Music Matters

Music plays such an important role in the development of children.  Music is an outlet of expression and an opportunity for emotional response.  It instils important life values such as discipline, cooperation and social skills, which builds character.  Music not only aids in development but also in movement, memory, language and communication.   The well known saying “Music is a universal language” is so true – everyone can communicate through this art form.  Music brings children together.  It creates a sense of school spirit and a musical community, which in turn provides children with a sense of self-worth, cultural value, positivity and belonging. 

Music Education

At Jerounds we are passionate about enabling every child to access a varied and inspiring music curriculum.

Pupils in all year groups sing every week for, on average, forty minutes.  Songs are sung in unison and in parts, becoming more challenging as they progress through the school.  Songs are practised for assemblies, special events, concerts and just for fun.

Vocal health is a key factor in each singing session.  Our wonderfully versatile voices must be looked after, therefore various warm up exercises and vocal gymnastic activities are performed at the start of each session.

Listening to recorded music is an important aspect of every music lesson.  Pupils are introduced to a wide range of music, from different musical periods, styles, countries and composers.  They learn the names of musical instruments and watch these performed on the internet.  Pupils discuss their likes and dislikes about the music they hear, respecting each other’s opinions.  They are introduced to key musical vocabulary to describe sounds heard.   Listening to music develops pupils’ concentration, focus and curiosity.  Appraising music develops their language, communication and vocabulary.  These crucial skills are transferable into all other subject areas. 

In addition to their weekly singing session, each year group has a weekly music lesson.  Children are taught by both their class teacher and a music specialist.  Music is taught as a discrete subject but also provides links to other areas of the curriculum. 

Below is a summary of the rich music curriculum that is delivered at Jerounds:

• EYFS and Year 1 are taught music through an online scheme called ‘Charanga’ - an award winning and modern music resource.
• Year 2’s music provision is based on African drumming and untuned percussion accompaniments.
• Year 3 receive their music entitlement in the form of recorder tuition. In this way all children have the chance to learn a musical instrument and learn to read music.  This is something we consider important in our school. As a result, the standard of recorder playing has risen.  Children are actively encouraged to read music as well as playing by ear and from memory.  This secure foundation then becomes a spring board for children to learn a whole host of other musical instruments and to develop a life-long appreciation for music.
• Year 4 develop their musical skills through tuned percussion, musical games and 'toot' tuition.  Essex Music Hub provide one free term of instrumental tuition, and the school funds the following two terms.  Their knowledge of reading music will develop as they learn to read and write standard notation.
• Year 5 is taught how to play the ukulele – this small yet superb instrument will develop their ability to play in a group and explore the key musical elements.
• Year 6's music lessons will incorporate ICT through the use of music apps such as 'Quickbeats' and 'O-Generator'.  These resources introduce the children to music mixing, building and loops.  Their lessons also build on their theory of music through written and practical activities.

The music curriculum is based around the key musical skills of Listening and Appraising, Theory of Music, Creating and Exploring, and Performing.

Our planning follows the statutory guidance of the ‘National Curriculum In England: Music programmes of study’: 

Aims

The national curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:

• perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
• learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
• understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the interrelated dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations

Subject content

Key stage 1

Pupils should be taught to:

• use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
• play tuned and untuned instruments musically
• listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
• experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the interrelated dimensions of music

Key stage 2

Pupils should be taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They should develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory.

Pupils should be taught to:

• play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression
• improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the interrelated dimensions of music
• listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
• use and understand staff and other musical notations
• appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians
• develop an understanding of the history of music

Music Enrichment

 The enrichment of the curriculum is developed through:

• Children will be given opportunities to participate in a variety of musical clubs during their time at Jerounds.  The focus changes, with past examples being recorder club, keyboard club, ukulele club, music ICT club, outside music club, KS1 choir and KS2 choir.
• Children have the opportunity to learn an instrument with Essex Music Hub tutors.  We loan out flutes free of charge, and other instruments can be loaned through EMH at an incredibly reasonable rate.  Using pupil premium funding we actively encourage all FSM children to have free instrument lessons. 
• Children who learn an instrument at Jerounds are given the opportunity to join 'Harlow Juniors' after school music group, run by EMH.  Here they develop their musicianship and enjoy performing on a range of instruments.
• Music is celebrated in school and children are given opportunities to showcase their skills during lunchtime recitals, assemblies and class music lessons.