MUSIC TEACHING AND LEARNING SYLLABUS

Primary & Lower Secondary

Introduction
The syllabus is developed on the premise that all children
are musical and have the innate ability to listen, sing,
dance, play and express themselves musically.
Music has the potential to develop extra-musical skills,
including critical thinking skills, psychomotor skills,
social awareness, and moral and cultural values.
Music contributes to the future development and
preservation of Singapores cultural heritage, and also
provides a means to raise global awareness amongst
students.

Philosophical Framework
The aims of the General Music Programme (GMP)
are as follows:
a. Develop awareness and appreciation of music in
local and global cultures
b. Develop ability for creative expression and
communication through music
c. Provide the basis to develop an informed and lifelong involvement in music

Critique-Analysis
Apparently, multicultural music is evident in
the syllabus. The learning development can
be said to be a holistic approach because of
focus not only in the learner cognitive aspect
of learning music but also to social,
emotional and other aspects of life.

The syllabus spans across four key stages from Primary One to
Secondary Two. Each stage comprises two levels. The expected
knowledge and skills that students should acquire over the two
years of each stage are detailed in the learning outcomes. Each
stage builds upon the competencies from the previous stage(s).

Framework for teaching and learning in the GMP

Learning Objectives
The learning outcomes are organized around five
overarching Learning Objectives (LOs).
LO1: Perform Music in both instrumental and vocal
settings, individually and in groups.
LO2: Create Music in both instrumental and vocal
settings, individually and in groups.
LO3: Listen and Respond to Music
LO4: Appreciate Music in local and global cultures
LO5: Understand musical elements and concepts

LO1: Perform Music in both instrumental and

vocal settings, individually and in groups.
Through performing music, students will be equipped with the
musical capacities to express themselves. They will be exposed
to an array of music repertoire to expand their musical
experiences.
By the end of Stage Three (Primary Six), students will have
played a range of classroom music instruments and can
perform on a main melodic instrument (e.g. recorder, guitar)
with good tone and expression.
By the end of Stage Four (Secondary Two), students will have
performance experience with an array of instruments of their
choice, such as the guitar, keyboards and drums.

Suggested list of instruments for schools

LO2: Create Music in both instrumental and

vocal settings, individually and in groups.
Through musical activities such as improvisation and music
composition, students will apply the musical skills and
concepts that they have acquired through listening and
performing, thus drawing a connection and relevance to all
that they are learning.
By the end of Stage Three, students will be able to compose a
simple melody and be adept at rhythmic and melodic
improvisation within a given structure.
By the end of Stage Four, students will be more adept at
exploring music materials freely both as a group and an
individual. Students will also be able to communicate their
ideas through music.

LO4: Listen and Respond to Music

Through listening, students experience new sound worlds and
the different sound components of musical genres and
traditions. Learning to listen attentively and thoughtfully
during performing and creating also allows students to reflect
on their own works and respond to those of their peers and
other musicians.
By the end of Stage Three, students will be able to evaluate
and comment on the music that they have heard, describing
the qualities of the music using appropriate musical terms.
By the end of Stage Four, students will be able to discuss and
provide personal responses to the music at greater depth.

LO4: Appreciate Music in local and global cultures

Through a wide exposure to music from both local and global
cultures from a young 6 age, students will be able to gain
insights to other cultures and be open to the different types of
music available. They will have an understanding of the
different roles musicians play in society as well as the role of
music in different cultures.
By the end of Stage Three, students will be able to appreciate
music from the Singapore culture, regional cultures as well as
repertoire from the Western classical tradition.
By the end of Stage Four, students will be able to discuss in
greater detail their responses towards music from different
genres and cultures.

LO5: Understand musical elements and concepts

With the fundamental understanding of the building blocks
and concepts that constitute music, students will be able to
better understand and appreciate the music they listen to. In
addition, they will have had sufficient skills to explore the
subject further.
By the end of Stage Three, students will be able to describe
and express the musical elements and concepts when
listening, performing and creating music of various genres and
cultures.
By the end of Stage Four, students will be able to demonstrate
and articulate an understanding of the elements and concepts
of music through listening, performing and creating music.

Critique-Analysis
In their sequence of learning objectives,
they prioritized application and
performance over concepts and theories
for they believe that learners will be able to
understand concepts with ease once they
have already experienced the concept first
hand.

Suggested Pedagogies for Teaching Music

A musical music lesson refers to one where the
instructional experience revolves around the
music itself. The teacher should involve the
students aurally and kinesthetically in the music.
Principles of music specific pedagogies such as
Kodaly, Dalcroze and Orff should be harnessed in
the teaching of music. These are three distinct
approaches which could be adapted and
delivered in the primary and secondary
classrooms.

Assesssment
Music assessments could be carried out through a
variety of ways to facilitate students learning.
These include listening activities (which could
include responding through movement), music
performances, improvisation or composition tasks,
written assignments or reflection journals.
While it is not necessary to assess all the learning
outcomes in one specific assessment task, teachers
should ensure that all five Learning Objectives are
addressed in the course of the year.

Critique-Analysis
Performance rubric's not provided.
Grade basis were not clearly stated. It
all comes at the discretion of teachers
to manifest the 5 learning objectives
in order to have a successful lesson.

The use of ICT in Teaching

and Learning of Music
The use of ICT can enrich and support the teaching and
learning of music in different ways:
a. ICT to manage non-music specific teaching and
learning (E-Learning music packages, Forums, Blogs,
Podcasts, Facebook and Youtube)
b. ICT as a tool to develop specific musicianship
skills - There are available software and dedicated websites
which focus on music theory and aural skills.
c. ICT as a tool to develop music creating skills includes dedicated music creating software and hardware (e.g.
electronic keyboards)

Critique-Analysis
It is important to highlight that in order for
students to fully benefit from such tools, they
should first gain adequate experience in music
making (performing and creating) with actual
musical instruments, whether on an individual
basis or in a group setting.
This prior hands-on experience in music making
will then provide a good foundation and
valuable reference for further development.

Framework for 21st Century Competencies

and Student Outcomes

21st Century Competencies

in the Music Classroom
Values shape a persons character, beliefs, attitudes
and actions. Ones knowledge and skills must be
underpinned by values. Hence values form the core
of the framework of 21st Century Competencies.
Together, these competencies will enable our
students to tap into the opportunities of the digital
age while staying committed to Singapore. The
desired outcomes are attributes for Singaporeans
upon completion of their formal education in
Singapore.

Critique-Analysis
The syllabus envisioned not only the growth of
musical talents of the students but also the
development of their social and emotional
aspects of life.
Their syllabus can be compared with the UBD
(Understanding by Design) of the Philippines. In
this manner, it's not only within knowledge and
content but also the essence and contribution of
concepts in the society.

Content & Competencies

Primary 1 and 2

Content & Competencies

Primary 1 and 2

Content & Competencies

Primary 1 and 2

Content & Competencies

Primary 3 and 4

Content & Competencies

Primary 3 and 4

Content & Competencies

Primary 3 and 4

Content & Competencies

Primary 5 and 6

Content & Competencies

Primary 5 and 6

Content & Competencies

Secondary 1 and 2

Content & Competencies

Secondary 1 and 2

Critique-Analysis
In my own point of view, the sequence of
learning objective is excellence from the
simple to complex, easy to difficult, and
specific to general competencies.
It could be seen in their first learning
objective that musical skills start with singing
then playing of musical instruments which
will finally end at singing and playing.

Critique-Analysis
In the second and third learning objective, they
started musical skills with imitation then
responding which will finally end at creating or
expressing musical ideas.
In the fourth objective, appreciation to music
starts with understanding the role of music in
society, then appreciation of the culture of music
in Singapore, and finally appreciating music of
other cultures.

Critique-Analysis
Finally, in the fifth learning objective,
the teaching of elements of music
starts from the basics of rhythm down
to a complex concept of texture.