Music

Music in Your World: 

Music has the power to culturally, morally and emotionally influence our society. Music helps us make sense of our lives, express our feelings when we have no words and understand the world in which we live in. It opens us up to experience different cultures from different times and provides ways in which we can frame our experiences of the world. 

Our curriculum is designed with this in mind, designed to teach students skills they need to perform and analyse and appreciate a broad range of music and cultures. Our aim is to provide students with the experience of a range of different instruments so they can continue to develop a lifelong love of performing.  Our curriculum is a spiral curriculum, repeating key concepts, language and skills through different projects so that students build upon prior knowledge and skills, for example at the start of year seven students learn keywords to use when explaining the different parts of the music they are listening to, the use of these keywords does not change from topic to topic. A practical example might be developing dexterity in the right hand when playing a melody on the keyboard, this skill is developed with carefully chosen pieces throughout Key Stage 3. Where possible we try to arrange projects so that they link to similar learning in other subjects such as History, Performing Arts and Art and Design.

During Key Stage 3,  students study a broad range of musical styles including popular songs, jazz and musical theatre, film and television. This enables students to learn, and build upon a range of skills on their chosen instrument. Students learn about music from other cultures around the world so they can widen their experiences by being part of a Samba band or West African drumming circle. This enables them to understand different communities and spark an interest in other cultures and a wider world. This continues through Key Stage 4 with BTEC Music. 

Reading is a core component of the music curriculum. Activities to teach students how to read like a musician include reading to develop contextual understanding, analysis and understanding of song lyrics and evaluation of performances.  Alongside this, music supports the RSHE curriculum by developing personal growth and transferable skills such as group and team working, resilience, listening skills, self control and confidence.

Our curriculum provides students with opportunities to perform to the general public and work alongside professional bodies. This gives them genuine insight into working within the music and performance industry and supports both the RSHE and careers programmes.  We encourage students to attend a wide range of events and experience a broad range of music genres and have sequenced our curriculum to give our students the confidence and opportunity to become successful musicians.