Music and the new curriculum 2014Subject specific guidance produced by the

Wandsworth Music Curriculum Development Group

Guidance Contents

• Music history and repertoire• Notations• Inter-related dimensions• Instrumental learning• ICT• Assessment and progression without

levels• Omissions• Further resourcing

Music history and the musical canon*

The new curriculum makes various references to the history of music and the works of great composers and musicians.

• Purpose of study: ‘As pupils progress, they should … listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.’

• Aims: ‘All pupils should 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.’

• KS2: ‘Pupils should be taught to appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians.’

* Canon: a collection of music (or literature or art) that is permanently established as being of the highest quality. There are, of course, value judgements to be made in compiling such a list, which is why the ability to articulate why you have chosen music for your curriculum is so important.

Music history and the musical canon cont.

The curriculum development group (CDG) highlighted the importance of:

• Ensuring that a range of musical genres and styles is included within curricular and other provision (e.g. assembly music). E.g. western classical, modern, popular and world cultural traditions should all feature in a progressive music plan for KS1 and KS2.

• Planning for the development of pupils’ oracy and critical thinking skills so that they are able to articulate their responses to music. E.g. embed opportunities for partner talk and / or Philosophy4Children (P4C) strategies within music lessons.

• Creating opportunities for pupils to engage in a detailed study of ‘great’ works, perhaps through an orchestral outreach programme.

The final outcome should be that pupils are confident to feel ownership of and critically engage with all kinds of music and to articulate their views about the music they listen to, with understanding of its context and meaning.

Notations*References to notation in the new curriculum:

• Aims: understand how music is created, produced and communicated, including through … appropriate musical notations.

• KS2: use and understand staff and other musical notationsNote the importance of:• The plural ‘notations’. This means that pupils should have the

opportunity to learn about staff (traditional) notation and also other forms, e.g. graphic notation which uses pictures, shapes and symbols to record musical ideas or rhythm grids used to represent beats and rhythms.

• The absence of a mention of notation at KS1. We strongly advise the introduction of some forms of notation from Y1 in order to ensure the progressive development of skills and understanding. Staff notation can be simplified and graphic notation can easily be used by young children to represent the sounds they play.

* Notation is any way of representing sound visually. The traditional form that uses five lines (stave), crotchets and quavers, etc., is called staff notation.

Examples of graphic notation:

Examples of ways into understanding staff notation for younger children:

Notation shows the pulse or beat Notation shows the rhythm of the words

Notation shows high & low pitch

This example shows how children can begin to read rhythm notation by learning traditional songs or rhymes.

This example shows how syllables can be used to chant rhythms.

Examples of rhythm grid notation:

These examples show how computer programmes can be used to develop notation skills. E.g. Charanga, Groovy Music by Sibelius or 2Simple Music Toolkit.

Inter-related DimensionsThis is a new term that refers to:

• Pitch (high and low)• Duration (long and short)• Dynamics (loud and soft)• Tempo (fast and slow)• Timbre (the quality of the sound, e.g. rough or smooth)• Texture (the number of layers in the sound, e.g. thin or thick)• Structure (how musical ideas are organised, e.g. verse & chorus)• Appropriate musical notations (how music is written down)

In the previous music curriculum, these dimensions were called ‘musical elements’. The terminology has changed to emphasise the way that all these aspects of music connect to each other. It is important that individual elements are not taught in isolation, but rather that links are made continuously between these different musical characteristics. This may have implications for the organisation of schemes of work if pupils currently learn about one musical element at a time.

Instrumental LearningThe new curriculum stands alongside the National Plan for Music Education, 2011, in clearly stating the aim:

‘that all pupils have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument … and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence.’

At KS2, 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.’• Solo and ensemble: this means creating opportunities for pupils to sing or play

instruments on their own as well as in small groups, classes or phases.• Singing and playing instruments is a requirement at KS2. This could include

orchestral instruments or instruments such as the recorder, ukelele or ocarina that lend themselves well to primary tuition. It could also include tuned percussion instruments, such as xylophones and glockenspiels.

• Progression: Pupils must be given opportunities to make progress. This means careful re-consideration of one-off workshops or short courses of tuition that only last one term, for example. It also means exploring the possibility of continuing small group tuition for children who wish to progress beyond an initial year of learning or embedding ongoing opportunities to play tuned percussion, for example, within the curriculum scheme of work.

Music and technologyThe new curriculum makes scant reference to the role of technology:‘The NC for music aims to ensure that all pupils learn to … use technology appropriately.’Ofsted strongly advises that schools should use technology to ‘promote creativity, widen inclusion, and make assessment more musical by:• Significantly improving the use of music technology to record,

store, listen to and assess pupils’ work• Placing greater emphasis on pupils’ musical development through

the use of technology – with the acquisition of technical skills and knowledge supporting, rather than driving, musical learning

• Making more creative and effective use of music technology to support performing and listening work.’

(Ofsted Report 2012: Music in Schools: Wider Still, and Wider)

Further helpful information and resources can be found at www.teachingmusic.org.uk. Visit the ‘ITT Primary Music & Guidance’ resources by clicking on the blue square icon to the right of the home page. There is a whole section on Music Technology there.

Assessment and Progression without LevelsSchools will wish to develop their own systems of recording summative assessments across non-core subjects, however, more important than this is to develop high-quality formative assessment within every music lesson.

For example:

Listening to a group of pupils composing a piece using classroom instruments, and helping them structure their piece of music.

Discussing with pupils what atmosphere is created by a piece of music they are listening to.

Helping a group of pupils sort out where to breathe in a song they are rehearsing.

Martin Fautley, Reader in Education at Birmingham City University, has written extensively about AfL in music and his work can also be found at www.teachingmusic.org.uk.

OmissionsBroader cultural emphasis that is inclusive of

modern forms of music making likely to be valued and relevant to pupils

Use of notation at KS1

Music and technology

Responding to music through different media, e.g. art, movement or drama. However, this is essential to achieve a deeper, critical understanding of music, particularly for younger children.

Further Resources www.teachingmusic.org.uk

www.tes.co.uk: join the primary music resources group

dstowe@wandsworth.gov.uk: David Stowe is the Head of Wandsworth Schools’ Music Service and can signpost you to borough-wide music provision.

www.musicforchange.org or www.inspire-works.co.uk: high-quality world music workshops for schools

www.cavatina.net: Free chamber music concerts for schools

London Symphony Orchestra; Wigmore Hall; Southbank Centre; Royal Opera House: all offer schools’ concerts and orchestral outreach programmes.