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Music

Curriculum Intent - Music:

Our music curriculum is designed to provide all students with a high-quality music education which engages and inspires them to develop a life-long love of music, increases their self-confidence, creativity, and imagination, and provides opportunities for self-expression and a sense of personal achievement. As stated in the government’s document, A National Plan for Music - June 2022 ‘’excellent music education opens opportunities, but it is not simply a means to an end: it is also an end in itself. It gives children and young people an opportunity to express themselves, to explore their creativity, to work hard at something, persevere and shine. These experiences and achievements stay with them and shape their lives’’.

Music is a social activity as well as personal and private and to this end we believe that group work, whole-class work and individual work are all necessary for musical development. Good learning takes place in an ordered atmosphere where the work is appropriate and clearly structured. Classroom management arises from well-organised, appropriate and interesting lesson materials, a balanced programme of activities which builds on previous work, clearly defined tasks, and purposeful activity leading to perceived and understood goals.   

Our curriculum offers students opportunities to develop their talents in all aspects of music through: Composition, Performance (including singing) and appreciation through Listening and Appraising. We follow a developmental spiral in that students accumulate skills and revisit, strengthen and build upon previous knowledge and experience. The course is intended to continue and develop work of our primary school colleagues whilst providing a good foundation for GCSE Music, BTEC First Award in Music and A Level Music.

LISTENING

Through careful listening to a wide variety of music, including different genres, periods, traditions and cultures, students will appreciate and further develop an awareness of the music, expressing their ideas and feelings about it. Students will also be able to understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated through the inter-related elements of pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and silence.

PERFORMING

Students will learn to perform on a variety of instruments (including voice), to create music on their own and collaboratively, to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and to have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence.

COMPOSING

We will encourage active involvement in creating and developing musical ideas using voice and instruments. We will nurture a sense of group identity and togetherness as well as individual creativity through composing, rehearsing and performing music with others (including audience).

‘’In our schools, music can bring communities together through the shared endeavour of whole-school singing, ensemble playing, experimenting with the creative process and, through the love of listening to friends and fellow pupils performing. The sheer joy of music making can feed the soul of a school community, enriching each student while strengthening the shared bonds of support and trust which make a great school’’ (The Model Music Curriculum – 2021).

Curriculum Overview Music:

  Autumn Spring Summer

Year 7

Starting To Study Music (AU1):
Baseline Exercises & The Orchestra.

Rhythm (AU1) & Developing Rhythm (AU2): Exploring the foundations of rhythm and basic notation using Rhythm games/grids and traditional notation. Solo & Ensemble Performances, composition and Music from different cultures.

Melody (SP1):
Basic keyboard work, exploring notes of the treble clef stave, major and minor scales/tonalities and some works by some of the great composers (Bach & Mozart).

Form And Structure - Classical Compositions (SP2): Exploring composition and musical structures through melody writing, development of keyboard work, notation theory and performance techniques.

Carmen (SU1):
Exploring Opera and the works of the great composers (Bizet), extended keyboard work/techniques, developing musical literacy, including rhythm (dotted notes and triplets), pitch (sharps, flats and key signatures), chromatic scale and performance directions.

The Keyboard Song Book (SU2):
Introducing harmony, tonality and textures, single-finger chords, extended keyboard work and techniques and solo performance.

Year 8

Samba Music – rhythmic polyphonic texture, structure and form

Gamelan Music – melodic fragmentation, textures

Blues Music – chordal structure, walking bass etc…

Celtic Music - modes

Reggae Music – Pop culture
And related characteristics.

Developing Reggae - to consolidate learning based on popular reggae songs

Year 9

Classic Rock Riffs – reading and writing tab

3-Chord Trick – chord patterns and chord tab notation

Classic Classics: Pachelbel’s Canon

Fusion – Classical/Pop

Film Music – exploring genre and composition

Year 10: Eduqas GCSE Music

Starting GCSE Music – Developing Musical Theory & Understanding.

Performing:
Solo performance 1 (AU1)
Ensemble performance 1 (AU2)

AoS1: Musical Forms And Devices (SP1 & 2)
Theory & Listening paper exercises including AoS Study Piece.

Performing:
Solo performance 2 (SP1)
Ensemble performance 2 (SP2)

Composing:
Starting Composition: exploring techniques (SP1 & 2)

AoS 3: Film Music (SU1)
Theory & Listening paper exercises

AoS2: Music For Ensemble (SU2)
Theory & Listening paper exercises

Performing:
Solo performance 3 (SU1)
Ensemble performance 3 (SU2)

Composing:
Developing Composition: continuation of exploring techniques and commence work on free composition/score writing (SU 1 & 2)

MOCK EXAM

Year 11: AQA GCSE Music

Solo Performance deadline

Free Composition complete

Start Brief Composition

Musical Theatre – Set Works

Revision of the Classical Period and Set Work.

Detailed work on ‘Elements of Music’ for questions in Section A of the exam.

Ensemble Performance completed.

All Programme Notes completed.

Brief Composition completed.

Folk Music,

Latin/Reggae/Fusion

Romantic Piano Music

Minimalism

Copland, Bartok

Listening paper exercises and continued essays on Set Works

Revision on Baroque

Revision of dictation/harmonic and melodic structures/instrumental techniques

Listening paper exercises/past papers

GCSE Music EXAM

Year 12 No A Level Music Course currently    
Year 13 No A Level Music Course currently    

Key concepts/Big ideas: Music

Year 7 

EXPRESSION (Elements of Music)

NOTATION - Traditional (Composition and Instrumental skills on the keyboard)

EXPRESSION AND   NOTATION – including Guitar Tab (Ensemble Instrumental Skills)

Year 8

STYLE AND EXPRESSION (World Music)

Rhythms and Polyrhythms

STYLE AND EXPRESSION AND NOTATION (World Music)

Improvisation

STYLE AND EXPRESSION AND NOTATION (World Music)

Syncopation and off-beats

Year 9

NOTATION (Guitar Tab)

Rock Riffs and Primary Chords

STYLE AND EXPRESSION AND NOTATION

 Ground Bass/Fusion

STYLE AND EXPRESSION

Ensemble awareness

Year 10

STYLE AND EXPRESSION AND NOTATION

Critical listening/appraising within set genres, Solo Performance, Ensemble skills, Score Writing development

STYLE AND EXPRESSION AND NOTATION

Critical listening/appraising within set genres, Solo Performance, Ensemble skills, Score Writing development

STYLE AND EXPRESSION AND NOTATION

Critical listening/appraising within set genres, Solo Performance, Ensemble skills, Score Writing development

Year 11

STYLE AND EXPRESSION AND NOTATION

Critical listening/appraising within set genres, Solo Performance, Ensemble skills, Score Writing development

STYLE AND EXPRESSION AND NOTATION

Critical listening/appraising within set genres, Solo Performance, Ensemble skills, Score Writing development

STYLE AND EXPRESSION AND NOTATION

Critical listening/appraising within set genres, Solo Performance, Ensemble skills, Score Writing development
Year 12      
Year 13