Compositional Skills in Music

The pictures show the compositional skills developed across the school. Children engage in a range of listening tasks to understand the structure of different pieces of music and any repeated themes and rhythms. They understand that phases of music can be layered and compose their own parts in the style of the studied composer

Exploring Sounds in Reception

The Reception children have been exploring a range of instruments and exploring the different sounds that they make. They discuss the volume and pitch and describe the sounds that are made. They have created some of their own rhythms by using the instruments and explore the difference between rhythm and beat. They have also taken part in clapping games where they repeat rhythms made by the teacher and then have the opportunity to compose their own for others to repeat.

Visual Scores in Year 2

In Year 2, children have studied Bolero by Ravel. The piece revolves around two melodies and 2 constant rhythms. The children learn the rhythms, create a visual score from listening to the music and then create their own version of the short melody using tuned percussion instruments.

Film Music in Year 3

In Year 3, children have been listening to the film music of John Williams. They listened and compared the music across 6 different films before concentrating on the Jurassic Park theme. The piece contains several short, repeated phrases. The children recreated and then developed these phrases by changing the dynamics, pitch and duration. They used this to produce a version of the theme song to accompany an excerpt of video from the film.