CURRICULUM
Music
Music Curriculum Intent
Music is part of the fabric of everyday life. Through the study of music we develop confidence, resilience and creativity. We teach students to critically analyse and appreciate music; compose their own music; and perform on a variety of instruments. We aim to engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians through creative, practical lessons and a range of extra-curricular opportunities. Â
Key Strands
Listening
Students will listen to pieces of music in order to learn about different genres and find inspiration for their practical work. They will develop their ear to recognise strengths and weaknesses in their performance and composition work. As students progress from year 7 to 11 they will learn to listen in greater detail, evaluating the stylistic features of different genres of music.
Students develop their performance skills and confidence on keyboards, ukuleles and singing throughout year 7-9. The performances that they work on increase in difficulty as students progress. Through learning to perform music, students also learn to read notation and chord sheets and they evaluate their work in order to further improve. In year 10 and 11 they can choose which instrument they would like to play or sing, before they choose whether they would like to perform or produce music in year 11.
Performance
Composition
Students are introduced to composition through creating their own piece on keyboards in year 7. They develop their skills in year 8, using GarageBand to compose short ideas, before composing a full piece using GarageBand in year 9. In year 10 and 11 students compose full pieces using GarageBand or an instrument, with a focus on a specific genre of music. Students regularly evaluate their work to further improve.
Students are introduced to GarageBand in year 8 to input music, before learning more about skills such as automation and effects in year 9. In year 10 and 11 students develop their production skills further, learning to record and mix music as well as continuing to compose in GarageBand. Students regularly evaluate their work to further improve.
Production
Year 7
Introduction to Music
Students have one 13-week rotation of music as part of Performing Arts. Students will learn about rhythm through djembe drumming, then they will learn to perform and compose on the keyboard. They will also sing as a class throughout this topic, which will be done alongside listening activities to help develop their understanding of key concepts.
Strands -
Listening
Performance
Composition
Year 8
Reggae Performance
Students have one 13-week rotation of music as part of Performing Arts, which is split into two topics. In this topic students will learn about the key features of Reggae and learn to perform 3 Little Birds on keyboards, ukulele and singing. They will then form small groups to practice and perform their final rendition of the piece.
Strands -
Listening
Performance
GarageBand Composition
Students have one 13-week rotation of music as part of Performing Arts, which is split into two topics. In this topic students will learn how to compose using GarageBand. They will create a portfolio of short composition tasks to demonstrate their skills.
Strands -
Listening
Composition
Production
Year 9
Britpop Performance
Students have two ten-week rotations of music as part of Performing Arts. In this topic students will learn about and perform 12-bar blues, including improvisation on keyboard. They will then compare Pachelbel’s Canon in D with Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis. They will first learn to play Canon in D on the keyboard, before learning how to perform Don’t Look Back in Anger on keyboards, ukulele and singing. They will then form small groups to practice and perform their final rendition of the piece.
Strands -
Listening
Performance
EDM Composition
Students have two ten-week rotations of music as part of Performing Arts. In this topic students will compose their own EDM piece using GarageBand. They will then produce the Super Mario Bros theme.
Strands -
Listening
Composition
Production
Year 10
PERFORMANCE
Students will learn to perform both individually and as part of an ensemble, learning to play pieces that are appropriate for their chosen instrument and previous experience. They can do this as a tech-based performance, producing the piece and performing one part of it live.
Strands -
Performance
Production
COMPOSITION
Students will learn to compose in a style of their choice and to a brief.
Strands
Composition
Listening
Students will learn about the musical elements used in a variety of genres through the four key areas of study: Forms and Devices, Popular Music, Music for Ensemble and Film Music. They will study two pieces in more detail: Bardinerie by J.S. Bach and Africa by Toto.
Strands
Listening
Year 11
Music Skills Development
Students will develop their skills in two key areas. Every student will focus on composition, with a choice of specialising in performance or production. For each of the two areas students will complete a skills audit and set themselves targets to develop their skills. They will then work to improve and will provide video/audio evidence and written evaluations to demonstrate their progress.
Skills -
Composition
Composition
Performance
Production
Responding to a Commercial Music Brief
Students will be given a brief with a list of songs and genres to choose from. They will choose a song to recreate in the style of a new genre and choose whether to perform or produce their finished piece. As well as recreating the song, they will create a plan for how they will complete the task and evaluate their progress and their finished piece afterwards.
Strands -
Listening
Composition
Performance
Production
