Music
Our vision at Swainswick is for music to be fully embedded in all parts of school life. We aim to provide a musical education which inspires pupils to develop a life-long love of music and encourages creativity, self-expression and imagination.
Intent
At Swainswick Primary school, we understand the value and significance of music to everyday life and how we experience the world around us. Our aim is to provide a music curriculum which will engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians. We intend to make music accessible to all pupils and provide them opportunities to experience a wider range of musical styles and instruments, develop technical experience and create their own music.
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We will focus on developing the children’s ability to understand rhythm and follow a beat through songs and games, helping them to develop music skills including singing, play tuned and untuned instruments, listening and responding to music and will focus on developing composition skills.
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Where appropriate, our curriculum drivers (well-being, effective communication, creativity and expression and global responsibility) are woven throughout our Music curriculum to enhance learning and promote positive attitudes to learning which reflects the values and skills needed to promote responsibility for life-long learning and success.
The music curriculum at Swainswick is supported by the Charanga Music Scheme and has been carefully planned to support the progression of skills. This scheme is taught to children by a music specialist.
Music lessons occur weekly and classes are divided into year groups. In each lesson, children will actively engage in musical activities and dance in a range of styles and traditions, to develop their music skills and understanding. Lessons use a range of strategies, including independent tasks, paired work or group work, including improvisation,
In Key stage 1, the children are taught to use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes. They play tuned and untuned instruments musically, following a conductor’s instructions. They explore the inter-related dimensions of music and listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music. Composition tasks give them the opportunity to experiment with creating, selecting and combining sounds to imitate and communicate a particular creative idea.
Key stage 2 Pupils are taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence, accuracy, fluency and expression. Class instrumental performance pieces are learned on the recorder and ukulele, glockenspiels, keyboard and drums, using both staff notation and tablature.
Children are given regular opportunities to perform. Music lessons build towards performances at Christmas, Easter, concerts and class productions, allowing children to apply their learning and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As a Church of England School, we use music for listening and singing in collective worship.
Peripatetic music lessons are available - see the document below for more information.
Peripatetic Music lessons
Information is provided here directly from each of our visiting music teacher team. ALL lessons are provided in school, but the arrangement is directly between the visiting teacher and the parent. Parents should email the teachers with emails here. All are in the school day.
Piano, Drums, Singing, Ukulele, Guitar, Bass (small group subject to availability)
George Wilson – keyboard and singing
Jamie Williams – drums, guitar and bass ukulele
Email: info.wilsonmusic@gmail.com or jamiephilipwilliams94@gmail.com
Lessons will cover a range of genres and styles of playing. Children may learn to play as soloists and as part of an ensemble. They may learn to read music notation which will enable the children to join orchestras and bands. It is possible to follow the standard graded progressions across a selection of music exam boards. Lessons may include the use of backing tracks and a wide range of resources to keep learning fun and interactive. Placing the students' passion at the forefront of music lessons is the key to their development.
Lessons 30 minutes - £17
You will need your own instrument for lessons, here a few options available:
BANES music centre, Instrument hire | BANES (banesmusiconline.co.uk)
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A word on instruments and practice:
To progress children do need to have an instrument to practice on at home. If possible, it’s best to practice at least four times a week for 10 minutes. It’s helpful if this is a good enough quality of instrument for your child to make progress. A poor instrument can make progress trickier; the instrument can be more difficult to play, not stay in tune, or reduce the pleasure your child has in playing it. Please get in touch if you wish for further advice on practise techniques or instrument research.