Music Skills and Knowledge Document
At Elmlea music is at the heart of school life. We inspire pupils to develop a love and appreciation of music with opportunities to sing, listen, explore, create and perform. The music curriculum is designed to incorporate children’s interests and also link with wider curriculum learning. Music is held in high esteem at Elmlea and, as such, our music curriculum is complemented by a dedicated team of peripatetic instrumental and vocal teachers.
Our Learning Journey
All children from EYFS to year 6 take part in weekly singing assemblies where the songs are often linked to weekly themes or calendar events. At the beginning of each assembly children listen to and find out about a piece of music from a particular style, genre or tradition of music.
In EYFS and years 1-2 music is taught by the class teacher following the Bristol Music Curriculum. This has an emphasis on singing and teaching pulse, rhythm and pitch with links to movement and dance. Children can explore instruments, perform and create their own music. They are also introduced to basic music notation and listen to music from different historical periods, beginning to understand their features.
In years 3-6 children have dedicated music lessons once a week, taught by a music specialist. Each year group have different musical projects covering key concepts. These are often linked to the wider curriculum, for example children are taught about samba and participate in a samba workshop alongside their topic ‘On the Latin Side’ – about South America.
In music lessons children have an opportunity to:
- play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing different musical instruments (including percussion, djembe drums, recorder and ukulele).
- improvise, compose, notate and perform their own music for a range of different purposes.
- listen, perform and engage with different styles, traditions and genres of music – including its links to dance, literacy and art.
- use and understand musical staff and other notations.
- develop an understanding of the history of music.
- listen to music with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory.
Music vocabulary is introduced at the start of each unit and shared during each lesson to reinforce and secure children’s knowledge of musical terms. Each project is linked to at least one of the musical elements known as the inter-related dimensions of music: pitch, duration, timbre, texture, structure, tempo and dynamics.
Support and Enrichment
All pupils are supported and challenged within music lessons at Elmlea. The lessons often begin with a game or a simple activity, accessible to all, that is then built upon to accommodate all levels. Each lesson has a ‘greater depth’ element for pupils who need that extra challenge. We encourage instrumentalists to bring their instruments into lessons, for example to play accompaniments for songs or for a composition activity. Very able pupils will have a go at recording and notating their own music.
Elmlea is a Bristol Music School and we work closely with Bristol Beacon to offer individual and group instrumental and singing lessons from Year 3. We currently offer tuition in violin, viola, cello, flute, clarinet, trumpet, cornet, guitar, singing and kit drums. Uptake is very high with over 100 children regularly receiving lessons. Group or individual music lessons are offered to all children (at an additional cost). For those who are eligible for free school meals and pupil premium some financial support may be available. Many children go on to achieve great success in examinations as they develop their musical skill and are encouraged to join the school or local ensembles.
We have a wide range of co-curricular music activities for children to participate in, including Infant Choir, Junior Choir, Boys Choir, Junior Orchestra and String Orchestra. We take part in the Bristol Beacon summer and winter concerts as well as performances to parents in school. We have also been fortunate, through our work with Bristol Beacon, to participate in orchestra workshops in collaboration with students from the University of Bristol. All children are involved in a school musical once a year and there is great support for this within the whole school community. In addition to this the whole of year 4 participate in Young Voices, an incredible opportunity to sing in a massed choir of young children at Birmingham Arena. Each year a small selection of Year 6 pupils may apply for music scholarships at independent schools in Bristol, such is the enthusiasm for music at Elmlea.
