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Music
Musician of the Month 2023~2024
April: Hans Zimmer
Elton John wrote The Circle of Life for The Lion King but do you know who composed the rest of the music for this well-loved Disney film? Hans Florian Zimmer is a German composer and record producer and he won an Academy Award for The Lion King score in 1994. Zimmer is not able to read music very well but taught himself how to play the keyboard and guitar. How many other films has he written the music for? Zimmer also had a part in the first Shrek film - can you find out who he was?
March: Spice Girls
Jerry, Mel B, Mel C, Victoria and Emma formed the Spice Girls in 1994, released 43 songs and have sold over 105,000,000 records worldwide.
February: Jean Michel Jarre
JMJ is a French artist, composer, record producer, performer and pioneer of electronic music. He was born in 1948 and is most known for his 1976 hit album Oxygene, which sold over 18 million copies worldwide. We are going to listen and watch his live performances and find out how he plays the instruments he invents.
January: Oasis
Some Might Say we need to Roll With It in January and listen to the music of OASIS. What makes them a Rock 'N' Roll Star? Will the Champagne Supernova next to the Wonderwall mean we Don't Look Back in Anger and Stop Crying Your Heart out? Whatever we find out the Supersonic band we need to Roll With It!
December: Slade
Slade's fantastic Christmas hit is 50 years old this year! Where did the band start and are they still making music? Merry Christmas, Everyone!
November: UB40
UB40 started making music together in the late 1970s. They have sales of over 70 million worldwide with hits such as Red Red Wine and Can't Help Falling in Love. We will explore how they created their unique sound and find out how the band has changed over the last 40 years.
October: Diana Ross and the Supremes
The Supremes were an American Motown group that started singing together in the 1960's. We will find out what they sounded like, who was in the group, why they changed their name and, most importantly, listen to some of their music and find out why they have sold over 100,000,000 records all over the world!
September: Ed Sheeran
Well done to our two competition winners!
Our first Musician of the Month this year is the talented singer, song-writer and instrumentalist Ed Sheeran. How old is he? What instruments can he play? Where was he born? How many songs has he written? What makes his music so popular?
*Competition - win a prize*
Please draw/paint a picture of Ed Sheeran and give it in to the office, or to Miss Didcott. We know that Ed is very busy performing all over the world but he loves seeing fan art that people have created of him.
Come and Sing News!
On Tuesday 13th June 2023 the Come and Sing choir took part in the Dover Singing Festival which was organised by David Burridge from The Big Reveal. It brought together 11 local primary schools to perform songs from stage and screen, accompanied by live musicians. The children performed brilliantly and with enthusiasm - what a fantastic sound we made in Charlton Church! Well done
Musician of the Month
June:
The teachers have chosen their own musician to spotlight during the month of June. Who is it? Why have they chosen them? What genre of music are they involved in? Are they a composer, performer or technician? Please come and tell Miss Didcott the musician your class is listening to and finding out about.
May: Andrew Lloyd Webber
How many musicals has Andrew Lloyd Webber composed the music for? Who has he collaborated with? Has he written any other styles of music? Why has he recently released some new music?
April: Jazz - Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and others
We explore Jazz from the 1930's and 40s. How would you describe the music? What instruments can you hear? Can you copy the singing style?
March: Taylor Swift
We are asking questions about Taylor Swift this month: her musical career, her life and where she finds inspiration for her songs.
Young Voices Choir at the
O2 Arena, London 2023
Children from Come and Sing club in Years 3 - 6 were part of the 'the largest choir event in the world' with over 8,000 children performing with a live band at the O2. Special guests included Urban Strides - that use dance as a way to improve the fitness, well-being and cooperation skills of young people nationally and the incredible Beatbox Collective. There was even a message from Nile Rogers as we sang a medley of some of his greatest hits.
Anna Phoebe played the violin and her collaboration with the beatboxers made us all get up and dance. We sang with Heather Small from M-People - which made us all very 'Proud' to be part of such an amazing event.
'The Beatbox Collective were exciting and really loud!' Maya
'I couldn't believe it when we got a message from Nile Rogers' Beatrice
'I was astonished - it was the best night of my life' Lorelei
We learned new skills from The Beatbox Collective
'It was really awesome, I loved it' Izzy
The amazing Anna Phoebe played the violin
'The concert was the best thing that's ever happened to me' Harley
We all danced with Urban Strides
'The Urban Strides Dance group were so good' Annabelle
'It was so brilliant I wish I could do it all again' Dione
Musician of the Month
February: Stock, Aitken and Waterman
SAW/Hit Factory wrote and produced songs for: Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley, Bananarama, Princess, Hazell Dean, Donna Summer, Pepsi & Shirlie, Mel & Kim and others during the 80s and 90s. We will be finding out what a music producer does and other 'behind the scenes' jobs in the music industry.
January: Nile Rogers and Chic Everybody Dance!
Le Freak C'est Chic, Goodtimes, Upside Down.
Nile Rogers has written, produced and performed songs that have sold more that half a billion records world-wide.
December: Michael Bublé is a Canadian singer that has become 'the voice of Christmas songs' around the world.
November: John Williams When was John Williams born? How many film scores has he composed? Which is your favourite? Can he play any instruments?
October: Ladysmith Black Mambazo What country are they from? How many singers are in the group? When did they start singing together? Why do they move and dance when they sing?
September: Amy Wadge Where was Amy born? How may songs has she written? Who has sung them? Does she play any instruments? Has she received any awards for her song writing?
In our weekly singing assembly we are learning the following songs - you can sing along at home too! (When you click on the link, you may need to reload the page to make it play in YouTube)
Subject Leader - Miss S Didcott
Intent
At River Primary School, we value music because it is a powerful and unique form of communication that can change and impact the way children feel, think and act. We believe that teaching music helps the body and the mind work together and can help children excel in other areas of their learning. It is also a vehicle for personal expression, and it can play an important part in personal development. Music reflects the culture and society we live in, and so the teaching and learning of music enables children to better understand the world which they live in. Besides being a creative and enjoyable subject, music is also a highly academic and demanding subject. It also plays an important part in helping children to feel part of a community, therefore we provide opportunities for all children to create, play, perform and enjoy music both in class and to an audience. Through assemblies and year group or class performances, children showcase their talent and their understanding of performing with awareness of others. We encourage children to participate in a variety of musical experiences through which we aim to build up the confidence of all children. We endeavour to broaden their horizons and build their cultural capital through a curriculum which introduces pupils to music from a range of musical genres, historical periods, cultures, composers and musicians. Through our curriculum and extra-curricular activities, we aim to give pupils the foundations for a lifelong participation in and enjoyment of music.
Our curriculum is carefully sequenced throughout EYFS and Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 to equip pupils with the skills and knowledge necessary for them to fully access the Key Stage 3 music curriculum. Children will hone practical skills in using their voices as well as instruments and technology to create and perform music. We will build the children’s knowledge and skills in music to enable them to take part in performances and appreciate different aspects of the music they hear as they get older. We will encourage them to form opinions about their tastes in music, alongside an awareness of different styles and traditions from different times and places.
Teaching musical terminology is an important element of our music curriculum. As the children progress through the curriculum they will develop an extended music vocabulary which they will then be challenged to use to discuss their own performances and compositions, as well as live and recorded music.
