Understanding Primary Music
This introduction to music aims to develop your own subject knowledge and skills in music and
to support you in exploring pedagogies appropriate to facilitate children’s learning in Primary
phase, with some reference to the Early Years Foundation Stage. Within the module the activities
are designed to support you in developing processes, skills and knowledge required for the four
interlinked areas of the music curriculum: performing, composing, listening and appraising. Also
you will have opportunities to learn about children’s musical development and to evaluate a
range of activities to support that development. Links will be made to the National Curriculum
for Music to support your ability to plan for and assess children’s learning.
The sessions will explore:
 children’s musical development;
 strategies for supporting vocal development;
 organisation and use of classroom percussion instruments for composing and
performing;
 supporting the development of listening and appraising skills;
 analysis of a range of teaching approaches designed to meet individual learning needs
and which address inclusion, health and safety, cultural awareness and different musical
genres.
The module will address the following questions:
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Am I able to inspire children to respond creatively to music and to experiment within
singing, composition and movement?
Do I understand how children learn music and the implications of this understanding for
teaching and learning?
Do I have a range of strategies for supporting musical development?
Am I aware of the ways in which effective teachers enable children to learn and develop
musically?
Do I have a well developed understanding of the National Curriculum requirements for
music and am I able to plan effectively for children’s learning in music?
Am I aware of the range of technologies that are available to support my music teaching?
Do I have strategies for managing behaviour for learning within music lessons?
Am I able to use assessment formatively to inform my planning for music?
Do I have an awareness of different musical cultures and traditions?
Students will be expected to maintain a music subject file that will support both the teaching of
music in primary schools and the curriculum project assignment.
Session 1
Reference to NC and
Non-Statutory
Guidance
Links to other
subjects
Learning Intentions
Session Content
What is musical learning?
Introduction to Music in the National Curriculum
Introduction to vocal activities
KS1 – 1a, 1b, 1c, 3a, 4a, 4c, 4d,
KS2 – 1a, 1c, 3b, 4a
PE – movement and dance
1. Reflect on your own experiences of learning music and the potential
impact of these on your teaching.
2. Develop an awareness and understanding of the requirements for
teaching music within the Early Years Foundation Stage and National
Curriculum for Key Stages 1 and 2.
3. Explore different uses of voice and to begin to develop learning
through vocal and games and activities.
4. Exploring the significance of movement as a response to music.
5. Begin to explore the use of musical instruments to support children’s
learning.
Reflection on experiences of school music, identifying how these contributed
to your feelings about music and your beliefs about how children learn
music. Exploration of why music is important.
Introduction to the Early Years Foundation Stage and National Curriculum
for Music. Discussion and use of musical terms: pitch, rhythm, dynamics,
tempo, timbre, texture and silence.
Identification of the skills needed for a range of practical vocal activities:
- simple songs
- use of body percussion
- song games
- vocal percussion
Discuss the importance of enabling children to respond to music through
movement and dance.
Introduction to using musical instruments: introduction to classroom
organisation and management in music in the context of organising the use
of musical instruments. Exploration of sound-making using musical
instruments. Introduction to health and safety considerations.
Independent Study
Task
Reflect on a piece of music that is special to you and be prepared to discuss,
in the next session.
Access the National Curriculum for Music and familiarise yourself with the
Programmes of Study for Key Stages 1 and 2.
Support for learning
Mills, J. (2009) Music in the Primary School, Oxford, Oxford University
Press.
Session 1 resources
Session 2
Introduction composing and performing
Listening and appraising to improve compositions.
Reference to NC and
Non-Statutory
Guidance
Links to other
subjects
Learning Intentions
KS1 – 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a ,2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 4c, 5a, 5c
KS2 – 1a, 1b,1c, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b, 4c, 5a, 5c
Session Content
Exploration of the importance of music in developing ‘the whole child’ –
link to Every Child Matters. Consideration of how music links to and
underpins other aspects of learning.
English: Speaking and Listening
Explore the potential of music to support children’s development.
Develop a range of strategies for supporting vocal development.
Explore the use of instruments in simple composition.
Evaluate different approaches for recording music in the form of
notation.
5. Understand the role of listening and appraising in improving
compositions.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Explore a range of approaches for supporting vocal development:
- simple songs
- rounds
- music games
Evaluate the use of different forms of graphic notation in terms of its
effectiveness in supporting development of children’s understanding of
concepts within music.
Development of composing and performing skills using musical instruments.
Appraise performance and identify what/how to improve compositions.
Supporting children’s learning through talking about music – developing
effective questioning.
Independent Study
Task
Support for learning
Familiarise yourself with a range of percussion instruments that you will
meet in school, and think about the different ways you could play them.
Find a resource online to help you to do this.
Cotton, M. (1996) Agogo Bells to Xylophone: A friendly Guide to Classroom
Percussion Instruments, London, A & C Black.
Session 2 resources
Session 3
Reference to NC and
Non-Statutory
Guidance
Links to other
subjects
Learning Intentions
Session Content
Composing and performing
Listening and responding to music
Evaluation of teaching approaches
KS1 – 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 4c, 5a, 5c, 5d
KS2 – 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 5a, 5c, 5e
Mathematics: pattern
1. Develop the skills involved in listening and appraising
compositions in music.
2. Develop skills and understanding to plan and perform a small
composition project.
3. Identify ways of evaluating/assessing/ improving a composition
and its performance.
4. Evaluate teaching approaches for supporting development of
children’s skills in music.
5. Reflect on how children learn in aspects of their music
development.
Listen to recorded music analysing the features of the music to develop
focussed listening. Identify the role of timbre, texture, dynamics and
tempo in creating mood and effect and use appropriate vocabulary to
talk about musical ideas. Discuss responses to different types of music
analysing using developing knowledge and understanding of musical
elements.
Explore a range of approaches for supporting children in developing
composition and performing skills:
- Putting poems to music e.g. in the form of a plain song
- Use of a pentatonic scale
- Develop understanding of different structures for compositions
including beginning, middle and end; ABA, ABC, etc.
Develop understanding of different pedagogies: watch video clips of
lessons and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning strategies
for developing skills and understanding in music. Discuss ideas about
how children learn in different aspects of music.
Independent Study
Task
Find a web-based resource for a music activity of your own choice and
bring this to the next session.
Support for learning
http://www. primaryresources.co.uk/music
http://www.thegrid.org.uk/learning/music/ks1-2/resources/
Session 3 resources
Session 4
Half day
ICT in Music
Lesson planning and assessment
Scaffolding learning
Reference to NC and
Non-Statutory
Guidance
Links to other
subjects
Learning Intentions
KS1 – 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 4c, 5a, 5c
KS2 – 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 5a, 5c
Session Content
Establish what is meant by ICT in the context of teaching and learning
music. Explore and evaluate a range of software used to support
children’s development in music.
ICT
1. Explore the benefits of using ICT to support music learning
2. Evaluate a range of electronic resources to support children’s
learning in music
3. Reflect on effective pedagogies for supporting children in their
music development to facilitate planning and assessment of
appropriate musical experiences.
4. Interpret the National Curriculum requirements for music
learning in the classroom and explore progression in the
development of the elements of music.
5. Explore approaches for supporting diversity and inclusion.
Further develop understanding of different pedagogies: watch video
clips of lessons and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning
strategies for developing skills and understanding in music.
Using ideas from Independent Study Task 3 and what has been learned
from analysing observations of teaching and learning, plan a lesson for
an aspect of music learning within either Key Stage 1 or 2.
Look at ways in which activities and resources can be adapted to support
diversity and inclusion.
Independent Study
Task
Find a stimulus that you consider suitable as a starting point for
composition e.g. picture and bring to the next session.
Support for learning
BECTA (2003) Using Web-based Resources in Primary Music,
Coventry, BECTA.
This resource can be located at:
http://www.mmiweb.org.uk/publications/webprimary/music.pdf
Session 4 resources
Session 5
Half day
Reference to NC and
Non-Statutory
Guidance
Links to other
subjects
Learning Intentions
Session Content
Children learning music: lessons from research
Composing from different composition stimulus
Music across the curriculum
KS1 – 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 4c, 5a, 5c
KS2 – 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b, 4c, 5a, 5c, 5d
Science, History, Geography, PE, Mathematics, English, Art, RE.
1. Become aware of factors that can impact on children’s musical
development and their potential impact on teaching and learning.
2. Reflect on how children learn in aspects of their music
development, looking at findings from research.
3. Explore the use of different types of stimulus as a starting point
for composition.
4. Apply composing, performing and appraising skills in a
composition project.
5. Explore the potential for cross-curricular links between music
and other areas of the curriculum.
Discuss the advantages of different types of stimulus as starting points
for composition e.g. film clip, painting, photograph, poem. Share the
stimulus found for Independent Study Task 4.
Identify key ideas from readings relating to children’s learning in music,
Build on the knowledge and understanding and skills developed in
previous sessions to compose, perform and appraise a piece of music
from a chosen stimulus. Devise a form of notation to record the
composition. Record the piece electronically to support evaluation and
development of the music. Perform for the group explaining how the
music developed through each of the stages.
Develop a cross curricular activity linking music to another area of the
National Curriculum.
Independent Study
Task
Access a journal article from the library electronic resources which
explores an aspect of children’s learning in music. Select a focus from
the following:
- musical development;
- composition;
- listening and appraising.
Support for learning
Library electronic journals – see list in Bibliography.
Session 5 resources.
Bibliography
Donaldson, C. (2006) Music Works: A complete resource pack for primary music; Ages 5-7,
Dunstable: Folens.
Donaldson, C. (2006) Music Works: A complete resource pack for primary music; Ages 7-9,
Dunstable: Folens.
Donaldson, C. (2006) Music Works: A complete resource pack for primary music; Ages 9-11,
Dunstable: Folens.
Glover, J. and Young, S. (1999) Primary Music: Later Years, London, Falmer Press.
Glover, J. (2000) Children Composing 4-14, London: Routledge Falmer.
Glover, J. and Ward, S. (2000) Teaching Music in the Primary School: A Guide for Primary
Teachers, London, Cassell.
Harris, P. (2009) Group Music Teaching in Practice: A Resource for all teachers and leaders
involved in wider opportunities and group music making, Leamington Spa, Scholastic.
Hennessy, S. (1995) Music 7-11: Developing Primary Teaching Skills, London, Routledge.
Mills, J. (2009) Music in the Primary School, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Ockelford, A. (2008) Music for Children and Young People with Complex Needs, Oxford,
Oxford University Press.
Wagter, S. (2006) Singing Games for Primary Children, Bognor Regis, Music-4-Schools.
York, M. (1995) Gently into music: possible approaches for non-specialist primary teachers,
Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Journals
British Journal of Music Education
Journal of Research in Music Education
International Journal of Music Education
International Journal of Research in Music Education
Useful websites
National Curriculum for Key Stages 1 and 2
http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-1-and-2/subjects/music/index.aspx
Link directly to National Curriculum Music
http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/uploads/Music%201999%20programme%20of%20study_tcm812060.pdf
Early Years Foundation Stage Framework
https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DCSF-00261-2008
Clips of children carrying out musical activities
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/primary/music/
Audio resources to illustrate music concepts
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolradio/subjects/music/clipslibrary
Ideas for songs: Sing up
http://www.singup.org/songbank/
Teaching ideas:
Hertfordshire Grid for Learning
http://www.thegrid.org.uk/learning/music/ks1-2/resources/
Primary resources
www. primaryresources.co.uk/music
DfES Schemes of work for Music at KS1 and 2
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090608182316/http://standards.dfes.gov.uk/scheme
s2/music/?view=get
Curriculum online
www.curriculumonline.ie/en/Primary_School_Curriculum/Arts_Education/Music