Why do we learn music?
Our music curriculum at Ark Franklin Primary School aims to inspire self-expression, creativity, and connection with others through music. We want to ignite a lifelong love for music by exposing our students to a range of musical experiences. We want to inspire students to become reflective musicians by listening to and responding to different musical styles, identifying their voices as singers and performers, and composing music.
Our approach
At Ark Franklin, we believe that Music is at the heart of our everyday lives. High quality music education is unparalleled in its ability to stimulate personal, emotional and intellectual development and motivate social change. Given the right conditions, we believe that every child can be a musician and enjoy improved life chances as a result.
We provide a progressive, inclusive and practical curriculum through which learners develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to both succeed academically and to enjoy a life-long relationship with music.
Reception
| Singing | Listening |
|---|---|
| Sing simple and well-known rhymes, poems and songs in a group. | Listen carefully to rhymes and songs, paying attention to how they sound. Move to music, mirroring the style and sounds. |
| Composing | Performing |
|---|---|
| Use basic classroom percussion instruments to express feelings and ideas. Create collaboratively. |
Engage in music making, performing both solo and in groups. |
| Musicianship |
|---|
| Move in time to the music, paying attention to tempo and pitch. |
All Reception subjects Next Reception Subject - Art and Design Technology
Year 1
| Singing | Listening |
|---|---|
| Sing simple songs, chants and rhymes from memory – singing collectively at the same pitch. Respond to simple visual directions – counting in, stop, start, louder, softer. Sing songs with a small range (5 notes, pentatonic songs) Sing call and response songs – controlling vocal pitch, matching heard pitches with accuracy. |
Practice active listening, developing a shared knowledge and understanding of the stories, origins, traditions, history and social context of pieces. |
| Composing | Performing |
|---|---|
| Improvise simple vocal chants using call and response. Create sound effects and short sequences of sounds in response to stimuli. Understand the difference between creating a rhythm pattern and a pitch pattern. Invent, retain and recall short rhythm and pitch patterns. Explore and invent graphic notation – using symbols to represent music. |
| Musicianship |
|---|
|
Pulse/Beat Walk, move and clap to a steady beat with others. Respond to a steady beat in recorded and live music. Be able to change the speed of the beat in line with changes in the tempo of the music. Play repeated ostinati to a steady beat. Rhythm Perform short, teacher-led copycat rhythms accurately. Pitch Compare high and low sounds in the school environment. |
All Year 1 subjects Next Year 1 Subject - Art and Design Technology
Year 2
| Singing | Listening |
|---|---|
| Sing simple songs with a small range with increasing vocal control and accurate pitching. Demonstrate changes in dynamics and tempo by responding to leader’s directions and visual symbols (crescendo, decrescendo, pause). |
Practice active listening, developing a shared knowledge and understanding of the stories, origins, traditions, history and social context of pieces. |
| Composing | Performing |
|---|---|
| Create music in response to non-musical stimuli. In partners, improvise, retain and recall simple call and response phrases on untuned percussion. Record composed pieces using graphic symbols, dot notation and stick notation. |
| Musicianship |
|---|
|
Pulse/Beat Understand that the speed of the beat can change, creating a faster or slower pace – tempo. Rhythm Play and lead copycat rhythms on untuned percussion. Pitch Accurately pitch voices from a melody played on a piano, acoustic instrument or backing track (not another voice). |
All Year 2 subjects Next Year 2 Subject - Art and Design Technology
Year 3
| Singing | Listening |
|---|---|
|
Sing a widening range of unison songs tunefully and with expressions. Perform forte and piano. Perform actions confidently and in time to action songs. |
Practice active listening, developing a shared knowledge and understanding of the stories, origins, traditions, history and social context of pieces |
| Composing | Performing |
|---|---|
|
Improvisation Improvise using voices, tuned and untuned percussion and instruments with a limited note range. Composition Combine known rhythmic notation with letter names to create rising and falling phrases using 3 notes. |
Play and perform melodies using staff notation using a small range (C-E). Correctly order phrases using dot notation. Individually copy stepwise melodic phrases with accuracy at different speeds (allegro/adagio) |
| Musicianship | |
|---|---|
|
Rhythm, Metre and Tempo Downbeats Fast (allegro) Slow (Adagio) Pulse Beat Pitch & Melody High Low Rising Falling Pitch range do-so Structure and Form Call and response Question phrase Answer phrase Echo Ostinato |
Harmony Drone Texture Unison Layered Solo Dynamics and Articulation Loud (forte) Quiet (piano) Instruments and Playing Techniques Instruments used in foundation listening. Reading Notation Introduce the stave, lines and spaces, and clef. |
All Year 3 subjects Next Year 3 Subject - Art and Design Technology
Year 4
| Singing | Listening |
|---|---|
| Sing a widening range of unison songs tunefully and with expressions. Perform forte and piano. Perform actions confidently and in time to action songs. |
Practice active listening, developing a shared knowledge and understanding of the stories, origins, traditions, history and social context of pieces |
| Composing | Performing |
|---|---|
|
Improvisation Improvise using voices, tuned and untuned percussion and instruments with a limited note range. Composition Combine known rhythmic notation with letter names to create rising and falling phrases using 3 notes. |
Play and perform melodies using staff notation using a small range (C-E). Correctly order phrases using dot notation. Individually copy stepwise melodic phrases with accuracy at different speeds (allegro/adagio) |
| Musicianship | |
|---|---|
|
Rhythm, Metre and Tempo Accelerando Rallentando Bar Metre Pitch & Melody Pentatonic scale Major and minor tonality Pitch range do-do Structure and Form Rounds and partner songs Repetition Contrast Harmony Static Moving |
Texture Duet Melody Accompaniment Dynamics and Articulation Crescendo Decrescendo Legato Staccato Instruments and Playing Techniques Instruments used in foundation listening including playing techniques. Reading Notation Understand the difference between minims, crotchets, paired quavers and rests. |
All Year 4 subjects Next Year 4 Subject - Art and Design Technology
Year 5
| Singing | Listening |
|---|---|
| Sing a broad range of songs with a sense of ensemble and performance. Observe phrasing, accurate pitching and appropriate style. Sing 3 part rounds, partner songs and songs with a verse and a chorus. |
Practice active listening, developing a shared knowledge and understanding of the stories, origins, traditions, history and social context of pieces |
| Composing | Performing |
|---|---|
|
Improvisation Improvise freely over a drone using tuned percussion and melodic instruments. Composition Compose melodies made from pairs of phrases in C major or A minor. |
Play melodies following staff notation using an octave range, gradually increasing in independence. Understand how triads are formed and play them on pitched percussion or a melodic instrument to accompany a known song. Develop the skill of playing by ear, copying longer phrases and familiar melodies. |
| Musicianship | |
|---|---|
|
Rhythm, Metre and Tempo Simple time Compound time Syncopation Pitch & Melody Full diatonic scales Different keys Structure and Form Ternary form Verse and chorus form Music with multiple sections Harmony Triads Chord progressions Texture Music in 3 and 4 parts Dynamics and Articulation Fortissimo Pianissimo Mezzo forte Mezzo piano Instruments used in foundation listening including playing techniques and effects (pizzicato, tremolo) |
Dynamics and Articulation Fortissimo Pianissimo Mezzo forte Mezzo piano Instruments used in foundation listening including playing techniques and effects (pizzicato, tremolo) Reading Notation Understand the difference between semibreves, minims, crotchets, paired quavers, semiquavers and rests. |
All Year 5 subjects Next Year 5 Subject - Art and Design Technology
Year 6
| Singing | Listening |
|---|---|
| Sing a broad range of songs that involve syncopated rhythms. Observe rhythm, phrasing and accurate pitching in an appropriate style. Sing 3 and 4 part rounds, positioning singers randomly in a group to develop greater listening skills, vocal independence and balance between parts. |
Practice active listening, developing a shared knowledge and understanding of the stories, origins, traditions, history and social context of pieces |
| Composing | Performing |
|---|---|
| Improvisation Create music with multiple sections that include repetition and contrast. Use chord changes as part of an improvised sequence. Extend improvised melodies beyond 8 beats over a fixed groove. Composition Plan and compose 8 or 16 beat melodic phrases using the pentatonic scale and incorporate rhythmic variety and interest. Play and notate composed melodies. Compose melodies made from pairs of phrases in G major or E minor. Enhance melodies with rhythmic and chordal accompaniments. Compose a ternary piece, record it and discuss how musical contrasts are achieved. |
Independently play melodies following staff notation using an octave range. Make decisions about dynamic range. Accompany melodies using block chords or a bassline. Engage with others through ensemble playing. |
| Musicianship | |
|---|---|
|
Rhythm, Metre and Tempo Simple time Compound time Syncopation Pitch & Melody Full diatonic scales Different keys Structure and Form Ternary form Verse and chorus form Music with multiple sections Harmony Triads Chord progressions Texture Music in 3 and 4 parts |
Dynamics and Articulation Fortissimo Pianissimo Mezzo forte Mezzo piano Instruments used in foundation listening including playing techniques and effects (pizzicato, tremolo) Reading Notation Understand the difference between semibreves, minims, crotchets, paired quavers, semiquavers and equivalent rests. Read and play confidently from rhythm notation cards and rhythmic scores in up to 4 parts. Read and play from notation a four bar phrase, confidently identifying note names and durations. |
All Year 6 subjects Next Year 6 Subject - Art and Design Technology