Music
‘Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A highquality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.’
(National Curriculum 2014)
The National Curriculum for Music aims to ensure that all pupils:
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perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
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learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
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understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.
By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.
EYFS
Early Learning Goal:
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children sing songs, make music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them.
Key stage 1
Pupils should be taught to:
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use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
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play tuned and untuned instruments musically
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listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
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experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.
Key stage 2
Pupils should be taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They should develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory.
Pupils should be taught to:
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play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression
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improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music
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listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
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use and understand staff and other musical notations
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appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians develop an understanding of the history of music.
At St George's we follow different schemes of work that support the children and teachers with their learning of Music; we use Music Express for EYFS and KS1 and Charanga for KS2. As the National Curriculum states, the children will also learn a musical instrument in KS2 - the recorder.
St George's Whole School Curriculum Map

Key skills can be seen in the year group breakdowns below.
EYFS
Music Units
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Special People
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Going Places
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Moving Patterns
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Working World
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Growth and Change
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Our Sense
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Foundation Stage Areas of learning focus
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Personal Social and Emotional Development
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Communication, Language and Literacy
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Mathematical Development
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Knowledge and Understanding of the World
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Physical Development
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Creative Development
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Music focus
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Beat and Tempo
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High and low
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Structure
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Texture
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Loud and Quiet
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Timbre
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Early Learning Goals
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Early Learning Goals
Early Learning Goal (EXC)
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Early Learning Goals
Early Learning Goals (EXC)
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Early Learning Goals
Early Learning Goals (EXC)
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Early Learning Goals
Early Learning Goals (EXC)
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Early Learning Goals
Early Learning Goals (EXC)
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Early Learning Goals
Early Learning Goals (EXC)
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Year 1
Music Units
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Sounds Interesting
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Nativity
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Feel The Pulse
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Taking Off
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What’s The Score?
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Rain Rain Go Away
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Curriculum link
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This unit develops children’s ability to identify different sounds and to change and use sounds expressively in response to a stimulus.
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This unit develops children’s ability to recognise the difference between pulse and rhythm and to perform with a sense of pulse.
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This unit develops children’s ability to discriminate between higher and lower sounds and to create simple melodic patterns.
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This unit develops children’s ability to recognise different ways sounds are made and changed and to name, and know how to play a variety of classroom instruments.
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This unit develops children’s ability to recognise how sounds and instruments can be used expressively and combined to create music in response to a stimulus.
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‘I can’ Statements
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Year 2
Music Units
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Taking off
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Nativity
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Sounds Interesting
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Feel the Pulse
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Classical
(Music Through History)
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What’s the Score
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Curriculum link
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This unit develops children’s ability to discriminate between higher and lower sounds and to create simple melodic patterns.
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This unit develops children’s ability to identify different sounds and to change and use sounds expressively in response to a stimulus.
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This unit develops children’s ability to recognise the difference between pulse and rhythm and to perform with a sense of pulse.
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This unit develops children’s knowledge of a musical period in history and how its musical notation and style developed throughout that time.
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This unit develops children’s ability to recognise different ways sounds are made and changed and to name, and know how to play a variety of classroom instruments.
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‘I can’ Statements
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Year 3
Music Units
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Let your Spirit Fly
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Glockenspiel Stage One
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Three Little Birds
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Dragon Scales
(Music Express 3)
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Painting with Sound
(Music Express 3)
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The Class Orchestra (Music Express 3)
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Curriculum link
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This unit develops children’s ability to listen to different genres of music and continue to develop their understanding of pitch, tone rhythm and pulse.
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This unit develops children’s knowledge of different musical instruments. They will also begin to understand musical notation and what they mean.
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This unit will develop children’s listening skills alongside their ability to recognise instruments. They will also improvise and compose their own pieces to perform.
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This unit develops children’s ability to recognise and use pentatonic scales and create short melodies and accompaniments.
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This unit develops children’s ability to create, perform and analyse expressive compositions and extend their sound vocabulary.
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This unit develops children’s ability to create, combine and perform rhythmic and melodic material as part of a class performance of a song.
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‘I can’ Statements
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Year 4
Music Units
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Medieval
(Music Through History)
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Glockenspiel Stage Two
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Lean On Me
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Romantic
(Music Through History)
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Blackbird
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Recorder
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Curriculum link
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This unit develops children’s knowledge of a musical period in history and how it musical notation and style developed throughout that time.
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This unit will continue to develop the children’s knowledge of musical notation as well as working together as part of an ensemble.
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This unit develops children’s knowledge of different musical genres, including expanding their understanding of rhythm and pulse.
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This unit develops children’s knowledge of a musical period in history and how it musical notation and style developed throughout that time.
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This unit develops children’s knowledge of different musical genres, including expanding their understanding of rhythm and pulse.
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This unit will develop the children’s knowledge of a musical instrument as they learn to play it independently and with confidence.
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‘I can’ Statements
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Year 5
Music Units
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Make You Feel My Love
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Classroom Jazz 1
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Renaissance
(Music Through History)
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Jazz Project
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Fresh Prince of Bel Air
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Recorder
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Curriculum link
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This unit develops children’s knowledge of musical genres as well as singing together as an ensemble.
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This unit will continue to develop the children’s knowledge of musical notation as well as working together as part of an ensemble.
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This unit develops children’s knowledge of a musical period in history and how it musical notation and style developed throughout that time.
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This unit develops children’s composition and improvisation skills as they work together to create their own songs.
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This unit develops children’s knowledge of different musical genres, including expanding their understanding of rhythm and pulse.
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This unit will develop the children’s knowledge of a musical instrument as they learn to play it independently and with confidence.
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‘I can’ Statements
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Year 6
Music Units
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Happy
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Benjamin Britten
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SATs
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SATs
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Classroom Jazz 2
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End of year Production
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Curriculum link
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This unit will develop children’s ability to sing along with well known songs as well as improving their composition and improvisation skills.
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This unit will include children learning about different genres of music as well as well known composers and musicians.
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This unit will develop the children’s performance abilities, alongside introducing more complex written music for the children to compose and improvise around.
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‘I can’ Statements
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