Music

Our aim in music is to produce independent learners, musicians in any medium who have the confidence to engage with any musical discipline at any future stage in their lives.  To make pupils life-long musical learners.

At Tottington High School we musically engage pupils and guide them to acquire their musical knowledge and skills in year 7, then build upon and develop these in year 8 and extend then these in year 9.  For pupils who opt to study Music beyond key stage three, we further extend and consolidate pupils’ skills, understanding, and musicianship to make them the best musicians they can be.

Through our music curriculum, we provide learning opportunities that encompass the school’s Vision and Values:

Working Together

• Collaboration: providing learning opportunities for pupils to work in pairs, small groups, and as a whole class, as well as using discussion activities.  
• Communication: developing pupils’ understanding and use of musical terminology and tier 3 vocabulary so that they can ‘speak like a musician’ developing oracy skills during structured listening and feedback to practical music making.

Aiming High

• Resilience: giving pupils the tools to develop their musicianship and overcome the musical challenges they face.
• Aspiration: providing challenge within the curriculum to build their aspirations of becoming master musicians and regular teacher modelling of musical mastery.

Achieving Success

• Excellence: giving pupils varied opportunities to perform in the classroom, to the school, and within the local community.
• Commitment: having extra-curricular opportunities for pupils to extend their musical learning outside of the classroom.

Music Learning Journeys

The Music curriculum is designed as a spiral curriculum, encompassing the development of creativity whilst introducing students to progressively more challenging musical concepts when revisiting skills and knowledge. 

By the End of Year 7, pupils will be able to:

• play and perform confidently in a range of solo and ensemble contexts using their voice, playing keyboards and ukuleles fluently, and with accuracy.
• use staff and other relevant notations appropriately to inform their performances.
• identify and use the interrelated dimensions of music.
• listen to a wide range of music from great composers and musicians.
• develop an understanding of the music that they perform and to which they listen, and its history.

By the End of Year 8, pupils will be able to:

• play and perform confidently in a range of solo and ensemble contexts using their voice, playing instruments musically, fluently, and with accuracy.
• improvise and compose, extending and developing musical ideas by drawing on a given range of musical structures, styles, genres, and traditions.
• use staff and other relevant notations appropriately and accurately in a range of musical styles, genres, and traditions to inform their performances.
• identify and use the interrelated dimensions of music expressively and with increasing sophistication using different types of scales and other musical devices.
• listen with increasing accuracy to a wide range of music from great composers and musicians.
• develop a deepening understanding of the music that they perform and to which they listen, and its history.

By the End of Year 9, pupils will:

• play and perform confidently in a range of solo and ensemble contexts using their voice, playing instruments musically, fluently and with accuracy and expression
• compose, extending and developing musical ideas by drawing on a range of musical structures, styles, genres, and traditions.
• use staff and other relevant notations appropriately and accurately in a range of musical styles, genres, and traditions to inform their performances.
• identify and use the interrelated dimensions of music expressively and with increasing sophistication, including use of tonalities, different types of scales and other musical devices.
• listen with increasing discrimination to a wide range of music from great composers and musicians.
• develop a broad and deep understanding of the music that they perform and to which they listen, and its history.

Singing is intertwined into many schemes of work throughout Key Stage Three and is a fundamental skill for improving confidence, developing musicianship, and developing understanding of internalised pitch and rhythm. 

There are also opportunities for links made with other subjects for example:

• Literacy is a focus throughout the music curriculum as pupils are encouraged to use Tier 3 Vocabulary in their responses whilst developing their Oracy skills during structured listening and feedback to practical music making.
• Drama is linked closely with musical learning due to the performing nature of both subjects.
• Numeracy skills, such as recognising patterns and sequences, within music.

More explicitly, the music curriculum directly links to other subjects, for example:

• Geography: learning about how music plays a different role in different cultures from around the world .
• History: learning about how The Blues in year 8 is linked with the History curriculum that explores the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which is also studied in Year 8.
• English Literature: lyrics of different types of songs often relay a certain message, sometimes political e.g. protest songs; lyrical hooks; repeated phrases/refrain in poetry; rhyming schemes; counting syllables

Music lessons involve a series of steps within each lesson that begins with activating prior knowledge and leading to independent practice before ending in structured reflection. We use the THS Teaching and Learning Foci, as well as common pedagogical approaches specific to delivering a robust musical curriculum, many of which link to Barak Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction.  

• Informal and Non-Formal Teaching
• Class Workshopping
• Modelling and Guided Practice (I do, We do, You do)
• Sound Before Symbols
• Scaffolded Tasks
• Use of Knowledge Organisers
• Retrieval Practice and Recall
• Presenting New Information in Small Steps
• Checking for Understanding
• Responsive and Adaptive Teaching
• Thinking Time
• Teaching to the Top
• Deliberate Vocabulary Development
• Ensuring good Behaviour and Relationships
• Support for SEND pupils

In music, the aims of feedback and the key principles associated with assessing pupil progress are:

• To give pupils specific, accurate, and clear information of how to progress and what they are doing correctly.
• To not hinder the sequence of learning or constrain the time a teacher spends on planning effective lessons.
• To ensure feedback encourages pupils to challenge themselves and strive for their best
• To ensure students are encouraged to reflect and act upon feedback and are given opportunities to do so.

The vast majority of this feedback is conducted live throughout lessons, especially during deliberate practice, to challenge misconceptions, and provide further challenge and support; this is mostly done verbally and with teacher modelling.

Assessments in music have a clear purpose and provide meaningful information about pupils’ capabilities.  These judgements are made in relation the Component Knowledge pupils are to acquire during the unit of study.

Formative assessment takes place regularly throughout units of work and include:

• Live-marking and verbal feedback, including questioning pupils on their understanding, ensuring common misconceptions and gaps in knowledge are addressed, and praising the good work pupils are doing.
• Comparing pupils’ work to the Component Knowledge and setting personalised targets.

Summative assessment is done at the end of units of study and is usually conducting in the following manner:

• Pupils perform their work to the class which is audio recorded.
• Pupils peer assess the performances of their classmates.
• Teacher assesses the performances and gives brief written feedback.
• Pupils respond to teacher feedback in writing and create a self-assessment and set a target.

As a faculty we are incredibly proud of our cultural capital offer for our pupils. Opportunities are mapped around the curriculum to support the content and to provide context. Pupils develop a better understanding when they can experience and be inspired by live Music. This in turn allows pupils to engage more and be inquisitive surrounding their learning.  

• Music teachers regularly perform within lessons to allow students to see what mastery musicianship looks like.  
• Extra-curricular activities are open to all pupils at Tottington. These clubs will often lead to performance opportunities.
• Throughout the year, working alongside drama, we offer trips and performance opportunities to increase pupil engagement.  

By studying music at GCSE, pupils become competent musicians as performers in their chosen discipline, composers in a range of musical styles, and listener appraisers, with an excellent understanding of both the theory and the interrelated dimensions of music, and how they are used in a wide range of musical styles and genres from great composers and musicians, including the history of this music.

Increasingly, employers and universities are looking for young people who have skills that are learned through creative subjects: creative thinking, emotional intelligence, adaptability, communication and tenacity to name just a few. And universities are keen to attract students who have a well-rounded education and achieve good results, no matter what the subject.

Being a musician isn’t the only career in music – other options include being a sound technician, community musician, music therapist, teacher, or private tutor, or a range of careers in the music industry, in a concert hall or music venue.  

• The arts/creative industries. 
• This might include work in film, TV, theatre, radio, arts administration, or creative education. 
• Professions such as medicine, law, accountancy. 
• Music is highly regarded as an academic subject and so could complement your other studies in leading to a professional career. 
• Any other pathway a young person might choose.