Primary Music Curriculum: Northern Ireland

The music curriculum in Northern Ireland falls into the broader subject area of ‘The Arts,’ and allows for a considerable level of flexibility when it comes to content. At a basic level, children are expected to work creatively with sound, sing and perform with simple instruments, and listen and respond to own and others’ music-making. There is very much an emphasis on practical music-making rather than theoretical concepts such as music history.

During the Foundation Stage, children are expected to make music, developing the ability to perform a steady beat and repeat simple rhythms, to recognise loud and quiet, high and low, long and short, and fast and slow, and follow start and stop signals. They are also expected to develop their team-working skills, and in particular to value their own and others’ contributions to music making and performing. This sets them up with the basic skills and understanding that they need to progress to more complex musical work in KS1.

During KS1 pupils work creatively with sound by using sounds to express feelings, ideas, mood and atmosphere. There is a very clear reflection here of the work of researchers such as Swanwick and Tillman, and Durant and Welch. The curriculum acknowledges that at this stage of development, children are ready to work on their expressive capabilities when it comes to music. This work at KS1 then develops into KS2 when pupils are expected to create musical stories, pictures, patterns, conversations, and accompaniments. Interestingly, they are also encouraged to ‘investigate ways of preserving the music they have created’, which allows them the freedom to use the most appropriate system for recording their work - a far cry from some of the other countries’ curricula that insist on staff notation being used as the primary musical language.

In terms of performing, at KS1 the focus is on ‘manipulative control,’ or technique, whereas in KS2 the further development of vocal and instrumental skill also includes the ability to perform from memory, by ear or using notation. Again, note the optional nature of notation here it’ s an ‘ or’ not an ‘and!’ The decision to focus on technique in KS1 is a sensible one, building a strong foundation for more expressive and detailed performance work in KS2.

The listening aspect of the curriculum is very clear in that it relates not just to other people’s music, but the pupils’ own music - with listening activities involving music that pupils ‘create, perform or listen to.’ At KS1 pupils should be considering sounds, effects and musical features, and at KS2 a ‘variety of characteristics’. A particularly nice feature is that pupils are expected to ‘think’ rather than just ‘respond’ - so many other curricula focus on listening ‘and responding’ or ‘appraising’ without giving due credence to the development of the thought process which should connect these activities.

Perhaps the greatest strength of this curriculum is its unashamed focus on practical music-making. There is no attempt to make the subject look ‘academic’ or ‘knowledge rich’ on paper, but instead the focus is firmly on the development of musical skill. Which, after all, is what music is all about!