Music

By the end of Year 13, Music students will be Virtuosi, having confidently performed in an extended recital to a standard of Grade 6-8, focusing on mastery of technical skills, mature interpretation, expression and performance presence. They will continue to study their instrument(s) through 1-1 tuition and regularly contribute to Music events.

Students will have composed a portfolio of 2 or more advanced pieces lasting between 4 and 10 minutes, employing Grade 6 techniques and demonstrating confident handling of melody, diatonic harmony & tonality, rhythm & metre, awareness of style, conventions, textures and instrumental techniques.

The study of set pieces from the Western Classical Tradition, Popular Music and Contemporary music has integrated analysis of harmony and musical features with extended critical writing on their place in the canon. Students can recognise fundamental and advanced musical features through answering questions on unfamiliar listening.

By the end of Year 13, Music Technology students will have produced a portfolio of work that evidences competent skills in mixing, capturing, producing and composing. Their work demonstrates understanding of a broad range of Music Technology techniques including Balance & Blend, Dynamic processing, Effects, EQ, Guitars & Amplifiers, MIDI, Sampling, Sequencing and Synthesis.

Students’ practical work will be partnered with written work and a bank of tests that show their understanding of Music Technology processes; they will know when to apply them and be able to write critically in response to hearing music.

Through studying styles and genres and the technology used across the 20th & 21st centuries, students will know features of a broad range of popular musical styles and be able to recognise, recreate and apply them practically and in extended critical writing.

By the end of Year 12, Music students will have performed a recital of 5-6 minutes to a standard of Grade 5+ and demonstrated increasing control of their instrument(s) through confident technique, accuracy, awareness of style and a developing performance presence. They will continue tuition on their instrument(s) and be an active member of the department’s performances. Passion for their instrument will be evident.

Composition is developed through working on a portfolio of 6 varied, short pieces. Students have consolidated and developed their understanding of diatonic music to which they compared the conventions of popular music and contemporary styles. Each term, students composed 2 pieces whilst studying techniques and conventions that linked to their set pieces. Students are encouraged to employ Grade 4+ techniques in their compositions showing a developing awareness of instrumentation.

Studying set pieces and genres from the Western Classical Tradition, Popular Music and Contemporary Music styles has built on understanding and developed subject specific vocabulary. Through studying the development of the symphony, analysis of harmony was introduced alongside identifying musical features on score and writing critically about musical context.
Students continue to develop their aural skills through recognising fundamental and intermediate musical features in action (listening, appraising & aural skills).

By the end of Year 12, Music Technology students will have produced a portfolio of 4 short tracks demonstrating initial skills in mixing, capturing, producing and composing. Their work demonstrates a developing understanding of Music Technology techniques including Balance & Blend, Dynamic processing, Effects, EQ, Guitars & Amplifiers, MIDI, Sampling, Sequencing and Synthesis.

Students’ practical work will be partnered with written work and a bank of tests that show their understanding of Music Technology processes; they have started to apply them critically in response to hearing music.

Through studying styles and genres and the technology used across the 20th & 21st centuries, students will have begun to recognise features of popular musical styles and have started to recreate and apply them practically and in initial critical writing.

By the end of Year 11, Protégé musicians will have performed and recorded as a soloist and ensemble player. They have created a portfolio of 2 pieces/4 minutes on their chosen instrument and aimed for a standard of Grade 4-5 through practising regularly each week and attending 1-1 tuition. Students remain actively involved in extra-curricular Music.

Students will have composed 2 developed pieces lasting c.3 minutes and employed conventional techniques whilst demonstrating understanding of the musical fundamentals to create an effective and coherent piece of music. Compositions reflect technical difficulty of c.Grade 3.

Exploring four Areas of Study, GCSE Music has highlighted 16 styles of music from around the world and from across history. Students are familiar with the features of these styles both in terms of vocabulary and aural awareness. They are experienced in answering short answer questions and contextual questions on these styles, applying specific vocabulary. Exploring the Areas of Study demonstrates musical knowledge by recognising fundamental musical features in action (listening, appraising, notation & aural skills).

Studying set pieces from the Western Classical and Popular Music/Traditional styles has integrated knowledge with initial critical writing, supporting development of not only musical understanding but literacy and communication.

By the end of Year 10, students will have performed regularly in class and delivered a recital of 1 piece/2 minutes. They have aimed for a standard of Grade 3-4 on their chosen instrument. 1-1 tuition will be a part of their weekly routine and students will be involved in the extra-curricular life of the department.

Students will have developed their understanding of the musical fundamentals by composing 3 short pieces lasting c.2 minutes and employing conventional techniques in 3 differing styles. They have focused on how to manipulate and balance the elements to make an effective, stylish piece of music and ensure the piece is complete: create, develop, contrast and conclude has underpinned composition work.

Three Areas of Study have been explored and introduced 12 styles of music from around the world and from across history. Students have practiced listening to unfamiliar music in these styles and answering short answer questions, applying specific vocabulary and concepts such as time signatures, chords, cadences, dynamics, tempi, articulation and timbres. Student have been introduced to main features of each style and ‘DR.T.SMITH’. Within the Areas of Study,
set pieces from the Western Classical Tradition and Popular/Traditional music styles have been introduced. Year 10 students will have begun integrating knowledge of their set pieces with initial critical writing.

By the end of Year 9, students will have aimed for Competent/Confident on the Novice - Virtuoso scale, depending on experience and participation, and have continued to perform individually, as a pair or in an ensemble on the keyboard or their own instruments alongside manipulating Music IT to develop and refine their work.

All students will have had the opportunity to play and compose in the Blues style, over a ground bass and with the common features of Electronic Dance Music. Keys with more than one sharp or flat have been introduced to all in addition to the Blues tonality, extended chords and the quantize & velocity functions on Garageband to manipulate electronic sounds.

Knowledge of the orchestra has been developed as students explored 3 periods and composers of Western Classical Music (Baroque, Classical, Romantic) reflecting on the challenges facing female musicians, those with disabilities and those from ethnic minorities in the past.

Listening and aural skills have continued to be a focus: recognition of instruments and the fundamentals alongside the 3 ‘pillars’ of KS3 Music (melody, chords and bass).

Aural and Theory exercises are included in activities, homework and testing.

By the end of Year 8, students will have continued to perform on the keyboard or their own instruments alongside having been introduced to further instruments, in particular traditional percussion from West Africa and Brazil. All students will have performed as a class and will have had the opportunity to compose collaboratively using ostinato, the ‘4-chord progression’ and the pentatonic scale.

Live classroom performance has continued each term (solo, duet or ensemble) as students have explored Traditional, Pop and Film music whilst editing in Garageband has encouraged students to appraise and refine their work.

Knowledge of the orchestra has been developed as students have explored ‘motifs’ in film music alongside retrieving the fundamentals.

Listening and aural skills have continued to focus on recognition of instruments, the fundamentals and the 3 ‘pillars’ of KS3 Music (melody, chords and bass).

Aural and Theory exercises are included in activities, homework and testing.

By the end of Year 7, students will have navigated the keyboard, explored various instruments and been given the opportunity to perform live (solo, duet or ensemble) at least twice through classroom ‘concerts’ at the end of term. After an initial focus on keyboard skills, students were encouraged to use their own instruments, if they have one, as they embarked on studying Caribbean music.

Students will all have delivered a Christmas Concert to a public audience developing their skills as ensemble performers and representing the school. Music IT and composition have been introduced and students were given the opportunity to explore the orchestra through creating the theme for a new character to the ‘Peter and the Wolf’ story using Garageband.

The musical fundamentals of pulse, major/minor, time signature, rhythm and pitch (the elements) are woven through all 3 terms, and students have begun to learn how to write and read basic music notation.

Listening and aural skills focused on the recognition of instruments and the fundamentals above alongside the 3 ‘pillars’ of KS3 Music (melody, chords and bass).

Starting as Novices, students were introduced to progress trackers that show them the route to Virtuoso and encouraged to participate in extra-curricular clubs or sign up for Music lessons.

Aural and Theory exercises are included in activities, homework and testing.