Music

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Music at Corpus Christi

At Corpus Christi, our Music curriculum takes children on a rich and joyful musical journey from EYFS to Year 6. Beginning with nursery rhymes, pulse‑keeping and playful exploration in the early years, pupils steadily develop confidence in singing, listening, playing instruments, improvising and composing through structured, progressive learning. As they move up the school, children experience a wide range of musical styles—from reggae and jazz to classical, gospel, Motown and pop—while learning increasingly sophisticated musicianship skills such as notation reading, part‑singing, ensemble awareness and creative composition. By Year 6, pupils can perform with expression, improvise using multiple notes, analyse music using technical vocabulary and create their own compositions with growing independence and identity. Through this carefully sequenced curriculum, every child becomes a confident, thoughtful and expressive young musician.

Our music offer also includes brass and wind whole class instrumental lessons and additional elective tuition is also offered by the school if your child would like to continue to develop their musical instrument playing skills. We have a successful school brass band and several of our children have had the opportunity to play to an audience at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham.

The children also get the opportunity to develop their singing skills with our classically trained pianist.

How Musical Skills Progress from EYFS to Year 6🎶EYFS (Reception): Exploring Music Through Play

Children in Reception learn music through singing, movement and imaginative play. They:

  • Learn many nursery rhymes off by heart.
  • Move to music, finding the pulse by dancing, marching or pretending to be characters.
  • Copy simple rhythms and explore high/low sounds with their voices and glockenspiels.
  • Begin inventing simple musical patterns using one note.
  • Perform confidently through singing and actions.

This establishes the essential foundations of pulse, rhythm, pitch and enjoyment.

🎶Year 1: Building Musical Confidence

In Year 1, children begin to use musical skills more purposefully. They:

  • Sing or rap five songs confidently and in unison.
  • Keep a steady beat and create simple rhythms from words or short phrases.
  • Copy rhythms and melodic patterns using voices and instruments (e.g., C–D).
  • Learn instrumental parts with increasing accuracy and respect for instruments.
  • Begin to improvise using one or two notes.
  • Develop simple compositions using 1–5 notes.
  • Perform songs with added instrumental parts and respond to musical direction.

This stage solidifies their understanding of pulse, rhythm and pitch while broadening musical engagement.

🎶Year 2: Becoming Young Musicians

By Year 2, children develop increasing independence and musical fluency. They:

  • Sing confidently and understand unison, choruses and musical style.
  • Copy and create rhythms with greater accuracy and control.
  • Play tuned instrumental parts (e.g., G–A–C or C–D–E patterns).
  • Improvise using 1–2 notes and compose using 1, 3 or 5 notes.
  • Use musical vocabulary such as pulse, rhythm, pitch, chorus, dynamics and style.
  • Appreciate a wide range of musical genres—Afropop, rock, reggae, pop and classical.
  • Perform for an audience with confidence and can talk about how it felt.

This ensures pupils leave KS1 with secure musicianship and enthusiasm for learning music in KS2.

🎼 Year 3 – Building Musical Foundations

By Year 3, children move beyond simple singing and rhythm copying into more structured musicianship. They:

  • Learn five songs from memory and identify their musical styles.
  • Use pulse, rhythm and pitch more confidently, responding to music respectfully and thoughtfully.
  • Play glockenspiels with increasing accuracy using one‑note, easy and medium parts.
  • Improvise using one or two notes and copy back simple melodic patterns.
  • Begin to compose using 1, 3 or 5 notes and record their ideas using symbols or notation.
  • Sing in unison and begin exploring two‑part singing.
  • Recognise instruments and talk about how music makes them feel.

This year establishes strong listening, singing and instrumental playing skills.

🎼 Year 4 – Developing Control and Musical Awareness

In Year 4, pupils take a significant step forward, showing more accuracy, independence and expressive understanding. They:

  • Know five songs from memory and recognise stylistic indicators such as tempo, dynamics and texture
  • Understand how pulse, rhythm and pitch work together more deeply.
  • Play parts on tuned instruments—one‑note, simple, medium or melody lines—and begin reading notation.
  • Improvise using one, two or three notes, responding confidently to musical prompts.
  • Compose simple melodies that work with the unit song and record ideas in meaningful ways.
  • Show improved ensemble awareness, following a conductor and listening carefully to others.
  • Build vocabulary to describe music, including structure, texture and style.

This year develops fluency, ensemble skills, musical vocabulary and expressive performance.

🎼 Year 5 – Becoming Independent Musicians

By Year 5, pupils demonstrate increasing control, musicality and independence. They:

  • Know songs in depth—style, structure, instruments, historical context and meaning.
  • Compare songs across genres, identifying similarities and differences using musical vocabulary.
  • Play tuned instrumental parts with accuracy using one‑note, simple, medium or melody parts, often from staff notation.
  • Improvise using up to three notes and understand how improvisation works in genres such as jazz and hip‑hop.
  • Compose melodies using up to five notes, shaping them through tempo, dynamics, texture and structure.
  • Lead parts of rehearsals, take responsibility for ensemble balance and articulate musical choices.
  • Perform with expression, accuracy and confidence, reflecting on what went well and how to improve.

Year 5 prepares pupils beautifully for Upper Key Stage 2 musicianship, building independence, creative confidence and technical skill.

🎼 Year 6 – Preparing for Secondary Music: Independent, Skilled and Expressive Musicians

By Year 6, pupils demonstrate a mature, confident and expressive approach to music. They:

  • Know a wide range of songs from memory, understand their style, historical context, instrumentation and message, and can discuss how musical dimensions (texture, dynamics, tempo, rhythm, pitch and timbre) shape each piece.
  • Move to the pulse with ease, compare songs within a style, evaluate similarities and differences, and talk about music using precise vocabulary.
  • Sing confidently in unison and in parts, including backing vocals, solos and simple rap sections, maintaining a strong internal pulse and demonstrating secure posture, tuning and ensemble awareness.
  • Play tuned instrumental parts with correct technique, selecting from one‑note, simple, medium or melody lines, and reading staff notation where appropriate.
  • Improvise using one, two or three notes (A, G, B or D/E/G/A/B in Jazz) and understand that improvisation involves spontaneous musical creation using riffs, licks and stylistic patterns.
  • Compose melodies using up to five notes, selecting rhythms and structures that match the musical style, and record their ideas using symbolic or staff notation.
  • Lead aspects of rehearsal, follow and give musical instructions, and prepare polished performances that communicate mood and meaning to an audience.
  • Reflect critically on performances, identifying strengths and suggesting improvements with growing musical independence.

By the end of Year 6, pupils have developed into capable, reflective and creative young musicians who are well prepared for Key Stage 3.