Striking the right note – music at Solebay Primary
In our everyday lives we are surrounded by music. And as a subject, music helps pupils understand and appreciate it in some way, whether that’s by learning an instrument, connecting on an emotional level or even using it as a method of self-regulation.
Music is also a subject which provides many benefits that reach far beyond learning an instrument or improving children’s musicality. Research has shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety and improve sleep quality, mood, mental alertness, and memory. Practising music boosts creativity, helps with language, increases spatial awareness and improves IQ – it’s a full brain workout!
To give our pupils the best music education, we have specialist teachers taking all our lessons. Children at Solebay all benefit from their expertise, and as the teachers have regular, consistent contact with the children they are able to tailor lessons more effectively to the needs of the students.
To give pupils enough time to properly appreciate music, everyone in our school has one music lesson a week of forty five minutes, every week of the year. We also have a bespoke music room which is equipped with the resources pupils need to learn effectively.
In addition to regular music lessons during the school day, we provide extra tuition for seven instrument disciplines, taught by peripatetic tutors and available to all pupils from Year 2 upwards. We also run musical after school activities through the year which include ukulele club, choir and musical theatre.
As well as musicality, in every music lesson children are building their interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. We always include a practical aspect in every lesson, including group work and performance. These activities improve confidence and help grow skills such as team-building and the ability to work with others by playing as part of an ensemble. Learning to play a musical instrument also teaches resilience and patience – there’s no shortcut to being able to play well, just perseverance. There’s a reason ‘practice makes perfect’ is such a common phrase!
As well as learning about music theory, our pupils also learn about the cultural aspect of music and its history. As we learn about different genres of music, we also study the context and diversity of the genres; the place where it was born, the people who created it and the time period. For instance, when studying funk, soul and blues pupils also learn about slavery and segregation. In this way Music is a cross-curricular subject, linking pupils’ learning to many other areas on the timetable.