Music

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MUSIC PROGRESSION MAPclick here

At Highfield, we have an exciting creative curriculum. This includes outstanding Music opportunities for all children!

Music In The Curriculum

Music is a wonderful way to engage children throughout the curriculum, from singing ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’, to learn the parts of the body, to raps about 3D shapes! As well as teaching Music through other subjects, at Highfield we understand the importance of learning Music as a discrete subject. All children at Highfield are taught by a specialist Music teacher during the year and learn a range of skills which progress through each year group. It is also important for the children to learn and understand musical vocabulary and every year group has a word bank of musical terms they learn and use.

NATIONAL CURRICULUM

‘Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.’

CURRICULUM AIMS FOR MUSIC

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 inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

For more details about the Music National Curriculum, please follow this link: Primary National Curriculum Music

HIGHFIELD’S MUSIC CURRICULUM

Below are some of the expectations for each year group, outlining aims to analyse, representing sounds and notes, composing and performing.

Curriculum:

  • Year 1
  • Use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhyme
  • Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music
  • Play tuned and un-tuned instruments musically
  • Year 2
  • Use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
  • Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions.
  • Play tuned and un-tuned instruments musically
  • Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds
  • Year 3
  • Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts and continuing to improve their own work
  • Improvise and compose music for a range of purposes including making a repeated pattern
  • Appreciate, understand and evaluate a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions, composers and musicians
  • Use and understand musical notations e.g. crochet
  • Year 4
    Play and perform in solo/ ensemble contexts and suggest improvements to their own work and that of others.
  • Use and understand musical notations to record compositions
  • Develop an understanding of the history of music and understand the different purposes of music
  • Appreciate, understand and evaluate a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions, composers and musicians
  • Year 5
    Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts including maintaining their own part whilst others are performing theirs
  • Use and understand musical notations to record and compose groups of pitches (chords)
  • Appreciate and evaluate a wide range of styles of music by comparing and contrasting composers/ musicians
  • Develop musical vocabulary when explaining the history of music
  • Year 6
  • Appreciate and evaluate a wide range of styles of music by comparing and contrasting composers/ musicians across history and the impact they had at that time
  • Use and understand musical notations and devices to create a composition (melody, rhythm, chords)
  • Develop an understanding of how venue, occasion and purpose affect the way music is created and received
  • Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts

Charanga

Charanga is a fantastic online Music resource which we use to teach the Music curriculum. It contains lessons that teach a vast range of different styles of music, vocabulary and instrumental and singing skills and is accessible for all pupils. Charanga’s brilliant online hub, Yumu, can also be used for pupils to access at home to continue their learning. Access it here.

Drumming

At Highfield, we are lucky to own a set of djembe drums. Children throughout the school use the drums to learn rhythmic patterns and are taught how the drum can be used to create different tones and dynamics.

Glockenspiels and Ukuleles

As well as playing untuned instruments to understand rhythm and other musical elements, it is important for children to learn to play tuned instruments in order to understand pitch. At Highfield, the children have the opportunity to learn to play the glockenspiel. As they progress through the school, the ukulele is also taught. Both of these instruments are fundamental in allowing the children to explore pitch, hand and finger position and placement, dynamics and an array of other skills.

Music Markmusic mark logo

Recently, we were thrilled to receive a letter and a membership certificate from Music Mark. The Enfield Music Service recognised the high value we place on Music at Highfield and nominated us for membership! The membership entitles us to a range of resources our school can use to further improve our Music opportunities. Well done, Highfield!

 

 

 

Enfield Music Service

We are privileged to work with the Enfield Music Service, who helps Highfield to provide even more amazing musical opportunities. EMS – provide private music lessons  

 Each term, tutors from the Enfield Music Service come to our school to teach a variety of instruments to individual pupils. If you are interested in your child learning an instrument next term, please see the EMS website for details. https://traded.enfield.gov.uk/musicstore

Whole Class Instrumental Lessons

Our Year 4s thoroughly enjoy taking part in recorder lessons, which are run by a fantastic specialist EMS tutor. The children learn a variety of skills such as finger position and playing duets. 

SCHOOL SONG

Each term we have a school song which we focus on which is linked to our whole school topic. This will be played in assemblies and in the classrooms to encourage children to sing together and to embed music within our daily routine.

Singing Festivals

Each Spring term, children from KS1 take part in the Enfield Singing as One Festival. Highfield joins with other schools in the borough and sing a collection of songs together. 

Music Concerts

Over the past few years, Highfield has been treated to Music concerts performed by EMS tutors. We have watched a strings concert and have also been visited by a selection of woodwind instrument performers! At each concert, the specialist tutors play a variety of pieces of music and teach us about the instrument they are playing. We’ve had additional musical opportunities including a rock assembly where children got to learn about the different instruments and rock out!

Highfield School Choir 

For Autumn term, Highfield will be running a choir for KS1. Then in Spring term, the choir will be running for KS2. The choir is an inclusive environment to which all children are welcome. The choir is run by Miss Moody and meets weekly to learn new songs which are linked to our school values and topics. In recent years the choir has performed on a number of occasions; Highfield’s Christmas Tree lights launch, the Christmas assembly, the Easter assembly, the N21 Summer Festival and Highfield’s Summer Fete.

Useful Websites

We are looking forward to making more Music this year!

Miss Moody

Music Co-ordinator