Music

Statement of Intent

At Whitehall, our vision is to deliver a rich, varied and culturally relevant Music Curriculum. Music is an art form: a gateway to our emotions. We aim to deliver a curriculum that engages all of the children at Whitehall through passionate teaching, the use of local musicians and artists and through immersive experiences which provide cross-curricular links. The music that we hear, engage with and perform should allow our children to understand better the world of music while also celebrating the school and city’s culture. Our expansive curriculum should include wonderful world music, the chronology of music and the inter-related dimensions of music. The children of Whitehall will not only leave as musicians, but creative thinkers, problem solvers, team players and enriched individuals too.

At Whitehall Primary School, we believe that all children should develop a greater understanding and appreciation of music. We will achieve this through the careful implementation of our chosen scheme of work: The Bristol Primary Music Curriculum (made by Bristol-based musicians and teachers at Bristol Beacon). At Whitehall Primary School, we believe that all children should develop a greater understanding and appreciation of music. We will achieve this through the careful implementation of our chosen scheme of work: The Bristol Primary Music Curriculum (made by Bristol-based musicians and teachers at Bristol Beacon). Our children will learn about the inter-related dimensions of music (pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and structure) and different genres. We aspire to teach children how to read music in graphic and notated forms and play different instruments, from tuned to untuned percussion. Our Music Curriculum will allow our children to focus on their cultural capital through cross-curricular and contextually relevant material and stimuli. Children will be taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They will develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory.

Children will 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 inter-related dimensions of music
• Listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
• Use and understand staff and other musical notations (for example, graphic scores)
• 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. Children will build on skills and knowledge through each Key Stage, drawing on prior learning to inform their current. This will help ensure progression throughout their time at Whitehall.

Key documents

Mr Lee and Sulcata Tortoise Class learning about Rhythm with crotchets, rests and a recorder for good measure!

Even teachers need to learn sometimes! Whitehall teachers have a go at composition using tuned and untuned percussion. Listen to the audio clip of teachers having a go at singing a song called 'Freedom Train'.

Year 5 Armadillo Class had a go at it too... what do you think?