Music

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

• Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated.

At Two Moors Primary School 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 acceptance of the validity and importance of all types of music, 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 use their musical skills, knowledge, and experiences to involve themselves in music, in a variety of different contexts. 

It is our intention that all students are also given the opportunity to learn to play an instrument and in doing so understand the different principles of each method of creating notes, as well as how to read basic music notation. Reception children will play tuned and untuned percussion instruments; children in Key Stage One will build on this and continue to play different percussion instruments; children in Lower Key Stage Two will learn to play the recorder and the ukulele; children in Upper Key Stage Two will then have the opportunity to learn a brass instrument (the process to get this started in currently underway - November 2024). We will also give all children to perform music to a live audience - namely singing. 

Children also learn how to compose focussing on different dimensions of music, which in turn feeds their understanding when listening, playing, or analysing music. Composing or performing using body percussion and vocal sounds is also part of the curriculum, which develops the understanding of musical elements without the added complexity of an instrument. 

We want our children to develop a love for music, and be excited for learning more about the subject as they move through, and beyond, our school.

The music curriculum, which is formed from the 'Sing Up' scheme of work ensures students sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate different styles and genres of music progressively throughout their time at school with us. 

These aspects are linked to all areas of the curriculum and are embedded in the classroom lessons as well as weekly singing assemblies, various concerts and performances and the learning of instruments. The elements of music are taught in the classroom so that children are able to use the language of music to dissect it, and understand how it is made, played, appreciated and analysed. 

Staff will be given CPD opportunities throughout the school year to develop their teaching of music through staff meeting time in order to get the most impact from our lessons. 

Whilst in school, children have access to a varied programme, which allows students to discover areas of strength, as well as areas they might like to improve upon. The integral nature of music and the learner creates an enormously rich palette from which a student may access fundamental learner profiles such as: being reflective, a communicator, open minded and a risk taker. They will also develop the attitudes of being curious, creative, confident, enthusiastic and have an appreciation for the music they both listen to and create themselves. Music will also develop an understanding of culture and history, both in relation to students individually, as well as ethnicities from across the world. Children are able to enjoy music, in as many ways as they choose- either as listener, creator or performer. They can dissect music and comprehend its parts. They can sing and feel a pulse. They have an understanding of how to further develop skills less known to them, should they ever develop an interest in their lives. 

A 

acappella music for voices only, without accompaniment 

accent stress or emphasise a note 

accidental any musical symbol that alters the pitch of a note, eg. a sharp, flat or natural 

accompaniment the music that supports the main melody 

arpeggio a chord where the notes are played in succession rather than at the same time 

B 

bar a rhythmic grouping consisting of the number and type of beats indicated by the time signature. Notated with vertical lines on the staff 

beat the regular basic unit of length in musical time 

blue note a particular kind of chromatic note which is characteristic of blues and jazz music (as seen in This little light of mine) 

body percussion using claps, stamps, slaps and tongue clicks etc. to create rhythmic patterns and sounds 

C 

call and echo a question and answer pattern in which a solo voice sings a phrase, and then a group of voices copies this phrase exactly 

call and response a question and answer pattern in which a solo voice sings a phrase, and then a group of voices responds by singing something different 

canon two or more parts overlapping in exact imitation (as seen in London’s burning) 

chant rhythmic speech 

chord two or more notes played at the same time 

chromatic note a note that is outside of the key (as seen in Mexican counting song) 

D 

D.C. al fine return to the beginning and finish at ‘Fine’ (Italian - ‘end’) 

Da Capo (D.C.) (Italian – ‘to the head’) return to the beginning 

dotted note where a dot is placed immediately after a note, indicating that the note’s rhythmic value is increased by half 

dotted rhythms where a dotted note precedes or is followed by a shorter note, creating a characteristic ‘tum-ti-tum-ti’ rhythm (as seen in Dr Knickerbocker ek, dho, teen!) 

downbeat the accented first beat of the bar 

drone a long sustained note or chord 

dynamics the loudness or softness of the music 

F 

flat a musical symbol that indicates lowering the pitch of a note by a semitone 

G 

glissando a rapid slide swooping up or down (plural = glissandi) 

I 

interval the pitch distance between two notes 

intonation the accurate pitching of musical notes (good intonation = being ‘in tune’) 

K 

key a tonal centre, based on one of the 24 major or minor scales. Some examples are C major or D minor 

key change a change from one tonal centre to another 

key signature sharps or flats, placed at the beginning of each system, to indicate the key of a piece of music 

L 

legato smooth melodic line 

M 

major key a tonal centre based on one of the 12 major scales 

major scale an eight note scale with a characteristically joyful sound 

melody a series of notes creating a distinctive and memorable sequence (often referred to as ‘the tune’) 

minor key a tonal centre based on one of the 12 minor scales 

minor scale an eight note scale with a characteristically melancholy sound 

N 

natural a musical symbol that cancels out any other accidental, indicating that the pitch of a note is neither sharp nor flat  

O 

ostinato a repeated rhythmic or melodic pattern 

P 

pedal note a note which is sustained against changing chords (as seen in The animal fair) 

pentatonic scale a five note scale 

percussion instruments that create sound by being struck, scraped or rattled 

pitch how high or low a musical note is 

pulse the regular beat of a piece of music 

R 

range the interval between the lowest and highest notes of a piece of music 

round another name for a canon 

S 

scale a series of notes in ascending or descending order 

scat non-verbal vocal improvisation, eg. ‘doo-be-doo’ etc. Often associated with jazz music (as seen in Sunshine in my heart or I wanna sing scat) 

Scottish snap (or ‘scotch snap’) a kind of dotted rhythm where the short note comes first, followed by the longer dotted note. (As seen in Roll the old chariot along) 

semitone the smallest interval in Western music, eg. between E and F, or A natural and A sharp 

sequence where a melody is stated and then repeated at increasing or decreasing pitches (as seen in In the autumn) 

sforzando a note or chord which is strongly accented, then fades away quickly 

sharp a musical symbol that indicates raising the pitch of a note by a semitone 

slur where a series of notes is played in succession, without separation. With singing, a slur is used when one syllable is sung to more than one note 

staccato short, detached notes, indicated with a dot underneath or above the note head 

staff (plural - staves) the five horizontal lines, divided vertically into bars, on which music is notated 

syncopation where rhythms fall just before or after the strong beat, creating a dance-like feel (as seen in Switching it on and Life is what you make it) 

system multiple staves that are bracketed together, indicating that they are meant to be played at the same time 

T 

tacet where the accompaniment stops playing for a prolonged period of time 

tempo the speed of the music 

time signature numbers on the staff, located at the start of a piece, that show the number and type of beats in each bar 

triplets a group of three notes having the time value of two notes of the same kind (as seen in Wreck of the Sloop John B.) 

tune a series of notes creating a distinctive and memorable sequence (also known as a ‘melody’) 

U 

unison where a group of voices are all singing together at the same pitch 

upbeat a weak beat preceding a strong downbeat (as seen in the first beat of A Keelie) 

V 

vocal percussion using the voice to imitate the sound of percussion instruments