In the first four chapters of this book, I have discussed some of the fundamental principles of how to teach music through the combination of singing, body movement, and the imagination. And in Chapter Five, I have presented some songs which use all the above skills, together.
The remaining chapters of this book will be organised according to the specific skills we are trying to develop – as listed in Chapter One:
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Therefore, it may be useful first to present an outline of how these skills might develop during the course of a children’s curriculum. So here first is a very dry Ofsted-esque chart for you to peruse:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18-elY5BmYPQJnG_h5Oth9DRI6k23ve5H/view?usp=drive_link
Note how, in this chart, I have divided the syllabus up in two ways:
- The four vertical columns refer to the above skills categories, which map onto the remaining chapters of this book. (Remember, though, that inevitably these skills will be developing together, hand in hand. Our job as teachers is to recognise and nurture all these skills as and when we recognise them growing in our children.)
- The six rows/pages refer to a series of approximate year groups, so as to give you an idea of the progression the development of these skills could take. (Remember, though, that inevitably different children, and different groups of children, develop at different rates, depending upon so many factors not always under our control. If your children appear to be a year or two behind what the chart says, that is not anything to be concerned about. What matters most is: are they growing in these skills?)
Within each box, there are a series of sub-headings, each indicating a sub-skill which can be developed using a number of songs and activities (titles in italics).
Most importantly, each item is labelled:
SbC = subconscious (instinctive: physical, aural/oral, imaginative)
SmC = semi-conscious
C = conscious (intellectual, abstract, symbolic)
Every musical skill or piece of knowledge a child learns needs to grow from a subconscious seed, planted in the earliest years, in the body, the voice and the imagination. It needs to be practised and reinforced again and again this way, before it is gradually encouraged to develop and grow, often through a semi-conscious phase, towards a conscious understanding which can be grasped in an abstract symbolic way.
Please have another look at the final section of Chapter One, which describes the context in which any curriculum chart needs to be understood. Learning music is all about nurturing a process – not creating products or achieving goals! In fact, here’s that tree picture again, just to remind you:
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© 2025 Nikhil Dally
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