Music

INTENT 

“Words make you think. Music makes you feel. A song makes you feel a thought.”

- Yip Harburg. 

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”

- Aldous Huxley.  

At Queen Eleanor’s, an hour of music is delivered every week: a half hour lesson to every individual class, and a half hour Music and Singing Assembly. We are fortunate enough to have a room for the delivery of music lessons, where the children can be as noisy as is necessary without disturbing other lessons! In every lesson, our music teacher introduces the children to music appreciation, where they hear and discuss short extracts of music from many genres (from classical to jazz to Japanese drumming and pop), deciding why they like or dislike the pieces and learning to use musical terminology where appropriate. Listening to music is an important skill, and the children explore which emotions and moods are affected by different musical styles, while trying to identify the instruments, rhythms or time signatures used. 

Our instruments range from percussion (including djembe drums, kokirikos, cabasas, shekeres, boomwhackers and all manner of struck/shaken percussion) to kalimbas; kazoos to ukuleles and electric keyboards to recorders. The children are encouraged to experiment with the percussion instruments, understand call and response, follow rhythms, and compose sound effects. They learn simple melodies on the kalimba and recorder; a few, basic ukulele chords and begin to understand the workings of the electric keyboard. 

Singing as a school is carried out weekly in Music and Singing Assemblies (Years 3 and 4 and then Years 5 and 6), where both sacred and secular songs are enjoyed with either the piano or a backing track. Singing in the school choir is also encouraged for the whole school: a Christmas choir, a local Primary School Music Festival choir (which takes place in Guildford’s GLive annually), and the annual Young Voices event in the O2, London, for Years 5 and 6. The Year 3 Nativity, the whole school Carol Concert at Guildford Cathedral and the Annual Year 6 Production in the summer term are all music highlights at Q.E.

IMPLEMENTATION 

Below is an outline of the expected curriculum for music this academic year: 

Below is Queen Eleanor's CofE Junior School's music development plan

IMPACT 

The music plan offers a variety of skills to the children of Q.E.: music appreciation; an expanding vocabulary of musical terminology; a basic understanding of notation in various forms; the need for careful handling of expensive musical instruments; turn-taking with some instruments where we have 1 for every 2 children; singing; playing various musical instruments, and, above all, a love for music and the immense joy it can bring.