Music
Intent
Career Opportunities in Music
The study of Music allows you to develop skills that can lead to many different career choices. Some examples of careers you could pursue include performer, composer, music supervisor, editor, producer, teacher, engineer, publisher, record industry professional, film industry professional, music for games, music therapy, luthier, piano tuner, conductor, arranger, cruise industry professional, hotel music concierge, archivist, researcher, youth worker, festival organizer, manager, booker, agent, orchestral player, and more.
Year 7 Curriculum Overview
Autumn
| What are we learning? | What knowledge, understanding and skills will we gain? | What will excellence look like? | How will this be assessed? |
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Skills Audit
The Slave Trade and the Blues |
Students will undergo an audit to see what they can already do and what they know. In particular this will be about students who have previously had instrumental lessons, performed or have an interest to do so.
Students will learn how the slave Trade played a huge role in shaping the early roots of Blues. They will understand how this forms the bedrock of popular music and how the mix of cultures combine to form popular music genres of the time |
Students will apply their knowledge to their own mix / composition / lyrics showing an excellent understanding of key features of the style. Where possible students will perform confidently as individuals or as a group – Eg. Drums, Keyboard, Bass, Voice. Students will be able to place the style of music in context of what came before; what follows on and the styles impact to popular music. |
Through practical exercises; questioning in booklets; computer based projects and performances. There will also be a termly assessment on the facts surrounding the various styles. |
Spring
| What are we learning? | What knowledge, understanding and skills will we gain? | What will excellence look like? | How will this be assessed? |
| Song Writing 1 |
Students will learn how to write song words: a lyric / how to develop lines / types of word setting - melisma, speech rhythm, space. Adding a tune and looking at chord sequences.
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Excellence in lyric writing is seen where there is a clear structure of verse / chorus. Songwriting techniques such as lists, different rhyming schemes have tried out and the best version used. The lyrics will flow and put across the meaning of the song clearly. |
Through practical exercises; questioning in booklets; computer-based projects and performances.
There will also be a termly assessment on the facts surrounding the various styles. |
| Foley – Making Sound for Film and TV |
How to add sounds to a film; how to create sounds out of everyday objects just like in the real world. Eg. Crisp packet for a fire; bamboo for creaking rope; slinky for a laser beam. They will also learn how to place microphones in the right place to capture a clear recording. Finally, they will create the “foley” for the troll scene in Harry Potter.
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Excellence is where combinations of sounds are tried and experimented with; different fx added to the sound and the matching of the sound to picture is accurate – including matching the voice to the on-screen characters. |
Through practical exercises; questioning in booklets; computer-based projects and performances. There will also be a termly assessment on the facts surrounding the various styles. |
Year 8 Curriculum Overview
Autumn
| What are we learning? | What knowledge, understanding and skills will we gain? | What will excellence look like? | How will this be assessed? |
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1980s synth Pop
The Synthesizer 1980s – Wider View / Stock Aitken and Waterman |
Students will follow on from last term (the 1970s) with the 80s. Students will learn how the synthesizer radically changed the face of pop music as we know it.
Students will learn how a synthesizer works and even build a component from scratch and hear it working.
Students will learn about the huge range of styles and music that came about in the 1980s – from stadium rock to the role of the producer becoming more famous than the artist (Trevor Horne, Stock Aitken Waterman).
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Students will apply their knowledge to their own mix / composition / lyrics made up from the key features of the style. Where possible students will perform as individuals or as a group – Eg. Drums, Keyboard, Bass, Voice. Students will be able to place the style of music in context of what came before; what follows on and the styles impact to popular music. |
Through practical exercises; questioning in booklets; computer based projects and performances. There will also be a termly assessment on the facts surrounding the various styles. |
Spring
| What are we learning? | What knowledge, understanding and skills will we gain? | What will excellence look like? | How will this be assessed? |
| 1980s synth Pop |
Following on from last term (the 1970s) with the 80s. Students will learn how the synthesizer radically changed the face of pop music as we know it.
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Students will apply their knowledge to their own mix / composition / lyrics made up from the key features of the style. Where possible students will perform as individuals or as a group – Eg. Drums, Keyboard, Bass, Voice. |
Through practical exercises; questioning in booklets; computer-based projects and performances. There will also be a termly assessment on the facts surrounding the various styles. |
| The Synthesizer |
Students will learn how a synthesizer works and even build a component from scratch and hear it working.
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Students will apply their knowledge to their own mix / composition / lyrics made up from the key features of the style. Where possible students will perform as individuals or as a group – Eg. Drums, Keyboard, Bass, Voice. |
Through practical exercises; questioning in booklets; computer-based projects and performances. There will also be a termly assessment on the facts surrounding the various styles. |
| 1980s – Wider View / Stock Aitken and Waterman |
Students will learn about the huge range of styles and music that came about in the 1980s – from stadium rock to the role of the producer becoming more famous than the artist (Trevor Horne, Stock Aitken Waterman)
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Students will apply their knowledge to their own mix / composition / lyrics made up from the key features of the style. Where possible students will perform as individuals or as a group – Eg. Drums, Keyboard, Bass, Voice. |
Through practical exercises; questioning in booklets; computer-based projects and performances. There will also be a termly assessment on the facts surrounding the various styles. |
Year 9 Curriculum Overview
Autumn
| What are we learning? | What knowledge, understanding and skills will we gain? | What will excellence look like? | How will this be assessed? |
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Advertising
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Students will have the opportunity to look in depth at the world of advertising. As well as jingles, students will understand how an advert is a collaboration of drama, art, music and creativity. Students will create their own adverts through storyboarding and/or recording a finished product. Students will learn how to sync sound to picture and edit accordingly. They will learn about ducking, hit points, plug-ins, inserts and finalising. |
Student work will evidence well thought out planning and reviewing of the progress. In practicals, the students will perform fluently and with confidence showing clear signs of practice and improvement; in composition there will be evidence of carefully considered structure and material. In producing there will be evidence of a clear understanding of the software resulting in an effective mix/film music/composition.
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Each project will be assessed on the planning aspect and how thought has gone into reviewing and putting steps in place to show progress. Performances / showings will be assessed on the process and the fluency of the performance / composition; research will be assessed on depth of research and final outcomes. |
Spring
| What are we learning? | What knowledge, understanding and skills will we gain? | What will excellence look like? | How will this be assessed? |
| Key Artists from 2000 to 2010 |
Kanye, Coldplay, Outkast, Eminem, Beyonce, Greenday, Red Hot Chillipeppers, Jay-Z – virtual production; digitisation of the studio; rise of Antares autotune; R&B-Soul-Hiphop
Skills: Sound and sample editing – EQ, filters, pitch, time stretching, assigning sounds to patches, loops, project design, working with studio acapellas
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Students will start to dig much deeper into the production side of the work. Understanding how to edit and manipulate sounds and samples to emulate the works of parts of the pieces they have been looking at.
In small groups they will produce a minimum of one piece of music that has clear links to a piece they have been listening to. It is expected to be at least 30 seconds long and have at least 4 tracks.
Commonalities will include production techniques with vocals, software used for pads and leads, common similarities in drum beats and drum sounds |
The pieces will be peer assessed with regard to how accurately they have taken aspects of the pieces they have been listening too. Through practical exercises; questioning in booklets; computer based projects and performances. There will also be a termly assessment on the facts surrounding the various styles. |
| 2010 to 2020 |
The Weeknd and 80s revival; Taylor Swift – the first billionaire; Bruno Mars – true music, Pink, Lady Gaga and artists chosen by the students. |
Students will start to dig much deeper into the production side of the work. Understanding how to edit and manipulate sounds and samples to emulate the works of parts of the pieces they have been looking at. |
The pieces will be peer assessed with regard to how accurately they have taken aspects of the pieces they have been listening too. Through practical exercises; questioning in booklets; computer based projects and performances. There will also be a termly assessment on the facts surrounding the various styles. |
Year 10 Curriculum Overview
Autumn
| What are we learning? | What knowledge, understanding and skills will we gain? | What will excellence look like? | How will this be assessed? |
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Component 1 |
Students are completing Component 1: Exploring Music Styles. They will produce a portfolio of 4 styles of music showing they understand how these pieces are put together. Students then create their own examples using music software and live performances. After this component students will prepare for Component 2 – this is where they set themselves an individual target and monitor their progress. Eg. Learning to play the Moonlight Sonata on the piano. |
A portfolio showing a deep understanding of how the styles of music are put together. There will be clear examples showing key features of the style. Pieces by the students will be well mixed with high attention to detail in the final mix. |
Students are assessed by the criteria set by the board. Each student has been given the mark schemes ensuring they hit the main criteria.
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Spring
| What are we learning? | What knowledge, understanding and skills will we gain? | What will excellence look like? | How will this be assessed? |
| Pushing the Envelope: Skills training for Component 2 | All students will rotate completing the following tasks. During the tasks students will build knowledge and skills in the various disciplines. They can also set their own projects particular to their instrument or leaning. Students will also work towards a performance for the end of term – ideally this will coincide with the big Sing at Westcliff High school for Girls. Compulsory: Film Scoring: Opening Titles; Leit Motif – Classical 3 Chord sequences played fluently on Keyboard or Guitar Powerpoint showing how to set up live sound for a Band 3 Pieces created referencing styles of electronic music from 1980 to 2010. The key features – Eg. Melodic short riffs for the 80s, big pad sounds for the 90s etc Skills: Critical thinking, problem solving. Evaluation of resources, researching techniques, self-study |
Students are focussed on completing the carousel to the highest standard. The majority of the work is through independent study and perseverance. Taking the knowledge from the compulsory tasks students will use these skills and techniques in other aspects of their work. They will have a thoughtful and well executed progress document showing achievements, barriers and solutions. | The pieces will be assessed using the mark scheme for component 2 as a guide. It is expected that any shortfalls in the work will be acknowledged by the student and made aware ready for component 2 |
| Completing the Carousel | Completing the task above and working on at least one piece to be included in a showcase at the end of term | Students are focussed on completing the carousel to the highest standard. The majority of the work is through independent study and perseverance. Taking the knowledge from the compulsory tasks students will use these skills and techniques in other aspects of their work. They will have a thoughtful and well executed progress document showing achievements, barriers and solutions. | The pieces will be assessed using the mark scheme for component 2 as a guide. It is expected that any shortfalls in the work will be acknowledged by the student and made aware ready for component 2 |
Year 11 Curriculum Overview
Autumn
| What are we learning? | What knowledge, understanding and skills will we gain? | What will excellence look like? | How will this be assessed? |
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Component 2 |
Students are completing Component 2: Developing Music skills this is where they set themselves an individual target and monitor their progress. Eg. Learning to play the Moonlight Sonata on the piano.
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The student will be able to demonstrate a clear understanding of how to develop a musical skill. This will be in the form of written document, audio commentary or presentation. The evidence will detail planning, targets, goals and criteria to show how these targets have been met. The finished product will also be accompanied by a recording of their work – a live performance; a mix down; composition or remix.
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Students are assessed by the criteria set by the board. Each student has been given the mark schemes ensuring they hit the main criteria.
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Spring
| What are we learning? | What knowledge, understanding and skills will we gain? | What will excellence look like? | How will this be assessed? |
| Component 3: Remix |
10 songs from a range of styles will be given on the exam paper released in January. 4 styles of music will also be on the paper. Remix ONE song in ONE of the 4 styles given
Knowledge: Identifying key stylistic features of the styles listed; how to create a pastiche without copying. Skills: Arranging; inputting and mixing; post production skills Planning recording sessions, booking musicians Select options and work on detailed planning and experimentation
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Students will take a part several of the pieces named by the board. They will then emulate these key stylistic / production features accurately resulting in a clever and insightful remix. |
Externally Assessed |
