Reception
Music learning in Reception encourages children to explore their voices and movement while developing early musical skills. They experiment with vocal play, discovering the range and capabilities of their voices through singing and call-and-response activities. Children begin to recognize pitch by singing and playing melodies that rise and fall, and they build confidence by performing songs alongside simple dance sequences. Developing a sense of beat is central to their learning, as they engage in clapping games, body percussion patterns, and movement activities that enhance rhythmic awareness. Through active listening, they respond to music in creative ways, including improvising vocal soundscapes and interpreting classical pieces through dance. Using tuned and untuned percussion instruments, children learn to play accompaniments and identify changes in tempo, refining their ability to recognize musical elements. This foundation nurtures their enjoyment of music, encouraging expressive movement, creativity, and a growing appreciation for sound and rhythm.
Year One
Music learning in Year 1 helps pupils develop their musical awareness, vocal control, and rhythmic confidence. Through simple chants, rhymes, and call-and-response songs, they learn to sing together at the same pitch while responding to visual cues like stop, start, loud, and quiet. Pupils begin exploring pitch through songs with small ranges and pentatonic melodies, gradually increasing their ability to match pitch accurately. They build an understanding of music’s history, traditions, and social context by listening to recorded performances and engaging with stories behind different pieces. Improvisation plays a key role as they create vocal chants using question-and-answer phrases, compose sound effects and sequences to tell stories, and experiment with rhythm and pitch patterns. Using music technology, pupils explore capturing and altering sounds while recognizing how graphic notation represents music. Movement helps them internalize pulse and tempo, as they walk, clap, or dance in response to changes in beat. Through body percussion and classroom instruments, they practice maintaining a steady beat, performing rhythm patterns, and comparing high and low sounds from their environment. As they follow symbols to guide their singing and playing, pupils develop their ability to engage with music creatively and expressively.
Elsie-Mae says she enjoys music because we learn about different songs. Her favourite is ‘You are my sunshine’ because she likes the words.
Year Two
Music learning in Year 2 builds pupils' confidence in singing, rhythm, and creative composition. They regularly sing songs with a pitch range of do-so (C-G), developing vocal control and accuracy. Through interactive activities, they learn to recognize and demonstrate dynamics (loud/quiet) and tempo (fast/slow), responding to visual symbols and leader direction. Pupils deepen their understanding of music’s origins, traditions, and social contexts by listening to recorded performances and discussing the stories behind songs. They create music in response to non-musical stimuli such as storms or rocket launches, using instruments and vocal improvisation to bring ideas to life. Working with partners, they compose simple question-and-answer phrases on untuned percussion, engaging in musical conversations. Pupils begin using graphic, dot, and stick notation to record their compositions, exploring how written symbols can represent sounds. Music technology allows them to capture, change, and combine sounds creatively. As they recognize how tempo can change the speed of a beat, they practice marking rhythms by tapping, clapping, and walking to music, reinforcing coordination and shared movement. They develop rhythm awareness by grouping beats in twos and threes, identifying strong beats in familiar songs, and performing copycat rhythms with a leader. Through chanted rhythm patterns and singing games based on intervals, pupils refine their pitch recognition, responding to changes with actions and matching three-note tunes to dot notation. By engaging in singing, playing, and movement-based activities, they grow as confident, expressive musicians.
Year Three
Music learning in Year 3 helps pupils develop confidence in singing, improvisation, composition, and instrumental performance. They sing a range of unison songs with increasing tunefulness and expression, exploring dynamic contrasts such as forte and piano. Action songs support their ability to perform movements in time, while activities in walking, clapping, and moving to a steady beat strengthen their sense of tempo. Pupils build an understanding of music’s origins, traditions, and social contexts by listening to recorded performances and discussing historical influences. They enhance their improvisation skills by creating short musical responses using voices, tuned and untuned percussion, and other instruments. Composition tasks encourage them to structure musical ideas with clear beginnings, middles, and endings, inspired by stories, verse, images, and musical sources. They combine rhythmic notation with letter names to create simple melodic phrases using do, re, and mi, and compose song accompaniments on untuned percussion using familiar rhythms. As they develop instrumental skills, pupils learn to play melodies on tuned percussion or melodic instruments like ukuleles and recorders, following staff notation with a small pitch range. Listening activities help them order phrases using dot notation, recognizing different arrangements of notes. They refine their ability to copy stepwise melodic phrases at different speeds, extending to question-and-answer patterns. Pupils are introduced to key musical concepts such as the stave, clef, and differences between crotchets and paired quavers, applying word chants to rhythms to connect language and musical notation. Through these activities, they build a solid foundation in musical understanding, creativity, and performance.
Millie says she really likes music lessons because she loves singing!
Year Four
Music learning in Year 4 helps pupils develop greater vocal confidence, instrumental skills, and compositional creativity. They sing a broad range of unison songs spanning an octave, refining their pitch accuracy and responding to dynamic directions such as crescendo and decrescendo. Through rounds and partner songs, pupils begin to explore vocal harmony, singing in different time signatures while incorporating small and large leaps in their melodies. They deepen their knowledge of music’s origins, traditions, and history, engaging with recorded performances to understand social and cultural contexts. As they progress in instrumental learning, pupils improvise within a limited pitch range, experimenting with legato and staccato techniques while making compositional decisions about structure. They compose short pentatonic phrases and arrange notation cards to create rhythmic patterns, developing an understanding of note values such as minims, crotchets, and quavers. Composition tasks challenge them to use music expressively, exploring how mood and storytelling can be conveyed through sound. Pupils are introduced to major and minor chords, expanding their instrumental abilities and broadening their creative possibilities. Using graphic symbols, rhythm notation, staff notation, and technology, they record their musical ideas and refine their compositions. They develop facility in playing a selected instrument over time, performing melodies from staff notation, playing in ensembles with melody and accompaniment, and identifying static and moving musical parts. By following rhythmic scores and maintaining steady beats, pupils build ensemble skills and confidence, preparing them for more advanced musical experiences.
Year Five
Music learning in Year 5 helps pupils develop their musicality, ensemble skills, and creative composition. They sing a broad range of songs with accurate pitching, phrasing, and style, building confidence in group performance. They explore three-part rounds, partner songs, and pieces with verses and choruses, strengthening their ability to sing harmoniously. Pupils deepen their understanding of music's origins, traditions, and social significance by listening to recorded performances and discussing historical influences. Improvisation plays a key role, as they create melodies over drones and simple grooves, experimenting with dynamics from fortissimo to pianissimo. Composition tasks challenge them to structure melodies in C major or A minor, using chords and rhythmic accompaniments to enhance their work. They collaborate in pairs to compose ternary pieces, using music to evoke moods, set scenes, or accompany silent films. Pupils record their ideas through graphic notation, rhythm symbols, and music technology. Instrumental learning progresses as they play melodies and accompaniments using tuned percussion, keyboards, or other melodic instruments, following staff notation. They explore triads, perform in mixed ensembles, and refine their ability to play by ear, copying familiar melodies. Reading and understanding notation advances as they identify semibreves, minims, crotchets, and different time signatures, applying their knowledge to sight-reading short rhythmic phrases. Through these diverse activities, pupils develop creativity, confidence, and a deeper appreciation for music.
Amara says music is important to her because it helps her to calm down when she is frustrated.
Alfie says he likes his music lessons because there are so many different types of music and instruments that he gets to learn about!
Year Six
Music learning in Year 6 supports pupils in developing advanced vocal, instrumental, and compositional skills, preparing them for confident musical performances. They sing a broad repertoire, incorporating syncopated rhythms, accurate pitching, and expressive phrasing as part of a choir, strengthening their ensemble awareness. Experimenting with three- and four-part rounds and partner songs, they refine their listening skills, balancing vocal harmonies while building independence. Pupils deepen their understanding of music’s history, traditions, and social context, engaging with recorded performances to analyze different styles. In composition, they create multi-section pieces that include repetition and contrast, improvising melodies beyond eight beats over a fixed groove and using chord changes to enhance musical structure. They plan and compose pentatonic melodic phrases, performing and notating them using tuned percussion or orchestral instruments. Pupils explore G major and E minor in their compositions, adding rhythmic or chordal accompaniments for depth. Using music software, they record and refine ternary pieces, discussing musical contrasts. Instrumental work strengthens their ability to play melodies from staff notation, applying dynamic markings from pianissimo to fortissimo and accompanying with chords or bass lines. Ensemble playing fosters collaboration, with pupils taking on melody and accompaniment roles. They refine their notation skills, confidently reading and performing rhythm patterns, identifying note names and durations, and understanding time signatures. Across these activities, pupils build confidence, creativity, and musical awareness, preparing them for a lifelong appreciation of music.
Drumming Workshop 2024
The Choir
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