Music
At Queen Emma we follow the National Curriculum for Music and to provide our children with a wide range of musical experiences. Initially our children learn to use their voices expressively and creatively as well as playing tuned and untuned instruments. As they progress through the school, they all have the opportunity to learn the recorder, ukulele, glockenspiel and some children learn other instruments through additional lessons. They have opportunities to listen to, and evaluate, the music of a variety of composers and musicians from different periods of history and genres of music. They also have the opportunity to create their own music, developing an understanding of pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations. We also enjoy celebrating children’s achievements by encouraging them to perform to an audience. In addition, the children develop their skills in our weekly music assembly and through performing in school productions.
Yearly Overview
| Autumn | Spring | Summer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Y1 | Long and short sounds. Christmas Concert | Pulse. Pitch | Pitch |
| Y2 | Exploring duration. Exploring pulse and rhythm (ocarina and glockenspiel) | Exploring timbre. Tempo and dynamics. Exploring instruments and symbols | Exploring sounds, timbre of different materials (ocarina and glockenspiel) |
| Y3 | Recorders | Recordings Composition | Sea shanties. Recorders |
| Y4 | Recorders. Rhythmic patterns. Composing raps | Melodies and scales. Recorders | Descriptive sounds. Listening and understanding |
| Y5 | Recorders Listening and understanding Music | Glockenspiels. Beats | African drumming. Egyptian music |
| Y6 | Swing and big band music. Song cycle performance | Ukuleles and glockenspiels. Beat | Tuned instruments, ukulele and glockenspiels. Performing |
For more information please click on the link to view our Music Policy on our Policies page.
Choir
KS2 children may be involved in a Middle Years and Later Years choir. Children develop their understanding of musical notation and part singing. They are encouraged to develop their confidence through singing together, helping in music assemblies and performing to an audience.
For the past two years, Queen Emma has been involved in Singfest, which enables choirs from different schools to have an opportunity to learn about and perform Opera, as well as other genres of music. In the Autumn term, two professional opera singers visited the school and performed to and with the children to inspire them. So far, they have taken part in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and more recently, ‘Orpheus and Eurydice.’
Additional Lessons
There are currently opportunities for children to learn piano, violin, guitar and ukulele through additional lessons. Please see the ‘Clubs’ area of the website for contact details of the relevant teachers.
Examples Of Learning
Year 5
Year 5 have been learning how to play some tunes on the glockenspiels. We have learnt how to play Hot Cross Buns and Row, Row, Row Your Boat. We also worked with our table partner to compose a piece of music that either told the journey of a river or represented jobs and daily life in an Anglo-Saxon village. We really enjoyed listening to everyone’s performances.