“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.”
― Billy Joel
Personal and Cultural Development in Music
At Barley Close we believe that Music is a unique way of communicating which can inspire and motivate children. It is a vehicle for personal expression and plays an important role in the personal development of each child. At Barley Close, children are introduced to a wide variety of styles, genres and traditions in their music making.
Music reflects culture and society and so the teaching and learning of music enables children to better understand the world they live in. It also plays an important role in helping children to feel part of a community.
In the table below, the cultural development strand represents the stages in a child’s journey of cultural understanding where they will recognise and use features related to specific styles from different places and different times. This will lead to developing their cultural identity and ultimately their own artistic voice.
The personal development criteria are the musical behaviours which lead to the personal development outcomes for children and young people, including becoming an independent learner and being able to communicate and express themselves through music.
The interaction of teacher evaluation with the cultural and personal development criteria form the attributes which are the mediating factors for music education’s contribution to general academic achievement.
Cultural Development |
| Music from own, English and other local, national and world heritages |
| Western classical music, its periods and influences | |
| Popular music and cross cultural fusions | |
| Gain a knowledge of styles and genres from local, national and world traditions and contemporary practice | |
Personal Development |
| Make a contribution to cultural life (creating or performing music for an event) |
| Develop self-esteem (through performance and achievement) | |
| Develop independence (through working on own) | |
| Develop team work and leadership skills (through working with others) | |
| Emotional development (through expressing and communicating feelings and emotions through music) | |
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| Making, presenting and evaluating music |
Cultural and Personal Development across the Key Stages
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| EYFS | KS1 | LKS2 | UKS2 |
Cultural Development | Traditional | Children’s songs and singing games from local, national and pupils’ own heritages | Music from National and other heritages represented in the school | Traditional music from other parts of the world | Traditional and faith music from around the world |
Classical | Music from Western Classical tradition | Music from Western Classical tradition | Music from Western Classical tradition | Music from baroque, classical, romantic and modern periods | |
Popular | Popular Music / Nursery rhymes / Sea Shanties | Popular Music | Popular Music | Music from a fusion of styles | |
Personal Development | Making a contribution | Perform to an audience | Support other musicians (e.g. play / sing a part to accompany an instrumental piece or song) | Support other artists (e.g. play or create music for a dance or drama performance or an exhibition) | Play or create music for a specific purpose or occasion |
Self-esteem | Perform with class in a school assembly / Christmas play | Perform a solo to a teacher Perform in a group to a teacher | Perform a solo to school class Perform in a group in a school assembly | Perform in an ensemble (with more than one part) in a school assembly or concert | |
Independence | Create own music using a variety of instruments available in provision | Following teacher’s guidance, practice at home to improve an aspect of playing | Identify an aspect of performing or composing to improve through working at home | Without teacher’s guidance, learn a piece of music or create own composition | |
Team work | Take turns / share instruments | With teacher’s guidance work in a group to improve a group performance or composition | Without teacher’s help work in a group to improve a group performance or composition | Able to take the lead and to respond to the leadership of others | |
Emotional | Show enjoyment of music (eg dancing, singing along…) | Show enjoyment of music and express basic emotion in response to hearing music | Express contrasting emotions through music (eg happy, sad) | Express emotion and create mood through music (eg spooky, excitement) |
British Values and Music
Music also provides evidence of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC) and promotes fundamental British Values. For example, music plays a big part in young people’s developing identity. Migration has played an influential role in the development of music, musicians being naturally curious about new music they hear and keen to absorb those influences. Music education can use those features of music to develop cultural identity and cultural understanding, help build communities and promote British values in a modern Britain which has been shaped so much by migration.
British Values | EYFS and KS1 | KS2 |
Democracy | We can work with other children in a team to create and perform music
We can listen to other children’s ideas and opinions | We can work with other children in a team to create and perform music
We can listen to other children’s ideas, opinions and suggestions |
Rule of Law | We know that we have to take care of the instruments so they don’t become damaged | We understand that it is important to follow the ‘conductor’s directions when we are performing together
We know that we have to take care of the instruments so they don’t become damaged |
Individual Liberty | We can make choices about different percussion instruments we would like to play | We can choose different instruments to create music
We can choose to be in the choir |
Mutual Respect for and Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs | We can sing songs and listen to music from different countries and cultures | We enjoy listening to and performing music from different faiths and cultures around the world |