Music
“Music is the universal language of mankind.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , 19th Century American Poet
Curriculum Principles
Our intent is to provide all students with a broad and balanced knowledge base that will underpin a lifelong appreciation of music as an artform, as entertainment, through practical involvement, and further study. Through understanding, creating, and performing music, students will be able to develop a strong sense of ‘self’ as well as understanding the big picture of music as a whole and its role in culture and society.
Our KS3 curriculum gives students the knowledge and understanding of key genres of music that form the building blocks of the music they enjoy today. By the end of KS3 students will not only have the practical ‘know how’ to perform and compose music, they will also have the knowledge to be able to understand how the music they will go onto experience has been created. By the end of KS4 students will not only have the practical skills to perform and compose music to a high level, they will also have the knowledge and basis of analytical skills to be able to understand, describe and discuss music from a wide range of styles and throughout a number of key areas in the development of the artform.
At all levels, students will be encouraged to take responsibility for their learning and show the resilience needed to achieve high-level, meaningful, and satisfying musical outcomes. Lessons are delivered to maximise engagement and enjoyment of the subject with high quality modelling and robust subject knowledge at the heart of teaching pedagogy. The curriculum aims to be fully inclusive and to stretch and challenge all students of all abilities. The private study of music is something that has become something of an elitist pursuit in society but the classroom remains one of the few places where learning about and practicing music is freely accessible to all; this is a belief central to the music curriculum at Rossett.
Curriculum Features
At the heart of all decisions around the curriculum content is the belief that music should be enjoyable. Whilst the journey to excellence may be long and demand resilience, it does not need to exclude rewards along the way. The KS3 curriculum focuses on developing practical ‘know how’ in students who come to us with a huge variety of experience levels and prior attainment. Through this we can develop the confidence to engage readily and whole- heartedly. Music is not just about skills, it is also about knowledge, understanding concepts behind the practice, and the historical context of those that create it. Our curriculum aims to cover all these features through practical exploration, aural perception, and historical and analytical study. These key areas of ‘musicianship’ run through all key stages.
