Year 4

Year 4

In Year Four the children will continue to use their previous learning and develop this further by:

• Playing and performing in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency and expression – This will be developed by using different techniques including beatbox and raps and combining body percussion to accompany songs. The children will perform songs with a verse and chorus structure and will learn a chant in three parts. In their performances, they will combine singing with instruments and will play instrumental accompaniments of rhythms and riffs. The children will play pieces using staff notations.
• Improvising and composing music for a range of purposes using the interrelated dimensions of music - pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations -This will be developed through composing and improvising. The children will compose a rap and a fanfare and will create descriptive sound pictures with instruments. They will explore household items as instruments and will improvise in response to visual stimuli. The children will understand syncopation and will clap off-beat rhythms.
• Listening with attention to detail and recalling sounds with increasing aural memory – The children will compare and contrast two pieces of music and will copy rhythms and short melodies. They will make instruments and identify different instruments from a recording.
• Using and understanding staff and other musical notations – This will be developed through composing melodies on a graphic score and through playing and singing repeated patterns from staff notation. The children will learn to play a Renaissance dance.
• Appreciating and understanding a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians – This will be developed through learning about African and American music. The children will learn about rondo form and will use this to build a performance. They will explore the music of famous composers and will describe the structure of an orchestral piece of music.
• Developing an understanding of the history of music – The children will listen to and learn about dance band music, ballet music and opera music. They will learn a 1960s pop song and find out about dance styles of the time.