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.
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 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. Students will do a baseline listening test at the start of this rotation.
Strands -
Listening
Vocal performance (large ensemble)
Instrumental performance (solo) on keyboards
Reading treble clef notation
Composition
Evaluating practical work
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
Vocal performance (large and small ensemble)
Instrumental performance (solo and small ensemble) on keyboards and ukuleles
Reading treble clef notation and chord diagrams
Evaluating practical work
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
Evaluating practical work
Year 9
Britpop Performance
Students have two six or seven-week rotations of music as part of Performing Arts. In this topic students will 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
Vocal performance (large and small ensemble)
Instrumental performance (solo and small ensemble) on keyboards and ukuleles
Reading bass clef notation and chord diagrams
Evaluating practical work
EDM Composition
Students have two six or seven-week rotations of music as part of Performing Arts. In this topic students will compose and produce their own EDM piece using GarageBand.
Strands -
Listening
Composition
Production
Evaluating practical work
Year 10
Exploring Music Products and Styles
Students will learn about the key features of a wide variety of genres of music, such as British Invasion, film music, music from the Romantic Period and world music. For each genre they will listen to music from the genre and then compose, perform or produce their own piece in the style of music from that genre. As part of this topic students will also practice recreating a song in the style of a new genre.
Strands -
Listening
Evaluating the stylistic features of genres of music
Performance (solo and ensemble on their choice of instrument/voice)
Composition
Production
Evaluating practical work
Music Skills Development
Throughout year 10 students will also learn about the key skills required to be a successful musician in the music industry. They will practically explore the use of skills such as time management, self-discipline and working with others. They will evaluate the impact that the use of key skills has on their work and look at case studies of how other musicians have used these skills.
Strands -
Performance (solo and ensemble on their choice of instrument/voice)
Composition
Production
Evaluating practical work
Evaluating a case study
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
Performance (solo of ensemble on their choice of instrument/voice) or production
Evaluating practical work
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 (solo of ensemble on their choice of instrument/voice) or production
Evaluating practical work
