Music

The National Curriculum (England) focuses on the development of music skills and is an integral part of our curriculum at the British School of Chicago. Our teaching supports the development of the singing voice and other essential musical skills (listening skills, aural memory and physical skills), which are a regular part of our classroom work.

How do we teach Music?

Our pupils are taught by a specialist music teacher. During class lessons they are taught skills in four areas:

• Performing
• Composing
• Appraising
• Listening, applying knowledge and understanding

What do we teach in Music?

Foundation Music:

Pupils have two sessions per week with the specialist music teacher. Pupils in foundation will explore Music through the topics studied within classes while following targets from the Foundation Profile document. These skills include:

• using repetitive sounds and words,
• experiencing rhyme,
• listening attentively and responding appropriately to others, and
• being introduced to rhythm.

At Key Stage 1 (5-7 years old):

In the area of performing skills - controlling sounds through singing and playing, our pupils are taught to:

• Use their voices expressively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
• Play tuned and un-tuned instruments
• Rehearse and perform with others

In the area of composing skills - creating and developing musical ideas, our pupils are taught to:

• Create musical patterns
• Explore, choose and organise sounds and musical ideas

In the area of appraising skills - Responding and reviewing, our pupils are taught to:

• Explore and express their ideas and feelings about music while using movement, dance and expressive and musical language
• Make improvements to their own work

In the area of listening, applying knowledge and understanding skills, our pupils are taught:

• How the combined musical elements of pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and silence can be organised and used expressively within simple structures (i.e. beginning, middle, end)
• How sounds can be made in different ways (i.e. vocalising, clapping, by musical instruments, in the environment) and described using given and invented signs and symbols

At Key Stage 2 (7-11 years old):

Students in Key Stage 2 are provided with the opportunity to begin learning to play band instruments and become a member of the BSC Junior Band. BSC provides instruments for all children in this age group. They then undertake the band course alongside their music theory lessons which are outlined below.

In the area of performing skills - controlling sounds through singing and playing, our pupils are taught how to:

• Sing songs in unison and in two parts, with clear diction, control of pitch, a sense of phrase and musical expression
• Play tuned and un-tuned instruments with control and rhythmic accuracy

In the area of composing skills - creating and developing musical ideas, our pupils are taught how to:

• Improvise, developing rhythmic and melodic material when performing
• Explore, choose, combine and organise musical ideas within musical structures

In the area of appraising skills - Responding and reviewing, our pupils are taught how to:

• Analyse and compare sounds
• Explore and explain their own ideas and feelings about music using movement, dance and expressive language
• Improve their own and other's work in relation to its intended effect

In the area of listening, applying knowledge and understanding, our pupils are taught:

• To listen with attention to detail and to internalise and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
• How the combined musical elements of pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and silence can be organised within musical structures (i.e. ostinato) and used to communicate different moods and effects

At Key Stage 3: (11 – 14 years old)

Students in Key Stage3 are provided with the opportunity to begin learning to play band instruments and become a member of the Senior or Junior Bands. BSC provides instruments for all children in this age group.

At Key Stage 3, Music education continues to focus on listening, appraising, performing and composing, but a greater emphasis is placed on traditional notation. We also look in greater detail at writing our own Music in recognized styles and explore the techniques required to do so.

Students will:

• Develop the interrelated skills of performing, composing and appraising;
• Extend these skills through applying listening skills and musical knowledge and understanding;
• Enable pupils to make connections between al areas of knowledge and musical experience.

Particular areas of knowledge:

• How Music is constructed;
• How Music is produced; e.g. the use of instruments, ICT (Sibelius program), musical processes and procedures, traditional and non-traditional notation;
• How Music is influenced by time, place;

At Key Stage 4: (14 – 16 years old)

Students will begin studying an Edexcel GCSE course during Key Stage Four. The Edexcel GCSE in Music is designed to allow the study of music through the integration of performing, composing, listening and appraising with opportunities to use music technology. It recognises that we live in an age of cultural diversity and the Areas of Study cover a wide range of music: classical music, world music, and popular music. This flexibly structured course allows students to capitalise on their different interests. As an extension of classroom work done in Key Stage 3 of the National Curriculum, it caters for a wide spectrum of musical abilities and requirements. It gives students the opportunity to make music, both individually and in groups, to develop a life-long interest in music and to progress to further study.

For further information on this course visit: http://www.edexcel.org.uk/quals/gcse/music/gcse/1426/