Music

Although the National Curriculum orders are specific about the areas of musical skill and understanding to be covered (AES 1991, AfE 1995), there is considerable scope for teachers to follow their own interests and enthusiasms in its delivery. The orders require that the repertoire chosen for performing and listening should extend pupils’ musical experience and should be drawn from a wide variety of types and styles of music, although the choice of styles is left to the teacher. Emphasis is placed on teaching music as a practical and creative subject, allowing pupils to learn through direct experience of music by composing and performing. The orders require that pupils learn to explore, select, combine, organise and refine sounds to create musical ideas using notations and IT as a support, but there is no requirement to concentrate specifically on the study of musical theory or traditional staff notation. The National Curriculum offers all pupils, whatever their level of musical or academic ability, the opportunity to be involved in practical and creative music-making in order to develop the aural and coordination skills necessary to express themselves musically, and the knowledge and experience to allow them to develop their appreciation of the richness of the diverse cultural heritages of the world.