CURICULUM OVERVIEW FOR MUSIC
Year 1
Who would live in a house life this?
Recognising pulse/beat (dimension
focus – tempo+dynamics)
Tchaikovsky - 1812 overture- linked
to movement
Autumn
Singing Autumn songs
Comparing music with different
percussion instruments
high / low/ loud / soft following
simple teacher led conducting
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Spring
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Songs about travel.
Comparing music from
around the world.
Expressing likes and dislikes
with relation to various
world music.
Learning the names of
percussion instruments and
exploration of sound
High / low / loud/ soft / fast
/ slow
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Tombs and treasures
Clubs, Spears and swords
The Gruesome Greeks
Singing pating attention to dynamics,
tempo and pitch
Echo songs
Listening to music and exploring pitch,
tempo, timbre and dynamics.
Clapping using notation and keeping a
steady beat. Looking at percussion
instruments and voices to explore –
long/short, fast/slow, loud/quiet,
high/low sounds.
Greek music and dance traditions.
Recognise aurally a range of percussion
(tuned and untuned). Recognise and
talk about music using appropriate
language – tempo, dynamics, metre,
texture, timbre.
Combine instrumental playing with
narrative and movement.
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Joseph and the Technicolour
DreamCoat – Composing,
performing – link to drama.
Christmas songs – using voice
expressively, play tuned and
untuned instruments.
Summer
Lights Camera Action & Perishing
Poles
Year 6
A Woeful War
Singing – Sing confidently in a wide
Silent movies and music scores.
Recognise music from different times –
phrasing, dynamics, tempo). Recognise
and talk about specific traditions and
styles of music.
variety of styles with expression.
Communicate the meaning and mood
of song. Sing a simple second part of a
two part song with confidence.
Maintain own part in a round.
Perform a song from memory –
phrasing, dynamics, pitch (for a special
occasion)
Singing songs in a variety of styles –
thinking about pitch, phrases,
recognising verse/chorus and call and
response.
Chant or sing a round in two parts.
Demonstrating an awareness of
character or style in performance.
Christmas Handbells – read and play
from some conventional music
symbols. Play music that included rests.
Musical and Christmas Concert – Carols.
Sing songs in a wide variety of styles –
showing accuracy and expression. Sing
as part of a 3 part round. Sing a song
with understanding of its history and
purpose. Sing independently with
increased confidence and accuracy.
Up, Up and away!
The Romans Rule!
Kings and Castles
Angry Aztecs
Merrie England
Graphic notation - writing music to
play in a group including high, low,
loud, soft, fast ,slow and including
increase and decease in volume,
pich , speed
Exploring different genres of music
through history and recognising the
pulse, tempo and dynamics and identify
common characteristics.
Listening with concentration to longer
extracts of music.
Listen to music and describe what is
happening using musical language.
Recognise familiar instrumental sounds
in recorded music and know their
names.
Norman - Minstrels and
instruments.
Aztec dance and war music.
Explore instruments and history – Read
and play with confidence from
conventional or graphic notation.
Perform thinking about – dynamics,
tempo etc.
Lead/conduct a group of instrumental
performers.
Maintain own part on a pitched
instrument in a small ensemble.
Echo songs
Recognise music from different times –
identify structure of song e.g.
verse/chorus, call/response.
Sing songs in a variety of styles with
increased awareness of tone, dynamics,
tempo.
Sing 2/3 part round with more confidence
and pitch accuracy.
Sing confidently in a small group or solo –
being aware of good posture and diction.
Is it alive?
 Using our voices in different
ways.
 Songs about growth.
 Pulse, beat, rhythm, tempo,
pitch.
 Composing own music and
matching instruments to
characters or story sections
Year 5
Fighting Fit
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Recognise the sounds and
percussion instrumentsdescribe the quality of
sound - including tempo,
dynamics and pitch.
Response through
movement and dnace
through the mood of music
and dexcribe how the mood
is created
Talk about music they hear in musical
terms, talk about differences in musical
styles/genres and reflect and articulate
how and why these differences occur.
Play a range of percussion and
orchestral instruments with increased
confidence. Play and improvise as part
of a group - keeping a sense of pulse,
perform a piece of music using notation
(graphic and conventional)
Sustain a melodic ostinato or drone to
accompany singing/other instruments.
Explore – chords/harmony – concord
and discord.
Scales – pentatonic, rag, blues.
Exploring the characteristics of various
style – gospel, folk, African etc.
Rumble in the Jungle!
Villans and Outlaws
Terrible Tudors
Composition
Plots, Plague and Parliament
Composition using traditional and
graphic notation, using tuned
percussion with increased confidence.
Follow simple hand instructions from a
leader.
Recognising music has a structure and
layers of sound
Listen to their own compositions using
musicual language to describe the
compositions.
Combine musical sounds with narrative
and movement.
Compose a simple melody from a
selected group of notes (i.e. the
pentatonic scale).
Music that has a recognisable structure
– e.g. reflects a specific atmosphere or
image.
Compose music for a special occasion
(link to tudors). Create lyrics to match a
melody.
Compose music in groups – using the
miscual elements e.g. repetition,
ostinatos, drones.
Refine and record compositions either
graphically or using ICT.
Perform own compositions to audience
and reflect on how their pieces can be
refined to achieve the desired effect.
Compose – Create own simple songs
Arrange a song using tuned or unturned
accompaniments.
Use ICT to record and share work.
reflecting the meaning of words given.
Also compose music that reflects a
specific style e.g. descriptive music, rap,
melody with ostinato accompaniment.
Arrange song for class performance
using pitched/unpitched
accompaniment.
Use ITC to record, sequence, loop
sounds (ipads, tablets, recorders)