Year 4 Music Curriculum Map (KS2)

• 

  Vocal warm-ups, dance & I Love You So

  Every lesson begins and ends in the same Rock and Roll song.

  Across all 18 sessions, pupils regularly meet:

  • Vocal Warm Up 1–5 – to switch voices on, build projection and practise pitch-matching and breathing before Rock and Roll singing.
  • Dance: Rock and Roll 1–4 – simple routines that make the back-beat physical and build ensemble confidence.
  • Watch: Rock and Roll Music Video, then Perform: Rock and Roll and, by Summer, Perform: Rock and Roll (Karaoke) so pupils move from supported performance to more independent singing of I Love You So.

  By the end of Year 4, pupils have sung, moved to and listened carefully to I Love You So many times, so they know its structure, can perform with expression and are ready for class performances.

• 

  Rock and Roll concepts, time signatures & history

  Knowing what makes 1950s Rock and Roll sound like Rock and Roll.

  Short “Learn” and “Watch” segments across the three terms cover:

  • Learn: What is Rock and Roll? and Learn: What is a Time Signature? – framing the style and how beats are grouped in bars.
  • Learn: Pulse (Beat) vs Rhythm, Learn: How To Feel Time Signatures, Learn: What is 'On-Beat'?, Learn: What is 'Back-Beat' and Learn: On-Beat and Back-Beat – connecting Rock and Roll grooves to counting and clapping patterns.
  • Learn: What Are Barlines? and, later, Learn: Dynamic Markings, linking visual symbols to what pupils hear and perform.
  • Learn: Who is Wanda Jackson?, Who is Etta James?, Who is Elvis Presley?, Who is Buddy Holly? and Who is Little Richard? – key Rock and Roll artists that bring the music to life.
  • Learn: What Is A Rhythm Section? – explaining how drums, bass, guitar and keys work together.

  By revisiting these clips through the year, pupils gain a secure grasp of how Rock and Roll is put together and how I Love You So fits into the wider style.

• 

  Pulse, rhythm, Skies and Musical Morse Code

  Locking into the I Love You So groove.

  Every session features beat and rhythm work, for example:

  • Skies and Valleys 4–6 – listening games that train pupils to hear pitch moving up or down while staying in time.
  • Weekly Drum Routine 3 and 4 – using the desk as a drum kit to build two-hand coordination and a steady Rock-and-Roll back-beat.
  • Musical Morse Code: How to Play and Level 1 Codes A–H – encoding and decoding rhythmic “messages” that match the time signature work.
  • Roars and Whispers: Dynamics and Simon Says 1 – games that demand quick responses and precise control of loud/quiet changes.

  Across the 18 sessions, this strand moves pupils from simply copying rhythms to keeping a reliable internal pulse, understanding back-beat and communicating rhythms clearly in a Rock and Roll style.

• 

  Rainbow Dots 4–5, barlines & Quickfire Chords

  Reading longer patterns and understanding how chords support Rock and Roll.

  Year 4 has a clear notation and harmony sequence:

  • Rainbow Dots 4 (Exercise) in Autumn – consolidating note reading in short Rock and Roll-flavoured patterns.
  • Rainbow Dots 5 (Parts 1–3) in Spring and Summer – extending to longer, more complex note and rhythm combinations linked to I Love You So.
  • Learn: What Are Barlines? and the time signature clips – showing how beats and note values fit inside bars.
  • Quickfire Chords: Variations #4–6 – major/minor chord challenges that sharpen listening and lay foundations for later harmony work.

  Pupils see that the patterns they read in Rainbow Dots also appear in Rock and Roll riffs, drum routines and the melody of I Love You So, so notation and real music never feel separate.

• 

  Dynamics, listening games, ensemble & ukulele

  From spotting missing parts to playing as a Rock and Roll band.

  Throughout Year 4, dynamics, listening and ensemble skills weave through the Rock and Roll work:

  • Shape Shifters: Sound and Silence / Dynamics and Dynamic Markings – linking the feel of loud/quiet changes to written symbols and graphic scores.
  • Music Detective: Rock and Roll 1–4 and Critical Listening: Rock N Roll – listening for which instruments are playing, how the rhythm section works and what changes between verses, choruses and breaks.
  • Drums in Rock and Roll, Bass in Rock and Roll, Guitar in Rock and Roll, Keyboard in Rock N Roll and Vocals in Rock and Roll – short clips that show each part’s job in the band.
  • Ukulele Course – flexible instrumental strand revisiting how to hold the ukulele, name the strings, pluck and strum, read chord diagrams and play chords C, Am, F and G, plus Level 1 exercises.

  By the end of the year, pupils can listen with concentration, describe what they hear in Rock and Roll, read and perform simple patterns, and begin to accompany songs on a tuned instrument in line with KS2 expectations.

Across the 18 sessions, a typical Year 4 Rock and Roll lesson uses around nine short activities in this kind of order:
1) Vocal Warm Up (1–5)   2) Dance: Rock and Roll (1–4)   3) Learn: Rock and Roll concept / artist / time-signature focus   4) Skies and Valleys or Music Detective: Rock and Roll   5) Weekly Drum Routine 3–4 or a Musical Morse Code rhythm challenge   6) Rainbow Dots 4 or 5, Quickfire Chords or barline / time signature work   7) Dynamics game such as Roars and Whispers, Shape Shifters or Simon Says   8) Perform: Rock and Roll (I Love You So – full or in sections, or karaoke)   9) Optional extension: ukulele exercise, vocabulary task or quick retrieval game.
Individual sessions may adjust one or two slots, but overall this gives a clearly sequenced, inspectable pathway through singing, listening, notation, rhythm, time signatures, dynamics and ensemble playing at Lower KS2.