Music

Welcome to our music page!

Intent

The National Curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music
• Be taught to sing, create and compose music
• Have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument
• Use technology appropriately
• Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated

At St. Gabriel’s, the intention is that children gain a firm understanding of what music is through listening, singing, playing, evaluating, analysing and composing across a wide variety of historical periods, styles traditions and musical genres. Our objective is to develop a curiosity for the subject, as well as an understanding, and an unbiased respect for the role that music may wish to be expressed in any person’s life. We are committed to ensuring children understand the value and importance of music in the wider community and are able to develop and use their musical skills, knowledge and experiences to involve themselves in music in a variety of different contexts.

Implementation

At St Gabriel’s, we follow the ‘Love Music Trust’ scheme of work, which ensures we provide a high-quality music curriculum where all pupils sing, listen, compose, perform and evaluate. Not only are these components embedded in classroom activities, but also in assemblies, liturgies, masses, wider opportunities, the learning of instruments, various concerts and through our popular extra-curricular clubs. All children have a weekly discrete music lesson lasting not less than 30 minutes. The interrelated dimensions of music are taught in the classroom lessons, so that children are able to use this knowledge to appreciate, describe, dissect, analyse and understand how music is made. The key skills for each year are mapped out to ensure progression between years. This ensures that children develop their musical skills systematically, building on their musical skillset from one year to the next.

Children learn how to handle and play instruments, tuned and untuned, learning the basic principles of creating notes as well as how to read basic notation. They also learn how to compose, focussing on the different dimensions of music, which in turn feeds their understanding when listening, playing and analysing music. Composing and performing using body percussion and vocal sounds also further develops children’s understanding of musical elements.

Impact

Whilst in school, children have access to a varied programme, which allows students to discover areas of strength and opportunities to develop areas they might like to improve on. There are many opportunities for collaborative working and problem solving in lessons. The integral nature of music and learner, creates a hugely rich palette from which the learner may access fundamental abilities such as self-confidence, creativity, achievement, interaction with and awareness of others and self-reflection. Our music curriculum also enables children to develop an understanding of culture and history, both in relation to themselves as well as ethnicities from across the world. Children are able to enjoy music through participation as listener, creator and performer. They can sing and feel a pulse, listen and discuss music from a variety of genres and styles, and talk about how a piece of music makes them feel, developing their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

All children take part in class assemblies and at key events through the year, to showcase their musical prowess, ensuring that by the time they leave our school, most children are confident performers, who feel great joy when sharing their talents.