Term 1: Hey Mr Miller
Hey, Mr Miller is an extremely popular song with three layers in a jazz/swing style. The title and song lyrics refer to the well-known American musician Alton Glenn Miller and his swing band. As well as opportunities to discover and learn about swing-style jazz and some of the most renowned big band leaders of 1930s and 1940s America, the activities in this unit will allow children to explore rhythm work, creating and improvising off-beat (syncopated) rhythm patterns and melodies, and develop a polished group performance. This unit also contains the first of three progression snapshots that will be returned to and developed in Terms 2 and 3 to collect evidence of pupils’ progress.
- Lesson 1: Introduction and begin learning Hey, Mr Miller.
- Lesson 2: Learn Section 3 Hey, Mr Miller and find out about swing music.
- Lesson 3: Progression snapshot 1. Make a video recording of children singing.
- Lesson 4: Learn about scat singing and swing rhythms with Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington.
- Lesson 5: Improvise syncopated melodies using notes of the C major scale.
- Lesson 6: Sing and play a class arrangement with a good sense of ensemble.
Term 2: Shadows
This listening unit is based around the piece Shadows by Lindsey Stirling – an American violinist and dancer. As an artist, she creates music that is a fusion of country, electronic dance music (EDM), and rock. There are lots of video examples to watch with focused questions to guide listening and base discussions around. Tokio Myers is also included in this unit as an artist who found fame on the TV programme Britain’s Got Talent. He studied classical piano at the Royal College of Music and uses his talents to create music that fuses many different genres. The unit ends with a creative response to music using shadows.
- Lesson 1: Who is Lindsey Stirling?
- Lesson 2: Who is Tokio Myers?
- Lesson 3: Create a response to music using shadows.
Term 2: Music for Protests
English composer Ethel Smyth used music to put across the message of the suffragettes when she wrote their March of the women anthem. In this unit, children will learn how to make their own protest song inspired by Ethel’s anthem and the suffragette movement.
- Lesson 1: Protest words.
- Lesson 2: Protest song.
- Lesson 3: Protest!
For more information, please view our Charanga musical school year 6 knowledge organisers