Autumn

World War II

The children will develop greater accuracy in pitch and control. Identifying pitches within an octave when singing and using knowledge of pitch to develop confidence when singing in parts.

The children will:

Singing for victory – use their musical vocabulary to describe features of the music of WW2

The White Cliffs of Dover – develop their accuracy in pitch and control and ability to sing with expression and dynamics

Pitch up – learn how to identify pitches within an octave by exploring the pitch and tempo of the song ‘Do-Re-Mi’ and the war-time song ‘The White ClifAdfs of Dover’

Harmonise – use their knowledge of pitch to develop confidence when singing different parts and challenge themselves to sing something that is different to what they are hearing

Let’s notate – learn how to notate a melody using pitches up to an octave

 

Advanced Rhythms

Exploring rhythmic patterns in order to build the sense of pulse and using this understanding to create a composition.

The children will:

Try Kodaly – learn about the work Zoltan Kodaly and develop an understanding of the Kodaly music method

Getting into the groove – how to strengthen the feeling of pulse when working with rhythmic patterns through collaborative activities

Clapping music – use their hands as instruments to explore rhythmic patterns in order to build the sense of pulse, inspired by Steve Reich’s ‘Clapping Music’

Composing crews – use their knowledge of rhythm to create their own compositions and take on the roll of a music critic to invite constructively critical discussions amongst peers

Let’s notate – use their knowledge about about rhythmic notation to notate their own composition

 

Spring

Film Music

Full details to follow

 

Summer

Coast Fingal’s Cave by Mendolsohn

Appraising the work of Felix Mendolsohn, understanding the sound and theory of the cycle of fifths and developing ensemble skills

Lesson details to follow

Composing and Performing a Leavers’ Songs

Children spend the topic creating their very own leavers’ song personal to their experiences as a class; listening to and critiquing well known songs reflective of new beginnings, writing the lyrics for the chorus and verses, exploring the concept of the four chord backing track and composing melodies

The children will:

A Single Year – evaluate a song based on its lyrics, tempo, melody and arrangement

Writing lyrics – use suitable words and phrases for the chorus of a song and turning the ideas into lyrics

Strong structure – use poetry writing skills to turn suitable words into lyrics and working in groups to sequence and structure lyrics into a verse

Backing track – explore using a backing track for their song and use vocal improvisation and known melodies over backing tracks

Creating a melody – compose a melody for the chorus of their song using different kinds of notation.

The final piece – put together all the techniques and knowledge they have learned, the children create and perform their song