Music
Overview
The music curriculum is carefully sequenced to provide a coherent subject scheme that develops children’s musical knowledge, skills and understanding over time. Using the Sparkyard Music Curriculum, learning is structured to ensure that key musical concepts are revisited and developed across each year group, building progressively on prior knowledge.
Music is centred around four key areas:
- Singing and performing
- Listening and appraising
- Composing and improvising
- Notation and musical understanding
These areas are interwoven across all projects, ensuring that children develop as confident and expressive musicians. The curriculum places a strong emphasis on singing, recognising it as a fundamental part of musical development and an accessible starting point for all children.
Key musical elements such as pulse, rhythm, pitch, dynamics, tempo, structure and timbre are revisited throughout the curriculum and developed in increasing depth. Children learn to recognise, use and apply these elements when performing, composing and listening to music.
Where possible, music is connected to wider learning and experiences, enabling children to explore music in meaningful and engaging contexts. The curriculum ensures full coverage of the National Curriculum and introduces children to a wide range of musical styles, genres and traditions.
Key Stage 1
In Key Stage 1, children begin by developing the fundamental building blocks of music through practical and engaging experiences.
Children learn to:
- Find and maintain a steady pulse
- Recognise and copy simple rhythms and pitch patterns
- Sing simple songs with increasing control and confidence
- Listen carefully and respond to different types of music
They explore music through:
- Movement and body percussion
- Singing familiar and new songs
- Playing simple instruments
- Creating and performing short musical ideas
Children begin to:
- Improvise simple rhythmic and melodic patterns
- Use graphic notation to represent sounds
- Talk about music using basic musical vocabulary
These early experiences ensure children develop confidence, enjoyment and a strong foundation for future musical learning.
Lower Key Stage 2
In Lower Key Stage 2, children build on their prior learning and begin to develop greater control, understanding and independence in music.
They learn to:
- Sing with increased accuracy, control and expression
- Play instruments with greater coordination and confidence
- Perform as part of an ensemble, maintaining their part within a group
- Listen to and evaluate a wider range of music
Children develop their understanding of:
- Musical structures such as call and response and simple forms
- The interrelated dimensions of music, including dynamics, tempo and timbre
- The role of different instruments and musical styles
In composition and improvisation, children:
- Create rhythmic and melodic patterns
- Begin to structure compositions
- Use notation (both graphic and standard) to record ideas
They are encouraged to evaluate their own and others’ work, using appropriate musical vocabulary to explain their thinking .
Upper Key Stage 2
In Upper Key Stage 2, children refine and apply their musical skills with increasing independence, confidence and creativity.
They learn to:
- Perform confidently as part of an ensemble, maintaining accuracy, fluency and expression
- Use their voices and instruments to create more complex musical pieces
- Understand and apply more advanced musical concepts
Children develop a deeper understanding of:
- Harmony, chords and musical structure
- A wide range of musical genres, traditions and historical contexts
- How music reflects culture, history and identity
In composition, children:
- Create more extended and structured pieces
- Combine rhythm, melody and harmony
- Use both informal and standard notation
They listen critically to music, comparing styles and evaluating performances using increasingly sophisticated musical vocabulary .
By the end of Key Stage 2, children are confident musicians who can perform, compose and appraise music with understanding and creativity.
Implementation
Music is taught through the Sparkyard Music Curriculum, which provides a clear and flexible sequence of lessons built around high-quality songs and musical experiences.
Lessons are:
- Structured in progressive steps across each term
- Based on practical, engaging musical activities
- Designed to build knowledge and skills over time
Teaching includes:
- Regular opportunities for singing and performance
- Listening to a diverse range of music
- Composing and improvising using voice and instruments
- Developing understanding of musical notation
Children are encouraged to:
- Work collaboratively
- Perform regularly to an audience
- Reflect on and improve their work
Teachers adapt lessons to meet the needs of their class while maintaining clear progression and coverage of key musical skills.
Impact
By the time children leave St Paul’s, they have developed:
- Confidence in singing and performing
- A secure understanding of key musical concepts
- The ability to compose, improvise and create music
- The skills to listen to and appraise music critically
Children can:
- Perform with accuracy, fluency and expression
- Use musical vocabulary to explain their ideas
- Work both independently and collaboratively
- Appreciate a wide range of musical styles and traditions
Children show clear progression over time, developing from early musical exploration to becoming confident, expressive and thoughtful musicians.
Most importantly, children develop a love of music and the confidence to express themselves creatively.