Music has an essential place in our curriculum here at Christ Church CE Academy. Music has the wonderful ability to provide children with a unique opportunity to express their own emotions through both playing and listening to a variety of music. Through working practically in music lessons, children develop skills of performing, composing, listening and appraising, developing knowledge and understanding of the subject as an expressible medium.
We follow Kapow music from Foundation to Year 6. In Year 4 (KS2), children have the opportunity to learn to play the Ukulele over the course of the academic year; children are taught by a specialist music teacher from Musica Kirklees, and given the opportunity to perform in an end of year concert for the school and parents/carers. Children are then given the opportunity to continue with private lessons through Musica Kirklees.
Aims
Children will be encouraged to:
- develop confidence and self esteem,
- appreciate and enjoy a wide variety of musical experiences,
- develop a sensitive response to music,
- recognise the unique quality of musical sound,
- acquire fundamental musical skills,
- understand the basic elements of music (notation, dynamics, tempo),
- understand and use musical vocabulary,
- develop social skills and awareness through making music together,
- develop an awareness of musical traditions from different cultural and social origins,
- develop imagination and creativity through music,
- listen critically to a variety of styles of music,
- improvise and compose music in response to different stimuli,
- develop coordination skills,
- perform confidently in a group and individually,
- Be able to reflect on performances and respond appropriately to how they can develop their performance further,
Equipment
At Christ Church we are extremely fortunate to have a wide range of instruments we have built up over the years. It is an essential part of our curriculum that children are exposed to a variety of musical instruments and given the time to explore and enjoy the sounds they make. As part of our music curriculum, children should be given the opportunity to use instruments where appropriate.
In our school we currently have:
- Drum kit
- Electric drum kit
- Piano
- Glockenspiels
- Small wooden xylophone
Small hand help percussion:
- Cymbals
- Tambourine
- Triangle
- Claves
- Wood blocks
- Zills
- Guiro
Weekly Worship Singing Assemblies
Singing is an essential part of our curriculum. Singing supports language development, memory and can support children to express their emotions and develop emotional regulation. Additionally, singing has physical benefits such as supporting breathing and posture, as well as how to project their voice by using their diaphragm; allowing them to become confident in using their voice as an instrument.
Our weekly worship singing assemblies, the whole school joins together to sing our favourite school songs and hymns, as well as learning new songs for different seasons and some religious celebrations.
Private Music Lessons
Children from Reception to Year 6 are able to have a individual or small group instrumental lessons provided by specialist teachers from the council; Musica Kirklees. Musica instrumental lessons offered are: electric guitar, classical guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, piano, brass, woodwind, strings and voice. Lessons can be booked directly through Musica Kirklees at: https://www.musicakirklees.org/music-tuition
Achievements
We want children to achieve by:
- learning to perform to an audience, whether as a group or a soloist,
- developing control, accuracy and expression to play an instrument or to sing,
- using their voices or instrument to express themselves as people,
- experiencing a wide range of genres of music to become a well-rounded musician,
- becoming confident in their own ability and skills as a musician,
- using their voices to express their thoughts, feelings and opinions of different music.
Choices
To make children aware they have choices through:
- working with others to perform as part of a group,
- choosing from a variety of instruments to play,
- being confident in trying to learn a new instrument or voice,
- composing and improvising for a range of styles, making their own choices of which instruments and styles to use,
- expressing themselves as composers and improvisers, using their feelings and thoughts to create a piece of music.
Enjoyment
To enjoy Music our children need:
- to experience playing a wide range of instruments,
- to be given the opportunity to perform,
- to discuss and engage with ither children in class when listening or playing,
- to experience and appreciate different styles of music and to experience the feelings and emotions that music can evoke,
- to experience a range of live and recorded music.