Music gives a Soul to the Universe, Wings to the Mind, Flight to the Imagination, and Life to Everything

Subject Lead: Mrs D Plimmer 

Abbey Hulton Primary Music

Here at Abbey Hulton Primary School we aim to provide our pupils with the best opportunities to develop their musical skills and talent. We do this through a range of high quality, curriculum linked music sessions, taught by staff, through Charanga Music School. Charanga provides week-by-week units for each year group and every lesson provides a high quality and unique experience of listening, appraising and performing songs from different decades and of different genres.

Learning to Play an Instrument:

Our children all have access to quality instruments and each class is given a taught session on how to play a specific instrument. Nursery, reception and year 1 have sets of percussion instruments to use. These instruments help children to develop the basics in music such as pulse and beat. In year 2, children learn to play the ocarina, a small, hand held instrument that is blown like a recorder, to create songs. Year 3 are given descant recorder sessions and years 1- 6, are taught to play the glokenspiel through Charanga. 

We hope this will allow children to not only progress in music but develop a love of the subject. Every child is unique and playing music can unlock creativity in every child and adult. Music is the sound track to life and reflects the culture and society we live in, and learning music allows children to better understand their world.

But most of all, music is FUN!!

The National Curriculum

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

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

Intent: What are we trying to achieve in our school?

• Our aim is to ensure all of our pupils, from nursery to year 6, have the opportunity to explore, develop and enhance their musical abilities and to view themselves and others as talented individuals.
• We aim for our children to develop mastery in music, and will do this through repetitive based music sessions, where children learn about the same musical concepts through a variety of musical activities.
•  All children will have a weekly music session.
• Our children all have the opportunity to access and learn how to play a variety of instruments, which includes:

Nursery and reception: Percussion instruments

Year 1: Percussion instruments including boom whackers and glockenspiels.

Year 2: Ocarinas 

Years 3 Recorders 

Years 1-6: Glokenspiels  

• Children have access to a variety of music clubs to help them to develop confidence and team work, including Songbirds (years 1, 2 and 3) and recorder club (years 4,5,6)
• Through the teaching of music, we aim to provide our children with a selection of curriculum links to other subjects, including history and geography. Children will listen to, review and evaluate a range of music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including contemporary music and the works of the great composers and musicians using subject specific vocabulary relating to the musical elements; instrumentation, metre, rhythm, pitch, dynamics, tempo, texture, structure and melody. 

Implementation: How do we put our aims into practice?

• All staff will have long term plans issued at the beginning of each academic year and the opportunity to look through and change where appropriate.
• The plans are carefully designed to help children progress through the key stages of primary school, in order to develop children’s readiness for secondary education.
• Music has clear links to other subject topics and staff are able to make these links known to children through the scheme.
• As music lead, I aim to ensure all children have access to good quality instruments and music lessons.
• Staff have their own individual accounts on our Charanga Music Scheme, with the opportunity to access CPD and training, whenever it is required.

Impact

• We intend for all of our children to leave Abbey Hulton Primary school with a secure understanding of music.
• We aim for all children to have access to instruments and to be able to play a tuned instrument by the end of year 6.
• We want children to be able to read music confidently and name a variety of genres and performers, from modern day to classic.
• We want children to have opportunities to explore their musical talents, through playing instruments or singing as part of songbirds and to enjoy performing with and in front of others.
• We want children to feel proud of their musical achievements!
• For children to love music and reap the benefits of listening to and creating their own music.
• For children to go into higher education and want to explore music further.

Recent Events

Recorder Club

Our recorder club performed wonderfully at the Recorder Festival at the Victoria Hall, Hanley on Wednesday 22nd March this year and all pupils who took part received a certificate. If you could not make it to the concert, click the link below to see photos and videos of the day! Enjoy!

Stoke-on-Trent City Music Service | Stoke-on-Trent | Facebook 

https://twitter.com/StokeCMS 

City Songbirds

On the 28th June, 2023, our wonderful Songbirds took to the stage at The Victoria Hall to perform in their summer concert. It was a truly fantastic evening and it was amazing to see so many of our parents and carers attend the show. 

Upcoming Events

We are pleased to announce that our school will again be taking part in the City Music Service Recorder Festival in March 2024. Watch this space for links to buy your tickets and access more information. Actual date to be confirmed. 

Calling All Future Stars!!

After October half term, we will open our brand new after school choir club! We will be singing modern, popular songs with the aim of doing a performance at Christmas! Letters will be sent out in the next few weeks. So get those vocal chords warmed up and ready to go! 

Composer of the Month

Each month in school, we will be learning about a new composer. They will differ each month and will be a mixture of classical, modern, popular and other musical artists. Ask your child who the composer of this month is and what they know about them. 

Our current composer information can be found below for you to look at and share with your children. 

Our Long Term Plans