NZC — The Arts Phase 2 (Years 4–6)

During Year 4

During Year 5

During Year 6

During Year 4

During Year 5

During Year 6

Elements of music 

• The ‘tune’ of the music is called the melody.
• An accompaniment supports the melody.
• Articulation is the ‘connectedness’ of a melody, which can be played legato (‘smooth and connected’) or staccato (‘spikey and detached’).
• ‘Structure’ refers to the sections of a piece of music, including:
  • Binary (AB) (e.g. 4 bar A section and 4 bar B section).
  • a verse and a chorus.
• Music uses metre (grouping of beats), and time signatures show this (2/4, 3/4, 4/4).
• Changes in tempo are referred to as ‘accelerando’ (getting faster) and ‘rallentando’ (getting slower).
• Simple harmony can be created by playing tonic and dominant notes (do and so).
• Chords create harmony and can be major or minor.
• Staff notation:
  • pitch notation within a range of a 5th (do-so)
  • crotchet rests.

• Key signatures and scales organise pitch (C major, A minor).
• Chords are often triads (C major, A minor triads).
• Metre can be simple (including 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4).
• Music uses structures such as ternary (ABA) and theme and variation to organise ideas and make pieces interesting.
• Staff notation:
  • the musical alphabet has only 7 letters (A-G)
  • each line and each space on the stave represents a pitch
  • treble clef, including mnemonics for lines and spaces.
  • pitch notation within a range of an octave (do-do’)
  • semibreves, semiquavers
  • time signatures (2/4, 3/4, 4/4), bar.

• Tempo, metre and rhythm all refer to the organisation of music in time:
  • tempo is the speed
  • metre is the number of beats in a cycle/bar
  • rhythm is the duration of the notes.
• A compound metre (including 6/8) divides each beat into three equal parts, which changes the rhythmic feel of the music.
• Rhythm can be syncopated.
• Dynamics include fortissimo (very loud), pianissimo (very soft), mezzo forte (moderately loud), mezzo piano (moderately soft).
• The structure of music can include multiple sections that provide repetition and contrast (e.g. rondo form).
• Chord changes (I-V-I) create a sense of movement and direction in music. I is called the tonic. V is called the dominant.
• Staff notation:
  • the two notes below E in the treble clef (one ledger line).

• Recognising the difference between a melody (e.g. sung by a singer) and its accompaniment (e.g. the piano, drum kit or bass)
• Recognising whether a melody is performed legato or staccato, and notice changes
• Recognising the use of harmony added to a melodic line
• Recognising whether a chord is major or minor
• Reading rhythms in 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 time

• Using body percussion to reinforce compound meter (e.g. 6/8 patterns)
• Composing an 8-bar (measure) melody with a repeated rhythm
• Recognising the parts of a piece in ternary form
• Reading pitch notation within an octave (e.g. C-C’/do-do’)
• Understanding the differences between 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 time signatures

• Recognising the difference between the tempo, metre and rhythm in a musical phrase
• Recognising whether music is in simple metre or compound metre
• Recognising syncopation in a musical work
• Recognising sections in music that provide repetition and contrast
• Recognising when chords change
• Reading a four-bar phrase from notation, confidently identifying note names and durations

Teaching considerations:

• Listen to pieces in 6/8 time (e.g. We are the Champions by Queen) to appreciate how their feel differs from “simple” time

Listening and responding 

• Through entertainment, ceremonies and cultural events, music is part of life in communities.
• Waiata and haka often include call and response and repetition for emphasis. 
• Specific composers and musicians have had a role in shaping music styles, and expression over time (e.g. Mozart, Hirini Melbourne, Bob Marley).
• Major and minor harmonies can affect the mood of music.

• Music can be used to communicate ideas and emotions across cultures.
• Waiata and haka are performed with tukanga (respectful practice) and have specific actions, and vocal features.
• Composers make choices about melody, rhythm, and instruments to create meaning.
• Key works by well-known composers (e.g. Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven, All You Need is Love by Lennon and McCartney) have distinctive musical features.
• Composers are influenced by when and where they lived.

• Music can be distinctive to place, culture and events.
• Music connects people and can influence how they see themselves and others.
• Waiata and haka are part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s bicultural heritage and connect to tukanga.
• Certain composers and works are considered significant because of the impact they have had on music.
• Composers reflect their cultural and historical contexts through music.
• Different traditions (e.g. Western classical, Māori, Pacific) shape musical expression.
• Different technologies influence musical style, structure, and accessibility in different ways.
• Sound quality and effects can shape musical outcomes.

• Responding to music by describing what it might be about or how it represents ideas, communities, and cultures
• Listening to a waiata and identifying structure (e.g. repeated phrases, call and response)
• Comparing pieces of music for melody, structure and tempo
• Recognising the different mood created by major and minor harmony within a work and between different works

Teaching considerations:

• Use Mary Had a Little Lamb and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to investigate AB form
• Use Baa Baa Black Sheep to investigate ABA form

• Responding to music by identifying the ideas and emotions conveyed across cultures
• Analysing a kapa haka performance: identifying actions, and vocal features
• Comparing composers’ works and describing differences in style
• Making connections between composers’ choices and the meaning of the music
• Comparing composers’ works and describing differences in style
• Making connections between composers’ choices and the meaning of the music

Teaching considerations:

• Explore different examples of storytelling through music, e.g. Camille Saint-Saëns's Carnival of the Animals

• Responding to music by identifying its connection to communities, cultures, and groups (e.g. Gamelan, jazz, wedding music)
• Analysing a waiata for structure, purpose, and cultural meaning
• Comparing musical expression in different traditions (e.g. Western classical, Māori)

Performing 

Singing

• Improved breath control and phrasing can enable more legato singing.
• Conducting provides cues for performers about beat, tempo and dynamics.
• Singers maintain pitch when singing in two parts (rounds, partner songs).

Playing instruments

• Playing together in groups (ensemble) requires keeping pulse and listening to others.
• Techniques to create the sound for an increasing number of notes on a pitched instrument.
• Techniques to create articulation on a pitched instrument (e.g. tonguing or tapping on a descant recorder).

Creating and composing

• A sense of change can be created by changing pitch, tempo, dynamics, or melodic shape.
• Models of rhythmic accompaniments can be learned to form the ‘palette’ for creating new rhythmic patterns.

Singing

• Singers maintain tuning to sing in harmony.
• Singers maintain pitch when singing in three parts (rounds).
• The C major scale can be sung using solfa.

Playing instruments

• Subtle changes in pitch are called ‘tuning’.
• A slightly low pitch is ‘flat’ and a slightly high pitch is ‘sharp’.
• Technology (e.g. metronomes, backing tracks) can support rehearsal and performance.
• Ensemble performance requires listening, responding to cues, and adjusting balance.

Creating and composing

• Melodies starting and ending on C will be major and create a more upbeat mood.
• Melodies starting and ending on A will be minor and create a darker mood.
• Coming back to the starting note creates a sense of ‘ending’.
• Tempo, dynamics and articulation all contribute to the creation of a musical response to a scene.

Singing

• Singers use listening skills to ensure balance between parts in small ensembles.
• Singers use breath control to enable legato and staccato singing.
• Performance etiquette includes cultural respect, tukanga awareness and technical accuracy.

Playing instruments

• Playing melodies with chordal accompaniment (I and V) requires maintaining a steady tempo.
• Ensemble roles include melody, harmony, and rhythm.

Creating and composing

• Composition draws on a wide bank of tacit knowledge of good melodies.
• Students can use exemplar materials to gain an explicit knowledge of:
  • phrase lengths
  • use of repetition
  • range
  • the role of tonality.
• Composition draws on a wide bank of tacit knowledge of rhythmic accompaniment, which can include:
  • typical drum grooves
  • ostinati in drums from a range of traditions
  • orchestral percussion patterns.
• Music can be structured in sections and musical elements help create a sense of changes between sections.

Singing

• Singing songs with the range of an octave (do-do’), with accurate pitch and following directions for crescendo and diminuendo
• Singing rounds and partner songs in 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 time
• Singing songs with a simple second part
• Controlling breathing to enable legato singing
• Developing performance quality by responding to conducting cues
• Performing a waiata with actions, dynamics, and accurate pitch

Playing instruments

• Extending the range of notes (5-6) that can be played accurately on a pitched instrument
• Playing melodic phrases using 5-6 notes
• Playing together in an ensemble including keeping pulse, starting/stopping together, and listening for balance

Creating and composing

• Developing creative responses using melodies structured into A and B sections:
  • Improvising/composing question and answer phrases
  • Creating a sense of structure by improvising/composing two contrasting sections using melody and rhythm
• Performing a simple piece and evaluating the performance by considering musical elements including tempo, rhythm, dynamics and ensemble playing

Singing

• Singing the C major scale.
• Observing phrasing, accurate tuning and rhythmic unison when singing
• Building breath control to enable legato singing over longer phrases.
• Singing three-part rounds, partner songs, and songs with verse and chorus.
• Performing a waiata or haka sequence with accurate rhythm, posture, and expression

Playing instruments

• Accurately playing melodies within the Middle C-C’/do-do’ range on a pitched instrument, reading notes on the treble clef and playing the correct note on the instrument.
• Recognising exaggerated flat and sharp tuning
• Playing triads on a pitched instrument and performing simple, chordal accompaniments to familiar songs.
• Demonstrating control over articulation.
• Performing in a small group with clear start/stop cues
• Using technology to rehearse or perform (e.g. metronomes, backing tracks)

Creating and composing

• Developing creative responses by composing new music based on a picture or scene
  • Improvising/composing melodies, written in question/answer pairs, with a major or minor feel
  • Presenting these with consideration of dynamics, articulation and tempo to enhance the intended mood
• Performing a simple piece and evaluating the performance by considering musical elements

Singing

• Singing songs with syncopated rhythm
• Singing in up to three part harmony
• Singing with dynamic contrast, clarity of diction and accurate tuning
• Controlling breath to enable legato and staccato singing
• Leading a waiata or haka in a group, demonstrating confidence and tukanga awareness

Playing instruments

• Accurately playing melodies using notes within an octave range (do-do’) on a pitched instrument, reading notes on the treble clef (up to one ledger below the stave), and playing the correct note on the instrument
• Performing in a dynamic range including fortissimo, mezzo forte, mezzo piano and pianissimo
• Play a melody alongside a bass line, first as a whole class and then in smaller groups or even pairs
• Performing in a small ensemble, listening for blend and timing

Creating and composing

• Using their knowledge of melody, rhythmic, structure and musical elements to create musical responses to narrative. These responses include pitched melody, rhythmic accompaniment and at least one section change
• Performing a simple piece and evaluating the performance by considering musical elements

During Year 4

During Year 5

During Year 6

During Year 4

During Year 5

During Year 6

Making and creating  

• Visual arts elements of line, shape, colour, space, and scale are combined intentionally to express ideas, feelings, or stories using principles, including: 
  • repetition — the repeated use of visual elements to create rhythm, unity, or emphasis 
  • contrast — the use of opposing elements to create interest or draw attention (e.g. light/dark, rough/smooth) 
  • pattern — repeated shapes or motifs. In Indigenous art, including Māori and Pacific artforms, patterns carry cultural meaning 
  • composition — the arrangement of visual elements within an artwork. Artists use composition to organise colour, shape, space, and balance to support meaning, mood, or focus. 
• Materials and tools have unique qualities, effects, and intentions (e.g. wet or dry, soft or hard).  
• Art-making is a process that involves concepts, planning, making, adapting, and completing. 

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• More advanced visual elements and principles can be combined to communicate ideas, stories, values, connections, identities, and culture, including: 
  • tone (shade) — the lightness or darkness of a colour, creating depth, contrast, and mood 
  • form — three-dimensional shape with height, width, and depth; it can be real, like in sculpture, or shown in drawings with shading or perspective 
  • colour theory — how colours work together (e.g. warm and cool, complementary colours) to create mood or harmony 
  • balance — arrangement of visual elements to create a sense of stability (symmetrical or asymmetrical) 
  • space — use of positive space (area occupied by the object/subject) and negative space (empty or background area around/between subjects) to define forms and create depth. 
• A range of mediums can be used to create artworks, including:  
  • dry media (e.g. pencil, charcoal, pastel) 
  • wet media (e.g. paint, dye, earth pigments) 
  • collage materials (e.g. magazines, fabric, harakeke) 
  • printmaking tools (e.g. foam sheets, carving tools, leaves, cardboard) 
  • sculpture materials (e.g. air-dry clay, wood, recycled objects)  
  • digital tools and media (e.g. drawing apps, digital photographs, poster makers). 
• Materials can be layered, mixed, or transformed to create different effects, intent, and purpose (e.g. layering marbled ink for texture, mixing fabric and wire, layering photographs in collage). 
• Artworks are created through a process of planning, exploring, problem-solving, and adapting. 
• Artworks can be created through cultural practices (including cultural practices grounded in Indigenous knowledges that students carry with them, reflecting identity, values, and belonging). 
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• Creating artworks that use visual elements (e.g. line, shape, colour) and principles (e.g. repetition, contrast, pattern) to set mood or fill space 
• Experimenting with tools, materials, and processes to create different effects and strengthen fine motor skills (e.g. using varied techniques and media to explore texture, layering, and construction) 
• Following a visual arts process that includes planning, creating, reflecting, and making intentional choices (e.g. planning ideas, experimenting with materials, reflecting on art-making choices)

• Combining more advanced elements and principles (e.g. colour, pattern, symbolism) to express ideas, identity, and culture  
• Using specialised materials and techniques to create different effects in expressive artworks (e.g. layering, blending, varying application techniques) 
• Working across various mediums, including simple 3D and sculptural forms (e.g. using techniques that involve construction, layering, or repeated imagery, such as papier-mâché, raranga, printmaking) 
• Experimenting with materials (e.g. layering wet and dry media, mixing textures), using unconventional tools (e.g. sponges, sticks, sharpies) to explore new effects 
• Refining ideas and artworks by planning, experimenting with techniques, and using feedback to make creative decisions (e.g. revisiting sketches, adjusting composition, trying new materials) 
• Participating in and observing cultural practices shared by a knowledge holder, then using these or the work of artists from the past as inspiration to create artworks that express identity, connection, and community (e.g. working together on a mural about shared traditions or celebrations) 

Observing and responding 

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• Artworks can be shared formally or informally and interpreted using visual arts terminology. They reflect the artist’s intent and cultural context and can evoke varied responses from different audiences. 
• Symbols, patterns, and motifs in every culture can carry specific meanings and references and convey narratives about people, places, and beliefs. 
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• Observing, describing, and sharing their own and others’ artworks — finished or in progress — in settings such as schools, public spaces, and marae, using visual art terminology (e.g. bright, swirls) to explore mood, identity, and context with peers, whānau, and communities 
• Incorporating cultural symbols or patterns (e.g. kōwhaiwhai, tatau, mandala) into a design that reflects personal identity (e.g. for a family crest, quilt or fabric pattern, pop art) 
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• Talking about their own and others’ art-making processes, noticing changes and choices, and using visual art language to describe what they interpret in artworks 
• Planning independently and writing or presenting a brief description of the artist and their creative decisions 
• Incorporating cultural motifs into personalised designs with understanding and discussing the design’s meaning