Musically, students are constantly touching upon all key musical elements and skills, building upon these as they progress through each lesson, unit and year. As well as this, there is also a Musical Spotlight to each unit. This by no means indicates that there is only one musical aspect or concept being considered and developed – it just allows one chosen musical element, aspect or skill to come to the fore for contemplation, discussion and development, for the duration of that unit.
Term 5: “Sound Symmetry”
In this unit we get reflective on all things symmetrical and develop musical learning based on pupils’ understanding in maths. This unit takes symmetry as the inspiration for exploring structure in music, and is the basis for composing original music using similar concepts.
We will learn to recognise symmetrical patterns in songs, i2provise and sing simple melodies and rhythms, and compose a simple symmetrical song.
We will also learn a traditional Islamic poem as a song Tala‘a al-Badru ‘Alayna, as part of our RE learning. This nasheed (traditional Islamic poem) is one of the oldest songs in Islamic culture.
Term 6: “Global Pentatonics”
This unit is based around the pentatonic scale – a five-note musical scale, which takes its name from the Latin ‘penta’ meaning five, and ‘tonus’, which means sound or tone. It has a distinctive and recognisable sound. Music from around the world, through history and across many traditions and cultures, is based on the pentatonic scale. Integral to improvisation, blues, jazz, rock and pop music, the pentatonic scale continues to influence modern music globally. Children will experience a range of pieces, with opportunities for improvisation and composing using classroom percussion instruments. We will learn to listen to pentatonic melodies, improvise pentatonic melodies, and compose and notate pentatonic melodies.
We will also learn some fun songs linked to our topic of ancient civilisations; “Tutankhamun!” all about the great pharoah, and “Two Piles of Stones” the song tells the story of two different piles of stone: one that became a pyramid in ancient Egypt, and the other that was made into our very own Stonehenge.
For more information, please view our Charanga musical school year 4 & 5 knowledge organisers