Music
Music
"It is in learning music that many youthful hearts learn to love."
Matthieu Ricard
We love teaching music and keep it simple for our children with engaging lessons from Kapow Primary based on popular themes, from animals and festivals to space and superheroes.
Music in Reception
| Celebration music |
Exploring sound |
Music and movement |
| Learning about the music from a range of cultural and religious celebrations, including Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Christmas |
Exploring how to use our voice and bodies to make sounds, experimenting with tempo and dynamic when playing instruments and identifying sounds in the environment |
Creating simple actions to songs, learning how to move to a beat and expressing feelings and emotions through movement to music |
| Musical stories |
Big band |
| A unit based on traditional childrens’ tales and songs, where pupils learn that music and instruments can be used to convey moods or represent characters. |
Learning about the four different groups of musical instruments, following a beat using an untuned instrument and performing a practised song to a small audience |
Music in Year 1
| Musical vocabulary (Under the sea) |
Pulse and rhythm (Theme: All about me) |
Classical music, dynamics and tempo (Theme: Animals) |
| Journey into the unknown and explore under the sea through music, movement, chanting and the playing of tuned percussion instruments. |
Children learn to identify the difference between the pulse and rhythm of a song and consolidate their understanding of these concepts through listening and performing activities. |
Children use their bodies and instruments to listen and respond to pieces of classical music that represent animals. |
| Timbre and rhythmic patterns (Theme: Fairytales) |
Pitch and tempo (Theme: Superheroes) |
Vocal and body sounds (Theme: By the sea) |
| Through fairy tales, children are introduced to the concept of timbre; learning that different sounds can represent characters and key moments in a story. |
Learning how to identify high and low notes and to compose a simple tune, children investigate how tempo changes help tell a story and make music more exciting. |
Children make links between music, sounds and environments and use percussion, vocal and body sounds to represent calm or stormy seas. |
Music in Year 2
| West African call and response song (Theme: Animals) |
Orchestral instruments (Theme: Traditional Western stories) |
Musical me |
| Learning a traditional Ghanian call and response song, recognising simple notation and composing animal-based call and response rhythms. |
Children are introduced to the instruments of the orchestra and practice identifying these within a piece of music. |
Children learn to sing the song ‘Once a Man Fell in a Well’ and to play it using tuned percussion. Using letter notation to write a melody. |
| Dynamics, timbre, tempo and motifs (Theme: Space) |
On this island: British songs and sounds |
On this island: British songs and sounds |
| Developing knowledge and understanding of dynamics, timbre, tempo and instruments. Learning to compose and play motifs. |
Creating sounds to represent three contrasting landscapes: seaside, countryside and city. |
Developing understanding of musical language and how timbre, dynamics and tempo affect the mood of a song. |
Progression in music at St. Mary's
Music Programme of Study coverage
St Mary's 
