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Music 

Head of Music: Mrs K Sidwell 

The music curriculum has been designed to provide students with a balance of musical knowledge and musical skills to support students to improve their understanding of different genres of music through performing, composing, listening and appraising.   

It is my intention to engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress though school they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination and perform focusing on the inter-related dimensions of music.  

 

Key Stage 3

We teach the KS3 curriculum in Year 7, 8 and 9 with topics in a specific order to build on the knowledge and skills learnt and developed in the previous topic focusing on the elements of music, following the national curriculum.   (Occasionally some of the classes will follow a different sequence of the topics, but this will be done with consideration of the needs of the students in the class).

In Year 7 students cover the following topics:

  • Elements of Music: Learning about the elements of music, understanding rhythm and written notation and using the elements of music to perform Samba music, and learning about the culture of Brazilian carnival.
  • Pitch and Timbre: Understanding treble clef and learning to play the keyboard. Learning about the instruments of the orchestra and experiencing a live orchestra.
  • Classical Composers: Learning about different classical composers and learning to play Fur Elise and other classic pieces on the keyboard.
  • Composing to a Brief: Using the elements of music to compose music inspired by Benjamin Britten’s ‘Peter Grimes’ Opera.
  • Chords and ukuleles: Learn about chord structures using the ukulele.
  • Musicals: Learn how the voice and songs are used in musicals.

In Year 8 students cover the following topics:

  • Computer Game Music: students will learn about music in popular culture and develop performing skills.
  • Arrangements: students will learn how to create their own arrangements using the elements of music.
  • Film Music: Students will learn to understand film music by playing film music, listening and appraising film music and using music technology to compose their own film music.
  • Ukuleles and song writing: Students will learn about writing songs using a 4-chord sequence. They will compose their own songs using their voice and ukuleles.
  • West African Music: Students will learn to play the Djembe and will compose their own group compositions using the drums focussing on different textures.

In Year 9, students cover the following topics:

  • Blues: Students will learn about the main features of Blues music and will create their own blues piece
  • Popular Music: Students will learn about how music has changed from the 1950s to modern day developing their performing and listening skills
  • The History of Western Classical Music:Students will learn about the history of western classical music through a range of performing, composing and listening activities.
  • Composing using music technology: Students will develop their music theory knowledge and then learn to use the notation program Sibelius, Chrome Song Maker and the software Mixcraft to create their own music composition.

 

Key Stage 4

At Key Stage 4 students can choose to study Eduqas GCSE Music.

The course covers performing, composing and listening in a wide variety of musical styles – both popular and classical genres.

The three course components are:

  • Performance NEA (30% of final grade): 2 performances, 1 solo and 1 Ensemble piece. There must be a minimum of 1 minute of ensemble playing.  Performances in total must be a minimum of 4 minutes.
  • Composing NEA (30% of final grade): 2 original compositions, 1 to a set brief and 1 free composition. Aim for the compositions in total to be over 3 minutes.
  • Appraising Exam (40% of final grade): the Exam is approximately 1hr 15mins. Comprises of 8 questions based on 4 areas of study and 2 set works:
    • Area of Study 1 – Musical Forms and Devices.
    • Area of Study 2 – Music for Ensemble
    • Area of Study 3 – Film Music
    • Area of Study 4 – Popular Music
    • Set work 1 – J.S. Bach ‘Badinerie’
    • Set work 2 – Toto ‘Africa’

What can I do with a GCSE Music qualification?

GCSE Music is a good preparation for further musical study and a solid foundation for the AS/A levels in Music and Music Technology as well as BTEC Level 3 qualifications in Music, Popular Music, Music Technology and Performing Arts. Students may also wish to take a GCSE in Music simply because they enjoy music and want to further develop their skills and knowledge.  Students may wish to go into a job where it is useful to have had experience of music or where they will need to use some of the skills developed during this course. These might include careers in the music industry, publishing, entertainment and teaching, or any job which involves communication and expressive skills.

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