Music at Bosbury   

Being a Musician at Bosbury CE Primary School

Music lies at the heart of Bosbury. The children participate in some kind of musical activity every day, whether that is singing, learning an instrument with the many peripatetic teachers, performing, listening, composing or evaluating the musical work of others.

We believe that music has value as an academic subject, which lies in its contribution to enjoyment and enrichment, for its social benefits, for those who engage in music seriously as well as for fun.

Singing is a large part of Bosbury school life. The children sing as a whole school, or in their Key Stage, every day. This has been proven to encourage greater self-esteem, enjoyment and engagement in class, and is also a great stress relief!

The whole school has taken part in a variety of national singing events over the last year, bringing much enjoyment and laughter – the effects often being felt for days afterwards.  We have a thriving school choir who perform in many concerts through the year.

The children’s formal music education starts as soon as they enter the school. Children are given many opportunities to sing and explore instruments throughout EYFS and Key Stage 1, with an organised progression of skills, which are re-visited frequently throughout their primary years.

By Key Stage 2, children are expected to start composing more structured pieces of music, often in groups. This encourages improved social and listening skills, in addition to the many musical skills that are being taught. The focus of these class lessons is on the seven common musical elements: tempo, dynamics, pitch, structure, texture, timbre and duration, and I also teach the next steps on each class' allocated instrument. All children in classes 2-5 learn an instrument as a class and practise daily first thing in the morning (in addition to any peripatetic lessons) and Class 1 have a variety of percussion instruments which they can access throughout the day.

Class 1 – continuous provision throughout the day on a selection of percussion instruments 

Class 2 – ocarina (learning to read musical notation and symbols of the finger positions) 

Class 3 – recorder (learning to read musical notation) 

Class 4 – brass (learning to read musical notation) 

Class 5 – ukulele (learning chords and singing, with some accompaniments on tuned percussion) 

We have a number of peripatetic teachers who currently offer guitar, drums, double bass, cello, violin, flute, clarinet, recorder and voice. Bosbury has a large number of pupils who learn instruments during the school day and they have the opportunity to perform at school celebrations throughout the year. They are all encouraged to perform at the annual Spring Concert, even if they have only been playing for a short while.

Our musical clubs include African Djembe and Choir. The drumming group has performed at the Malvern Three Counties Show, and will be playing at Hereford Cathedral this year. Performance is a large part of both clubs, in school and locally/nationally, as we believe it to be an inherent part of each child’s musical education.

Children who learn music at any level learn self-discipline, expression through sound, fine motor skills, further develop problem solving skills, learn how to cooperate and collaborate with others, and learn how to ignite the creative and critical mind. Most importantly, if the children can come away understanding that music offers all those qualities in addition to the enjoyment in listening casually or with great attention, then I have achieved my aim. Anyone who is educated in music learns these skills whether they know it or not.

Why do we teach music? This article explains how effective music is on a young person’s development, and why music is so important in schools.

Best wishes and please do come and speak to me if you have any further questions about how music is taught at Bosbury or if you have any ideas or suggestions as to how we could enhance our already rich music curriculum even further.

Mrs S. Walker

Bosbury CE Primary School Specialist Music Teacher

Key Music Documents 

  BOSBURY PRIMARY SCHOOL MUSIC POLICY 

  BOSBURY PRIMARY SCHOOL MUSIC CURRICULUM STATEMENT 

  BOSBURY MUSIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2024-2025

  MUSIC VOCABULARY EXPECTATIONS BY YEAR GROUP

Music is a science.

Music is mathematical.

Music is a foreign language.

Music is history.

Music is Physical Education.

Music develops insight and demands research.

Music is all of these things, but most of all,

Music is Art

That is why we teach music:

Not because we expect you to major in music

Not because we expect you to play or sing all your life….

But so you will be human

So you will recognise beauty

So you will be closer to an infinite beyond this world.

So you will have something to cling to

So you will have more love, more compassion,

More gentleness, more good –

In short, more Life.

Anon

MRS WALKER'S GOOD READ GUIDE FOR MUSIC:

  Children's Book of Music (Hardback), DK Publishing (£16.99)

  Where Are All The Instruments? West Africa by Nathan Holder (£8.99)

  Where Are All The Instruments? European Orchestra by N.Holder (£8.99)

  Where Are All The Black Female Composers? by Nathan Holder (£9.99)

  Why is My Piano Black and White? by Nathan Holder (£9.99)

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MUSIC PUPIL VOICE!

Please click on the links below to see the results of a music questionnaire recently completed by all pupils in Year 1 through to Year 6 on how they feel about how music is taught at Bosbury School and their thoughts about how it can be further developed. Thank you to all of the pupils who completed the questionnaires - the results have really helped Mrs. Walker in her research into the benefits of playing a musical instrument daily.

  Class 2 Music Questionnaire Results

  Class 3 Music Questionnaire Results

  Class 4 Music Questionnaire Results

  Class 5 Music Questionnaire Results