' I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.'  

Billy Joel

Our vision for music:

At Bedford we believe Music is a universal way of communicating thoughts, ideas and emotions. It also has a positive impact on the mental health and well-being of children. It is a fully inclusive subject which develops children’s listening skills, as well as their motor skills, creativity, teamwork, discipline, perseverance, confidence and self-esteem, as well as their musical knowledge. Music is a huge part of a person’s identity and culture, which is why at Bedford we are continually working to develop our curriculum and extend our provision.  We endeavour: 

• To be a ‘musical’ school, where music is embedded in every subject we teach, not just in music lessons.
• To equip children with transferable skills to enable them to continue their education.
• To offer children once in a lifetime musical experiences.
• To offer high quality music teaching to all children, including the offer of instrument lessons working towards external accreditation.
• For children to develop a love and appreciation for music and understand how it is an important part of their identity and culture
• For children to be aware of the variety of musical professions open to them in the future

Our music curriculum:

To ensure our music curriculum is varied and meets the needs of our children, we have devised our own bespoke teaching programme, following guidance from the DFE Model Music Curriculum. The core of our curriculum is based around the Charanga scheme. However, alongside these lessons we have planned within our curriculum for teaching elements of the Friday Afternoon project, Liverpool Cathedral Schools Singing Project and whole class instrument teaching from our music hub.  Within this scheme, children are exposed to a wide variety of musical styles and composers, both modern, classical and from an array of different cultures. Children are given the opportunity to perform as soloists or as part of a  large or small group. They are also taught to play the glockenspiel and from Year 4 onwards are taught to play the recorder. Performing and celebrating musical achievements is a vital aspect of this subject and something we strive to provide opportunities for.

Due to the specialist nature of music teaching, Years 5 - 6 are currently taught by the music subject lead, supported by instrumental teachers from our local music hub.  Alongside this, Year 2 follow the Liverpool Cathedral Schools Singing Project, and are taught by specialist music teachers from the cathedral throughout the year. . 

Throughout their primary journey, our pupils are taught the five skills strands:

Singing: pupils are taught to sing with a well developed sense of pitch, showing a developing musical delivery over time. This means that, when singing they should take into account breathing, posture, dynamics, phrasing and ways to impart the meaning effectively to an audience.

Listening: pupils are encouraged to listen critically to not only expand their musical horizons but to also gain a deeper understanding of how music is constructed, the decisions made by composers and the impact choices have on the listener.

Composing/improvising: pupils are given many opportunities to be creative through composing and improvising. Throughout their lessons they will record compositions through graphic scores, music technology and moving towards formal notation.

Musicianship: pupils are supported to  develop a deep understanding and enjoyment of music. Musicianship builds on the key skills of rhythm, pitch, notation,  dynamics,  timbre,  while encouraging creativity, teamwork and an appreciation for music.

Performing: throughout their lessons, pupils are encouraged to celebrate and share their music making through performance. This develops confidence and an opportunity for peer feedback and evaluation.

Substantive Concepts in Music:

Our bespoke music curriculum has been carefully designed to ensure that seven substantive concepts of musicianship – the interrelated dimensions of music-  are taught progressively  and revisited continuously. These are the fundamental building blocks required to be a musician.  The continuous teaching  and revision of these skills allows pupils to make links across the curriculum, make connections to previous learning and builds foundations for future units of study.

Notation: children learn that symbols represent a sound in the form of a graphic score, leading to reading and writing formal notation in the treble clef within a stave.  

Pitch: children learn to identify pitch in the music they listen to and to pitch match when singing and performing.

Rhythm: children learn to copy rhythms and improvise in line with a steady beat. They also learn to recognise and use semibreves, minims, crotchets and quavers, moving composition.

Tempo: using the correct musical terms, children learn to identify the speed of music they listen to and make decisions regarding the tempo of their own compositions.

Dynamics: using the correct musical terms, children learn to identify the dynamics of music they listen to and make decisions regarding the dynamics of their own compositions. They also consider how dynamics can impact the mood, feel and intent of  a piece of music and how it can affect the listener.

Timbre: children learn to identify different instruments from the sound of their notes and describe their qualities. 

Pulse: children learn to find the ‘heartbeat’ of the music and identify the steady beat. They will be introduced to 4/4 and 3/4 time signatures, being able to identify                       these and compose using these times.

Extra curricular:

During their time at Bedford there are many extra-curricular music or performance based activities for children to attend. We have a  KS2 choir, dance and musical theatre clubs. In addition to more formal performances, whenever possible, our choir 'give back' to their community with appearances at  local events. We have strong links with Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and all children have the opportunity to access their outreach education programmes, performing in the cathedral and auditioning for their various choirs. We have a number of children who have been successful in joining their chorister programme.

At Bedford we are constantly evaluating our music offer and frequently take part in projects which we feel will enhance our children's musical experiences. 

Artsmark:

At Bedford we believe that music and 'the arts' are vitally important and are committed to developing these areas of the curriculum. In September 2023 we were awarded Silver Artsmark. For the last 2 years we have been working towards our next award and have recently submitted our final statement of impact.

Useful Music links: