Music

Our Aims:

• To provide opportunities for every child to express their thoughts and feelings through music.

• To ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument.

• To teach children about a range of cultures through music, and ensure sound knowledge of music history.

• To provide outstanding teaching that reaches every child, ensuring individual talents and abilities are nurtured and encouraged from the earliest possible point.

• To develop communication and social skills through learning Makaton songs.

• To promote enjoyment and aid memory in all areas of the curriculum through singing.

• To promote enrichment opportunities and parental engagement through music.

Music lead: Mrs Philippa Wooding

Music Curriculum Map

Each pupil can learn: 

• To learn to use their voices and sing in tune with other people

• To recognise pulse and pitch

• To play tuned and untuned musical instruments with control and sensitivity

• To work collaboratively with others to create musical compositions, recognising how sounds combine together to make a final piece

• To 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

• To develop knowledge of musical notation and how to compose music

Vision

At Rushall, the teaching and learning of Music plays a vital role for the children in improving their mental well-being and development of their self-esteem, self-discipline and creativity. Through our teaching of music, the skills involved in playing, composing and listening to different styles will help our children to further develop memory, co-ordination and resilience. We believe that teaching children to sing, learn songs and play instruments in turn will develop their appreciation for different cultures in music from the past to the present day.

Through an inspiring and progressive curriculum that focuses on performing, composing, listening and appraising and applying knowledge and understanding, we offer our children a wide range of experiences that will help to prepare them for Music beyond Rushall. We aim to provide them with musical skills and knowledge to continue their passion for music throughout their time in education and beyond into their future careers. 

Children will learn to play a brass instrument (Years 4-6), alongside a variety of other instruments throughout their time at Rushall. This includes the glockenspiel (KS1), the recorder (lower KS2) and percussion instruments (EYFS). They will also be given numerous opportunities to perform in a variety of settings, pushing boundaries and taking risks to allow them to experience a sense of achievement and pride. 

Singing & Curriculum

Singing features heavily across the curriculum at Rushall, not just in music lessons but also in weekly singing assemblies and in each Key Stage Golden Moments Assembly. At Rushall, singing skills are learnt, revisited and developed so that children grow in confidence and are aware of the expectations in singing for their age. Children at Rushall have taken part in prestigious events such 'Young Voices' at the LG Arena, Birmingham and took part in the first virtual concert 'Winter Wish List' with other Walsall schools during the pandemic. We also have two classes taking part in Walsall school's Infant and Junior Singing Festival during the summer term. Our annual Arts Festival in the Summer features a song performed from each class, from Nursery to Year 6 and also includes singing from children at Oakwood Special School and in the ARP at Rushall. 

At Rushall, pupils are taught through the popular and enriching Charanga curriculum as a basis for our weekly music sessions. It is our aim to ensure that we immerse all children in a holistic approach to music teaching that combine the four key skills of performing, composing, listening and appraising and applying knowledge and understanding. This is why we use Charanga as it supports inclusive music and arts education in school and provides all year group with a clear progression of skills. In addition, it enables staff music specialists and non-specialists in music are able to teach from a valuable tool of resources that will positively impact on their enjoyment to teach music. Music lessons are also supplemented with other resources such as BBC Ten Pieces, Classical 100 and Sing Up.   

Brass

In Years 4, 5 and 6, all children have the fantastic opportunity to learn to play a brass instrument. Miss Miller from Walsall Music Hub is our specialist brass teacher. Each week she works with years 4 and 5, as a whole class, teaching them how to play either a trumpet, trombone, or a baritone. They will also learn how to read music. They are then given the choice to continue their instrument in year 6, where they will work in smaller groups or individually to develop their skills further and are given the opportunity to take a graded exam.

Composer/Musician of the month

Each month, we celebrate a 'Composer of the month'  or a 'Musician of the month' in school. This enables children at Rushall to grow an appreciation and understanding towards a wider range of music from different eras, traditions and genres. By enabling this, we are also ensuring that our children have access to a wide range of music from varied composers and musicians. Our children have already developed their knowledge about a variety of composers and musicians from the past to present day.  The musicians/composers of the month for 2023-2024 are listed below. 

September -

  The Beatbox Collective

October -

Dolly Parton

November - 

Ella Fitzgerald

December -

David Bowie

January -

                                                                                                  ABBA

February -

 Edward Elgar

March -

 Duke Ellington

April -

Louis Armstrong

May -

 Ellie Goulding

June -

Lewis Capaldi

July -

      Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)

"I am a fan of the 90’s boybands including Take That and Boyzone as I grew up in that era! I even had a Boyzone song for my first dance when I married Mr Cook! "

Mrs Cook 

"My favourite composer is Andrew Lloyd Webber. I love the music and lyrics to the songs in his musicals. His melodies are lovely to sing."

Mrs Wooding  

"I love ska and reggae music and when growing up in the eighties I loved listening to The Specials and Bob Marley. I am also a big Rolling Stones fan, and I went to see them at Wembley Stadium when I was 17. I also love Irish music and I love The Cranberries. Nowadays I am listening lots to Celeste in my car who I think has a beautiful voice."

Mrs O’Brien 

"I love Motown music! It is easy to listen to and dance to. When I was a younger, I loved.... wait for it....Bay City Rollers, David Cassidy and Blondie!" 

Miss Faulkner 

"My favourite composer is an Italian pianist/composer called Ludovico Einaudi. My favourite piece he has composed is called Nuvole Bianche. It’s such a beautiful piece of music."

Mrs Beddow