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Year 5
Term 1 RHYTHM BUILDERS – Exploring Rhythmic Layers
This term the children will develop their understanding of rhythm and rhythmic notation. They will get to grips with time signatures, learning to ‘feel’ the difference between three and four beats in a bar. They will explore folk traditions such as Morris dancing and Basque dance and have fun creating and performing their own dances.
From a Tabletop Percussion Machine to rhythmic motifs, learning to play rhythms expressively, is a focus for the term as the children will learn to choose suitable timbre and dynamics when playing and composing. They will also learn the importance of following the conductor! As the term moves on, they will learn how composers create interesting textures by combining layers of musical sound. They will identify the use of ostinato in pieces such as Bolero by Ravel and will use ostinato to accompany songs such as I Have A Song To Sing and Time For Everything, creating interesting polyrhythmic textures!
The term ends by exploring ways to represent musical textures through notation. With a selection of activities to choose from, the children can explore rhythm grids or create a layered composition inspired by composers taking part in a video call!
Term 2 MUSIC AND WORDS
This term is all about music and words! The children will brush up their Italiano, improvise musical conversations, scat like Ella Fitzgerald and compose music inspired by poetry!
Songs such as Music Italiano and I’ll Sing This Song will teach the class to recognize the inter-related dimensions of music as well as develop their understanding of Italian musical vocabulary. Through creative listening activities, the children will learn to represent expressive features of music in a graphic score and then use musical vocabulary to describe their creations!
Improvisation skills will be developed through call-and-response activities where the children will create rhythmic and melodic patterns to a four-beat pulse. From the classical cadenza to the Be-bop scat of Ella Fitzgerald, the children will also develop an understanding of how improvisation has been used throughout musical history. Learning about musical styles such as jazz gives the class an opportunity to find out about influential musicians such as Louis Armstrong, and of course, it’s the perfect reason to sing songs written in ‘jazzy’ style such as Jazz Is Cool, In The Band and Shoo-Be-Doo-Ah.
The children will end the term by creating music inspired by lyrics, words and poetry, exploring techniques to establish mood and atmosphere.
Term 3 SONG INGREDIENTS - EXPLORING MELODY, HARMONY AND LYRICS
This term, the children will learn about the key ingredients used in songs: rhythm, melody, harmony and lyrics! They will begin to learn rounds and part songs such as School Is Nearly Over and I Got A Little Dog and identify how layers of melody can be combined to create a polyphonic texture. They will identify these features in music from the past and present, listening to traditional songs such as Frère Jacques and Three Country Dances In One, alongside contemporary music created and performed with a loop pedal!
As the term progresses, they will develop their understanding of intervals, scales and chords and learn to notate pitches using staff and letter notation. Playing together as an ensemble remains a key focus and they will accompany song melodies using chords, drones and basslines.
The term ends with a chance to explore the songwriting process. The children will learn how songs can reflect the time and place in which they are written, and may be sung to mark a social or cultural occasion. With a selection of activities to choose from, the children can write their own song inspired by the structure of Take A Major Scale, compose a school jingle or collaborate to write a song to celebrate their school community.