Music

What does Music look like at Brill?

At Brill Church of England School, we believe that music has the power to bring people together, build confidence, inspire creativity and give children another way to express themselves.

We want every child to experience the joy of making music and to see themselves as a musician – whether they are singing, playing an instrument, composing, listening or performing.

Every class receives a weekly music lesson delivered by specialist music teachers from XYZ Music Academy, ensuring that children benefit from specialist expertise and a progressive musical education throughout their time at Brill.

Our curriculum provides children with opportunities to develop as performers, composers and listeners, progressively building their musicianship, practical skills and musical knowledge.

Beyond whole-class lessons, children can also access peripatetic instrumental tuition, enabling those who wish to take their musical learning further to develop individual instrumental skills.

Music is something to be learned, experienced, shared and enjoyed.

INTENT

Our Music curriculum is ambitious for every child.

We want children to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to participate actively in music and to appreciate music in its many forms.

Through our Music curriculum, we aim for children to:

develop confidence and enjoyment in singing;
develop their sense of pulse, rhythm and pitch;
learn to play a range of tuned and untuned instruments;
develop increasing control, accuracy and expression when performing;
improvise and compose their own music;
understand and use musical notation progressively;
listen carefully and respond thoughtfully to music;
develop and use appropriate musical vocabulary;
encounter music from a broad range of genres, periods, traditions and cultures;
learn about significant composers, performers and musicians;
perform individually and collaboratively;
develop the skills needed to play as part of an ensemble; and
experience the confidence, enjoyment and sense of achievement that making music can bring.

We want children to understand that becoming a musician involves listening, practising, experimenting, collaborating and performing.

We encourage children to be bold in expressing themselves, brave enough to perform and Brill-iant in making music together.

IMPLEMENTATION

Specialist Music Teaching

Music at Brill is taught by specialist teachers from XYZ Music Academy.

Every class receives a dedicated music lesson each week, giving children consistent access to high-quality specialist teaching throughout the year.

The XYZ curriculum is aligned with the Model Music Curriculum and provides progressive learning from the Early Years through to Year 6. Children build musical confidence through active participation, with opportunities to sing, compose, listen, perform and develop musicianship.

As children progress, their learning becomes increasingly sophisticated, enabling them to build upon previous musical knowledge and apply it with greater independence and confidence.

Singing and Musicianship

Singing is an important part of musical life at Brill.

Children develop their voices progressively, learning to sing with increasing awareness of pitch, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, phrasing and expression.

Singing together also teaches children to listen to one another and understand the importance of their own contribution within a larger group.

Through musicianship activities, children develop their understanding of the fundamental elements of music and learn the vocabulary needed to talk and think about music with increasing precision.

XYZ’s programme progressively develops children’s confidence as performers, music-creators and audiences, moving from exploration and experimentation in the early years towards increasingly sophisticated musical understanding.

Playing and Performing

Children have regular opportunities to make music practically.

Throughout their time at Brill, they encounter both rhythmic and melodic instruments, developing increasing control and musical understanding.

The XYZ programme provides opportunities to experience instruments and approaches including percussion, body percussion, recorder, keyboard, ukulele and xylophone as children progress through the curriculum.

Children learn to play individually and collaboratively, listen to others, maintain their own part and contribute to an ensemble.

We want children to experience the particular sense of achievement that comes from making music together.

Composing and Creating

Children are not only taught to perform music created by others – they learn to create music of their own.

From experimenting with sounds and simple rhythmic patterns to increasingly sophisticated improvisation and composition, children learn how musical ideas can be created, developed, recorded and refined.

As they progress through school, children develop their understanding of rhythm, melody, structure, notation and the elements of music, using this knowledge to make increasingly purposeful compositional choices.

Creativity is encouraged alongside musical knowledge: children are given opportunities to explore ideas, take appropriate creative risks and discover that there can be many different musical responses to the same starting point.

Listening and Musical Appreciation

Listening is fundamental to becoming a musician.

Children encounter music from a wide range of genres, styles, periods and traditions, developing their ability to listen actively and respond using increasingly sophisticated musical vocabulary.

They learn about significant composers, musicians and performers and explore how music has developed and been influenced by its historical, social and cultural context.

As children progress through Key Stage 2, XYZ’s curriculum develops this further through music history and encounters with an inclusive range of composers and performers from different backgrounds and musical traditions.

We want children to leave Brill willing to listen beyond the music they already know and to be curious about the extraordinary variety of music in the world.

Music Beyond the Classroom

Music has an important place in the wider life of Brill School.

Children have opportunities to sing and perform together, share their musical achievements and perform for others, including through school assemblies and other performance opportunities.

We want performance to feel like a natural part of musical learning rather than something reserved only for the most confident musicians.

Children are encouraged to have a go, share what they have learned and celebrate one another’s achievements.

These experiences help develop not only musical ability but also confidence, courage, collaboration and a sense of belonging.

Individual Instrumental Tuition

For children who wish to develop their musical interests further, peripatetic instrumental lessons are available at Brill.

These lessons provide opportunities for children to receive more focused tuition and develop their technique and musicianship on an individual instrument.

Together with our whole-class provision, this enables children to discover musical interests and talents which they may choose to pursue beyond the primary years.

Music and Our Brill Values

Music provides wonderful opportunities to live out our values of Honesty, Hope, Courage and Compassion.

It takes Courage to perform in front of others.

It takes Hope and perseverance to practise something that cannot yet be played.

It takes Honesty to listen critically to our own performance and recognise how we can improve.

And it takes Compassion to listen, collaborate, encourage others and celebrate somebody else’s success.

Music reminds children that individual voices matter – but that something particularly powerful can happen when those voices come together.

An Inclusive Music Curriculum

Music is for every child at Brill.

Our specialist provision enables children with different starting points, experiences and levels of musical confidence to participate and progress.

Activities and resources can be adapted to support pupils with SEND and additional needs, while children demonstrating greater musical proficiency can access increased challenge and complexity. XYZ’s programme is specifically designed to enable children with different levels of prior attainment to participate while maintaining high expectations.

We want every child to experience the enjoyment and sense of achievement that comes from making music successfully.

IMPACT

By the end of their Brill journey, we want our children to see themselves as confident, creative and enthusiastic musicians.

We want children to leave Brill able to:

sing with increasing confidence, control and expression;
demonstrate an understanding of pulse, rhythm, pitch and other musical elements;
play instruments with increasing accuracy and fluency;
read and use musical notation at an age-appropriate level;
perform individually and as part of an ensemble;
improvise, compose and develop musical ideas;
listen actively and respond thoughtfully to music;
use appropriate musical vocabulary;
recognise and appreciate music from different periods, genres, cultures and traditions;
reflect upon and improve their own musical work; and
participate in musical experiences with confidence and enjoyment.

Most importantly, we want children to leave Brill having experienced the joy of making music.

For some, this may inspire a lifelong passion, further instrumental study or future musical achievement. For others, it may simply mean having the confidence to sing, listen, perform and enjoy music.

Both matter.

We want every Brill child to know that music belongs to them and that their voice has a place within it.