Our Music Intent:

‘Roots to Grow and Wings to Fly’

Our music curriculum is based upon our Christian vision and first and foremost helps children to feel that they are musical, and to become rooted with a life-long love of music. We focus on developing the skills, knowledge and understanding that children need in order to fly as confident performers, composers, and listeners. Our curriculum introduces children to music from all around the world and across generations, teaching children to respect and appreciate the music of all traditions and communities.

It is our aim that all children will:

• Develop the musical skills of singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments;
• Improvise and compose music;
• Listen and respond to music;
• Understand of the history and cultural context of the music;
• Learn how music can be written down;
• Develop their performance skills.

How We Teach Music:

Music at By Brook Valley is taught using Kapow. It takes a holistic approach to music, in which the individual strands below are woven together to create engaging and enriching learning experiences. These include: performing, listening, composing, the history of music and the inter-related dimensions of music. Each unit combines these strands within a cross-curricular topic designed to capture pupils’ imagination and encourage them to explore music enthusiastically. Over the course of the curriculum, children will be taught how to sing fluently and expressively, and play tuned and untuned instruments accurately and with control. They will learn to recognise and name the interrelated dimensions of music - pitch, duration, tempo, timbre, structure, texture and dynamics - and use these expressively in their own improvisations and compositions.

As part of a broad and balanced music curriculum, all children will have the opportunity to watch live music performances either in person or online.