Music

How Music is taught at Arnot St Mary

At Arnot St Mary the intention is that children gain a firm understanding of what music is through listening, singing, playing, evaluating, analysing, and composing across a wide variety of historical periods, styles, traditions, and musical genres. Our objective at Arnot St Mary is to develop a curiosity for the subject, as well as an understanding and acceptance of the validity and importance of all types of music, and an unbiased respect for the role that music may wish to be expressed in any person’s life. We are committed to ensuring children understand the value and importance of music in the wider community, and are able to use their musical skills, knowledge, and experiences to involve themselves in music, in a variety of different contexts. Coverage will include:

• Children being taught to sing, listen, play, perform , evaluate and compose. Components are embedded through choir, classroom music-making, singing assemblies, Christmas performances, year group performances, whole-class ukulele lessons and after-school guitar lessons (Resonate Music Hub).
• Children being taught how to use musical language in order to study, dissect and analyse music so they can appreciate how it is created and played.
• Key skills and knowledge being taught progressively, so that children can build on their skills systematically, building on their musical knowledge from one year to the next.
• Pupils learning how to play a tuned instrument with a focus on  ukulele (LKS 2), glockenspiel, recorder and/ or percussion and being able to understand the principle of each method of creating notes, as well as beginning to read basic music notation.

Enrichment in Music

Our music curriculum takes into account issues of difference, including gender, race and ethnicity. Music from across different cultures is taught, listened to and dissected in the Charanga New Model Music Scheme. The curriculum provides space to play different styles and genres of music. Other all-inclusive, equal musical opportunities for children at Arnot St Mary include:

• Giving children a variety of wider curriculum musical experiences that will enhance and  influence their lives in a positive way.
• Our extra-curricular after-school music provision to learn guitar
• Whole-class tuition to learn to play the ukulele
• Being a member of the school choir and performing in school and in local community settings
• Opportunities to visit local concert venues and experience live orchestral performances
• Whole-school opportunities to watch, listen to and enjoy live-stream concerts performed by live orchestras.
• Having the opportunity to listen to teachers who are music specialists in the school in assemblies (harp and piano).
• Having a ‘live’ experience of an orchestral instrument in EYFS (harp) singing nursery rhymes
• Having the opportunity to lead other schools in a large scale performance in a concert hall venue (Liverpool Philharmonic Hall iSing 2022 event)

In recognition of the value we place on music and our commitment to offering a broad and balanced curriculum we are a Music Mark School.