At Queen Edith we understand the importance of exposing children to a wide variety of musical experiences. We believe music in school should engage and inspire children to develop a love of music as well as increase their self-confidence, creativity and a provide a sense of achievement. From Years 3-5 children learn the recorder, Year 5 children play African drums, and in Year 6 the children start learning the ukulele. As well as learning to play an instrument, the children will learn to sing and use their voices – through class singing, music assemblies and Christmas concerts / productions. They will also listen to a wide range of music and discuss who composed it, which period of history it comes from and the meanings behind a piece. Children also have the opportunity to create their own music, developing an understanding of pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations. Performance opportunities are provided in assemblies and concerts throughout the year.
In the Foundation Stage we encourage children to develop an interest in music as part of ‘Expressive Arts and Design’. Opportunities to explore sounds and instruments are available both in the classrooms and outdoor areas, so that children can experiment and have fun with music either with adults or as part of their play. We sing together every day. A wide variety of different kinds of music are provided for children to listen to and talk about – we welcome in parents to come in and share their musical skills with us!
|Y1||Long and short sounds.||Pitch and pulse.||Pitch.|
|Y2||Timbre, tempo, dynamics.||Rhythm, playing glockenspiel.||Exploring sounds, listening and understanding.|
|Y3||Recorders.||Rhythms and recorders.||Composition and recorders.|
|Y4||Descriptive sounds, listening and understanding.||Rhythmic patterns, composing raps.||Melodies and scales, recorders.|
|Y5||Egyptian music, glockenspiels.||African drumming, recorders.||Reading and understanding music, recorders.|
|Y6||Reading music, playing glockenspiels, recorders and ukuleles.||Composition and rhythm (inc. djembes), ukuleles||Tuned instruments, ukulele, notation.|
For more information please click on the link to view our Music Policy on our Policies page.
Early Years Choir is for children in Years 1 and 2 and run by Miss Strappelli. Absolutely everybody is welcome – no singing experience required!
Later Years Choir is for children in Years 5 and 6 and run by Miss Herbert. We sing a range of styles and are planning some exciting performance opportunities this year!
Some of our budding musicians offer to perform for us on our way into and out of singing assemblies. This is a great opportunity for the children to hear different instruments and a good opportunity for the musicians to learn to perform. It is wonderful to see the children in awe of their friends’ talents!