. Units culminate with performances of pieces produced and learnt so that children develop the skills of appraising and refining their own and each other's work. 

Assessment

In music, children are assessed on their:

• developing knowledge of different music genres and styles from around the world (through ongoing, formative discussion and informal assessment in lessons).
• use of musical vocabulary (in weekly listening and creative tasks).
• application and exploration of the musical elements introduced in the unit (key signatures, time signatures, dynamics and expression) when singing, playing, composing and improvising - using the voice, tuned and untuned percussion (in weekly lessons and in end-of-unit performances of learnt material).   
• ongoing demonstration of respect for each other and the instruments.