Music at Cotsford
At Cotsford Primary School, the children are exposed to music in a variety of different forms. We use Charanga’s Model Music Curriculum, a scheme of work which follows the National Curriculum and guidance around the highest quality teaching of music, to deliver our Music lessons in school each week. Charanga allows the children to experience a range of musical genres and styles and introduces children to the different dimensions of music at an accessible level. In class, children have the opportunity to play musical games and play percussion instruments as they progress through the curriculum. Our philosophy of music education is based on the principle that it should be fun and engaging for all concerned, and that every child is a born musician. We believe that music is like magic and that it has a role to play in every aspect of all of our lives, wherever and whoever we are. For this reason, we divide the academic year into six units, each corresponding with one of our six recurring Social Themes, combined with a unique Musical Spotlight.
An overview of Charanga’s Model Music Curriculum
In KS2 children also have the opportunity to receive music lessons from Durham Music Service professionals. Year 4 are currently learning to play the ‘dood’ (a type of clarinet) with a music teacher from Durham Music Service, and then Year 3 have two terms of lessons, learning to play the Ukulele. There are also opportunities for individual music tuition in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Please click the link for Music National Curriculum Information
Summer 2
Reception
For their final term in reception, the children have been keeping the beat of lots of our favourite songs. They have also sung some songs together as a class and been tuning their singing voices for their Assembly for their parents. They’ve listened to a rock band in school and the school brass concert. It’s been a fabulous last term!
Year 1
Year 1 have had great fun moving to music in different ways and exploring different musical styles. While doing this, they have continued to develop their musical vocabulary. They have enjoyed playing the drums, exploring different ways of making sounds and copying different rhythms. The children have continued playing the glockenspiels, using them to accompany singing performances, and developing their improvisation skills.
Year 2
The children in Year 2 have had so much fun preparing their assembly performance to parents. They chose their three favourite songs to sing; Shotgun, Naughty and When I Grow Up. They worked extremely hard to perfect Hot Cross Buns and Mary Had A Little Lamb on the recorder. They were amazing! They continued to learn several songs on Charanga and played the musical instrumentals with their recorders. Year 2 loved the Rocksteady Music workshop as some got to perform as a band.
Year 3
The children have gained a lot of musical knowledge with ‘Durham Music Service’ this year and they are sorry it has come to an end. Mrs Batchelor has helped the children develop their singing skills and they have confidently presented this in a whole school assembly. They have also improved their knowledge of musical notation and can play some notes and chords on the ukuleles.
Year 4
The children have been learning the song ‘You Can See Through’. They could find the pulse and keep in time while clapping. They learned to play the different notes on the recorders and could perform as a class.
Year 5
Wow! The musicians in Year 5 have had an amazing half term. They have developed their use of musical language to talk about the style of music and their feelings towards the music they have listened to. Year 5 have continued to love playing the warm-up games to practise finding the pulse and the beat. As you can see in the pictures below, the children have become fantastic, confident performers. Finally, they used the Music Notepad tool on Charanga to compose their own music which they then performed for the class.
Year 6
The children have been learning how to compose their own music using ipads and music tech with Mr Hutchinson. They quickly picked up how to use the technology and really enjoyed learning how to create their own music and how to add in samples to enhance their work. These final compositions were included in their Leavers’ Assembly. For the final assembly, they also learned a range of different songs and worked on their performance skills to make watching them play even more enjoyable. Finally, the class got to enjoy a visit from Rock Steady and loved joining in with the music!
Summer 1
Year 1
The children have had great fun moving to music in different ways and exploring different musical styles. They listened to excerpts from ‘Peter and the Wolf’ by the composer Prokofiev and could identify when the instruments playing the different animals were repeated. They also listened to excerpts of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and used their developing musical vocabulary to help then to describe when changes happen. The children also enjoyed playing the glockenspiels, exploring pitch, playing in unison and beginning to improvise with different notes.
Year 2
Year 2 have worked extremely hard to master how to play b, a and g notes on a recorder. They can now recognise these notes on a stave and know the values of a crotchet, minimum and semi-brief. They have really enjoyed singing Naughty (Matilda) and George Ezra! The children have decided which songs are their favourite to perform in their class assembly next half term.
Year 3
The children in Year 3 are thoroughly enjoying continuing their musical journey with ‘Durham Music Service’. They are continuing to develop their singing skills and have produced some wonderful pieces. They have also improved their knowledge of musical notation and can play some notes on the ukulele.
Year 4
The children have looked at the question ‘how does music shape our way of life?’ They have developed their confidence with playing musically and also singing aloud. The children have loved putting actions to the songs they have been learning!
Year 5
Wow! Year 5 have been lucky enough to work with Mr Henderson from the Durham Music Service this half term. They had an amazing experience creating their own music on Charanga. By the end, the children were able to add sound samples, drums and melodies to create their own electronic music.
Year 6
Year 6 have continued to develop their understanding of music theory this half term and used a computer program, Blooket to help deepen their knowledge. They have learned new songs for the coronation and really enjoyed performing these with the school. The children learned how important music can be to support their mental health and how composers have created music to tell stories (like Blitz and The Carnival of the Animals) and how sampling music is not a new idea. They also listened to a theme by a composer called Paganini and then variations of these by Rachmaninov and Wilby.
Spring 2
Reception
This term the children have listened to lots of farm songs and completed singing in a group. Their favourite has been The Dingle Dangle Scarecrow! The children always enjoy singing with the whole school during assembly too.
Year 1
The children have been discovering how music can help us understand our neighbours. They have had lots of fun moving to music in different ways and exploring different musical styles. The children have continued to learn new musical vocabulary, focussing on changes in pitch and spotting different rhythms in music. After listening to extracts from the composer Grieg last half term, they moved onto Beethoven this half term. A big hit was Beethoven’s 5th symphony, where the children enjoyed showing the changes in dynamics and tempo with their body movements. They also learnt new songs, with their favourite being Cuckoo due to its catchy chorus!
Year 2
The children in Year 2 have worked extremely hard to learn how to play the notes on a recorder. They can now recognise several notes on a stave and know the values of a crotchet, minimum and semi-brief. They have really enjoyed singing Bruno Mars and George Ezra! Wow! The children loved listening to the variety of music and recognising instruments they could hear on a weekly basis. Hopefully they will take their music talents further and learn to play a variety of instruments.
Year 3
What an amazing opportunity Year 3 have had to extend their musical ability this half term. They have been learning how to play the ukuleles and are improving their understanding of musical notation. They can play some notes on the instruments and are working towards a final piece. Look out for this on Dojo!
They have also enjoyed learning some new songs and they can confidently sing these in rounds staying in time with each other.
Year 4
Year 4 have been discovering how music can teach us about our community. The children have listened to different musical styles and developed their musical vocabulary when expressing likes and dislikes. They practised singing in rounds, first in two parts with Frere Jacques almost managing four parts.
Year 5
Year 5 are very talented musicians. This half term they have listened to a range of music including, Erie Canal and Heroes. As you can see in the pictures below, the children expressed their emotions and feelings using some very interesting facial expressions. The children also began to improvise and perform different songs using their voices and their favourite instrument, the PBuzz.
Year 6
Year 6 worked hard on their ability to read and understand music this half term. They enjoyed listening to a range of music and looked at how different music could make them feel different emotions. It was fascinating to link time signatures and beats in the bars with fractions too!
Spring 1
Reception
Early Years are always bopping along to music in class and this term has been no different! The children have been learning to keep the beat to lots of songs. They have been thinking about how the music makes them feel and talking about it with their friends.
Year 2
Wow! Year 2 have begun to play the recorder. Not only have they learnt how to play notes B, A and G but they also know where to find the notes on a stave. The children are beginning to identify crotchets, minims and semibreves as well as rests. The songs they are now learning are faster and notes change often! They also listen to range of music genres and identify the different instruments they can hear. Year 2 love a good singing session and dancing! They performed Chinese New Year songs at the Chinese Arch in Newcastle.
Year 3
Year 3 are learning how to play the ukulele with Mrs Batchellor from Durham Music Service. They have improved their understanding of pulse, pitch and tempo and know what is meant by playing a chord and open strumming. They have learned how to play the notes B and G and can create a four-bar melody.
Year 4
Year 4 have been practising the recorder. They have been able to play the C, G and A notes, to form part of a song. The children have listened, sang, played and performed the song ‘Bringing us Together’. The children have even put this song into their class assembly, and have performed it in front of the rest of the school and parents!
Year 5
Wow! What a fantastic demonstration we had from ‘Rock Steady’! It definitely got us all nodding our heads and singing along.
Year 6
The children absolutely loved their experience watching Tom from Rock Steady, especially watching Mya and Mrs Hunter taking part in the band! What a fantastic afternoon! Year6 finished off the half term with a great workshop from Miss Batchellor, who helped them to develop their use of the diaphragm when singing.
Autumn 2
Reception
The children have listened to lots of different genres of music including lots of Christmas songs. The children have thoroughly enjoyed learning the words for their Nativity; their favourite was ‘Hello Shepherds!’
Year 1
The children have thought about the question, ‘How does music tell stories about the past?’ Through this, they discovered a new version of ‘twinkle twinkle little star’ and where it originated from. They have had great fun moving to music in different ways and exploring different musical styles. They listened to excerpts of Vivaldi’s four seasons and decided to become composers. Working in groups, they chose a season and selected the instruments they felt best reflected the weather. The children did amazingly well at performing their compositions, and were able to give lots of positive comments to each other.
Year 2
Year 2 have loved working with EYFS and Year 1 learning new songs for their nativity. The children have learned to keep the pulse and repeat rhythms. They have used these skills as well as learning to project their voice. Their nativity performances were very successful!
Year 3
Feliz Navidad! This half term has been packed with opportunities for listening and responding to music. The children have listened to Christmas music from around the world and have learned about the different styles. They are developing their understanding of notation and can pick out some notes in a notation piece.
Year 4
The children have continued to practise playing the Doods. They have learned new notes, and play those together to play new pieces of music all together, in solo and in small groups. The children have also developed their singing skills through warm up games and duet practise.
Year 5
Year 5 have focussed on pop music and their emotions. As you can see in the pictures below, the children have listened to a range of music and expressed their feelings through thumbs up, thumbs down or by showing their emotions. The children have also started to expand the repertoire of instruments that they can use so that they can now compose using a glockenspiel and a PBuzz. Year 5 were able to show off their performance skills during their class assembly by playing PBuzzs and singing a selection of their favourite tunes.
Year 6
This music this term, Year 6 have been looking at emotions through music. They have continued to develop their skills on a range of instruments including glockenspiels and drums as well as singing as a whole class and in smaller groups. They have built on their prior knowledge of key and time signatures, note lengths and tempo.
In our build up to Christmas, the children were learning a range of traditional and modern Christmas songs – their favourite was Mele Kalikimaka! They have sung in a range of different ensembles including all of KS2 and the whole school.
Autumn 1
Reception
This half term the children have listened to lots of different genres of music including rock, pop and classic. They have sung lots of nursery rhymes and songs too including ‘Dingle Dangle Scarecrow’. They enjoy listening to Jack Hartman every morning to get them started for the day, wiggling their hips and tapping their knees to the beat.
Year 1
The children have been discovering how different songs make them feel. They have had great fun moving to music in different ways and exploring different musical styles. They have learned new musical vocabulary, such as pulse and dynamics and are beginning to identify when these change in songs. When exploring untuned instruments, the children have played and grouped them in different ways, while following simple musical notation. Finally, they worked really hard on their class assembly, learning songs and brushing up on their performance skills. The children are sure you will have been really impressed!
Year 2
The children have loved listening to a range of music and discussing how it makes them feel. They have enjoyed it so much they can be heard singing outside whilst playing. They created their own actions as well as playing the glockenspiel in time to the music. From this they looked at the different sizes and sounds the bars make when played. Many identified the high and low notes. This is when the children realised glockenspiels make a range of notes. The children decided they would like to learn Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the glockenspiel.
Year 3
Year 3 have learned to play recorders this half term. They can play the notes B, A and G and can read musical notation to support playing. They have also developed an understanding or pulse and tempo and can keep a rhythm going using call and respond. After listening to a range of music this half term they can explain the feelings they have about the music and whether they like or dislike the piece giving reasons for this.
Year 4
In music, the children have been loving learning a new instrument – the dood. They have learned how to play the first few notes on the dood and have been able to learn a few songs. The children have also used their voices and are able to sing and play in duet!
Year 5
Wow! Year 5 have thoroughly enjoyed learning a new instrument this half term. The PBuzz has proved to be a real hit. In small groups, the children are now able to play four notes and keep in time with each other. The children decided to perform and share their favourite song, Ghost Parade. Here comes the Ghost Parade!
Year 6
In music, the children have been looking at how music brings us together. They learned songs which discussed different aspects of being friends, including ‘Sunshine on a Rainy Day’. They learned about the stave, how to identify different note pitch names and had a go at composing rhythms to fit in with our songs. They took their knowledge of major and minor and started to learn how sharps and flats change the feeling they get from a piece of music. They now understand that music has a certain number of beats per minute and that the speed of a piece also changes how they feel when listening to it. They also had great fun learning how to play a ‘p-buzz’ and improvising on the glockenspiels.
