MUSIC
All children are given the opportunity to experience a wide variety of high quality learning activities which include performing, composing, listening and appraising.
This is achieved by playing and singing, performing with others, composing and arranging, listening to and appraising musical styles from all cultures, developing a sense of pitch, timbre, rhythm, tempo, dynamics; developing ideas of notation and using music as a means of self expression and a source of pleasure. All children from Early Years to Year 6 access curriculum music lessons and weekly singing assemblies. In Year 4 their musical learning takes the form of weekly whole class ukulele tuition.
We seek opportunities to take children to live performances where possible as well as invite performers to come into school, such as the Cavatina Chamber Ensembles.
We give pupils opportunities to perform through annual music concerts, and the Year 6 and Year 1 musical productions supported by our specialist team.
We are committed to widen children's opportunities to develops skills in music through access to subsidised peripatetic instrumental teaching.
In addition to the music curriculum, we seek to expose children to a wide range of recorded music from a variety of cultural and musical traditions through assemblies and in classrooms and we make cross-curricular links to the music scheme wherever possible.
The GHF music curriculum is taught by specialist music teachers and supplemented by class teachers using specified Oak National Academy online lessons in line with our scheme of work.
MUSIC IN EYFS
For EYFS we adopt the Kodaly Method (5 principles - Learning by singing, hand signs, rhythmic proficiency, collaboration, cultural connections) and the ‘Colourstrings approach’ and this is a theme that runs through our curriculum in KS1 and KS2. Because this strong basis in musicianship is so important, specialist delivery for EYFS (Kodaly / Colourstrings approach) is our priority.
For year 4 we teach ukulele because of its easy access and the opportunities it provides for ensemble playing including singing whilst playing as well as the opportunities for differentiation (plucking / strumming), ensuring there is challenge and support in a fully inclusive learning envirionment. These lessons are supplemented by 'Ukulele Magic'.