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Year 4
Term 1 PLAYING WITH RHYTHM – playing together and rhythmic structures
This term you can rustle up rhythm pizza and beatbox with Beardyman! Beginning with activities to get children performing together rhythmically, the children will learn to follow musical instructions and experience how it feels to be the conductor! Throughout the term, the children will develop their knowledge of rhythmic notation and use movement to express these concepts. They will have fun exploring songs such as Harvest Samba and will learn how music can be built by combining layers of rhythm. Developing ensemble skills is a key focus and the children will learn to stick to their own part in a group as well as thinking about ways to improve their group performances. The term ends with children composing music within a rhythmic framework with a selection of activities to choose from – the children could write new lyrics to a song, explore rhythm grid notation or create a class composition using rhythmic motifs.
Term 2 MUSICAL CONTRASTS
Staccato or legato, forte or piano, major or minor - this term is all about musical contrasts. Beginning with songs and activities which explore different instrumental timbres, the children will learn how instruments can be grouped and classified in different ways. They will listen to music such as The Young Person’s Guide To The Orchestra by Benjamin Britten and identify orchestral families (i.e. string, woodwind, brass, percussion).
As well as comparing instrumental timbre, they will also learn to identify changes in tonality through singing songs such as The King’s Feelings, as well as developing recognition of major and minor chords through simple listening games.
Playing together as an ensemble is a key focus for the term. The children will learn to lead and follow musical instructions and understand the importance of keeping an eye on the conductor! They will explore contrasts between staccato and legato articulation when singing and playing and learn to vary dynamics, tempo, timbre and pitch through a Kandinsky-inspired improvisation!
The children will end the term by developing their understanding of musical structure. With a selection of activities to choose from, they can create music in AB or rondo form or explore motifs with a game of Musical Top Trumps!
Term 3 MELODY BUILDERS – EXPLORING MELODIES AND SONG STRUCTURES
The term begins with a range of songs and activities to get the children describing and internalizing pitch. As well as singing aloud, they will also learn to use their ‘thinking voice’, exploring games and songs such as That’s The Way We're Put Together and Moving To The Music. From a pentatonic lucky dip to call-and-response melodies, the children will develop their composition and improvisation skills as they learn to create simple melodies using a given range of notes.
As the term moves on, the children will compose and notate melodies using graphic and letter notation. They will identify how melodies can be organized in different ways, exploring cumulative structure in songs such as In The Jungle and identifying the use of call and response in the Papageno/Papagena duet from The Magic Flute by Mozart.
Using song structure as inspiration, the term ends with an opportunity to compose lyrics and create simple musical arrangements, preparing them for performance. From a choice of activities, the children can write a new verse for a song, create and notate performance directions to accompany sections of a song or plan a class performance.