Music at Key Stage Three

At Key Stage 3, students are introduced to the three strands of music, Listening and Appraising, composing, and performing. Students develop their technical, constructive, and expressive pillars of learning through a range of musical activities which include singing, playing a range of instruments as well as Music Technology. The course aims to develop an awareness and appreciation of the musical world around them, not only by the study of the Western Classical and Popular Traditions, but also of the unique influences of different cultures from around the world. Assessment takes on a range of forms from written work to performance or composition. Students are encouraged to use appropriate musical notation where possible to support their work.

Students are encouraged to join an extra-curricular activity such as a choir or orchestra as well as to learn an instrument in order to further support their musical learning.

Home learning will be given once every two weeks and will consist of:-

One learning task related to vocabulary

One appraising task

One composition task

Year 7

Term 1:1	Term 1:2	Term 2:1	Term 2:2	Term 3
Unit Title: Music Around Us	Unit Title: In Tune	Unit Title: Samba!	Unit Title: In Harmony	Unit Title: Minimalism to Club Dance
Learning Focus: Appraising & IRDM	Learning Focus: Melody Composition & Structure	Learning Focus: Ensemble Performance	Learning Focus: Composition	Learning Focus: Music Technology
Keyboard Skills: This part of the course should allow students to further develop their understanding of music notation, as well as developing an approach to performance where they develop their express skills using dynamics and articulation. This forms the ‘do it now’ section of each lesson and is assessed ‘when ready’ rather than at set times to recognise the different stages at which students will progress.
Listening and Appraising: Student’s listening skills are developed throughout the year through analysis of one piece of repertoire from the list below in class and the further work studied via home learning. This then provides a series of ‘set works’ which the students’ knowledge and understanding are assessed in a summative examination.
Rationale: This unit acts as a bridge from year 6 into year 7, revisiting music notation as the basic concepts of IRDM. This also links into the bridging unit being developed for use with feeder schools from 2024 – 25.	Rationale: From this unit, students are introduced to keyboard skills through a dedicated course which then runs from year 7 into year 8. After an introductory session, students analyse some of the simpler tunes they have been learning in terms of both their melodic shape and structure with a view to developing their own compositions using music notation.	Rationale: This unit is about developing the students’ rhythmic understanding. So far in the year the focus has been on melody, and this allows for the introduction of more difficult rhythmical concepts.	Rationale: This unit revisits the composition that was started in term 1:2 and introduced students to the concept of harmony, intervals and consonance / dissonance. By the end of this unit, students will have looked at the horizontal sections of music and the vertical sections (layers that make up harmony).	Rationale: This unit is about introducing students to different ways of composing in music. With a focus on notation and keyboard skills, this summative unit encourages students to use some premade loops alongside original content in order to create an extended composition.
Key Vocabulary: Treble Clef Stave Dynamics Instruments Pitch Tonality	Key Vocabulary: Tonic Dominant Passing Note Auxiliary Note Binary Form Ternary Form	Key Vocabulary: Call & Response Groove On the beat Off the beat Syncopation	Key Vocabulary: Consonance Dissonance 2nds 3rds 4ths 5ths 6ths 7ths	Key Vocabulary: DAW Sample Copyright Loop Panning Rondo Form
Repertoire: Stasis – Sean Foran & Stuart McCallum Trumpet Concerto – Haydn	Repertoire: Eine Kleine Nachtmusic (3) – Mozart Air from Water Music – Handel	Repertoire: ‘Samba Drums’ – Drums of the World Se a Vida E – Pet Shop Boys	Repertoire: When you’re gone – Mel C, Bryan Adams Pearlfishers Duet – Bizet	Repertoire: Little Fluffy Clouds – The Orb They Sink (TOKiMONSTA Remix) – Olarfur Arnalds
Assessment: End of Unit term quiz on terminology and music notation	Assessment: Online submission of composition	Assessment: Recording of group performance.	Assessment: Online submission of composition	Assessment: Online submission of composition Summative end of year exam.

Year 8

Unit Title: Jazz & Blues	Unit Title: Progressions	Unit Title: Reggae	Unit Title: Film Music (1)	Unit Title: Film Music (2)
Learning Focus: Improvisation, Triads	Learning Focus: Composition	Learning Focus: Performance	Learning Focus: Composition	Learning Focus: Composition
Keyboard Skills: This part of the course should allow students to further develop their understanding of music notation, as well as developing an approach to performance where they develop their express skills using dynamics and articulation. This forms the ‘do it now’ section of each lesson and is assessed ‘when ready’ rather than at set times to recognise the different stages at which students will progress.
Listening and Appraising: Student’s listening skills are developed throughout the year through analysis of one piece of repertoire from the list below in class and the further work studied via home learning. This then provides a series of ‘set works’ which the students’ knowledge and understanding are assessed in a summative examination.
Rationale: Following on from the harmony introduced in year 7, this builds on this further by introducing triads, accidentals and blues scales to support the performance of an improvisation as part of the 12 bar blues.	Rationale: This unit directly links to the previous unit as it develops students understanding of the development of popular music in the mid C20th and introduces an extended range of chord progressions, as well as knowledge of the the degrees of the scale	Rationale: A significant influence on music from the 1960’s onwards, this unit looks at Reggae, its music and allows students to identify and make links with the Samba unit from year 7 in terms of rhythmic devices	Rationale: This unit looks at the growth of film music and its significance to the UK music industry but also its links to programmatic music in the C19th, Opera and the musical devices used to create such pieces.	Rationale: This unit is a summative unit which allows students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of music though the composition of 2 minute extract for a film extract.
Key Vocabulary: Triad Chord Sequence Blues Scale Blue Note Dominant 7^th Chords Improvisation	Key Vocabulary/Knowledge: Unison, Third, Fifth Intervals Degrees of the scale Triads built upon the scale and tonality Chord Progression Roman Numerals for chords Arabic numerals for intervals	Key Vocabulary: Off the beat Riff Syncopation	Key Vocabulary: Programmatic Music Opera Leitmotiv Timbre
Repertoire: Match Box Blues – Blind Lemon Jefferson All Blues – Miles Davies	Repertoire: Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey Thinking out Loud – Ed Sheeran	Repertoire: Three Little Birds – Bob Marley Last Boat to Cairo – Madness	Repertoire: Symphony No 5 Mvt. 5 – Sibelius Theme from Interstellar – Zimmer Incidental Music from Encanto – Germaine Franco
Assessment: Recording of Blues piece and improvisation	Assessment: Online submission of composition	Assessment: Recording of Solo Performance	Assessment: Creation of two leitmotifs, one for a character and one for a place	Assessment: Film Score composition Summative Assessment

Year 9

Term	Topic	Description	Musical Repertoire
Autumn	Introduction to Music History Introduction to Composition	This unit provides an opportunity to build on the skills and knowledge introduced at Key Stage three allowing students to develop their understanding of the musical elements through listening, and performing. The unit also seeks to introduce much of the key vocabulary that will be used throughout the course and helping students to not only learn the meaning but recognise it in performed music.	Playlist coming soon
Spring 1	Harmony and Texture	Students revisit the concepts of harmony studied in year 8 and develop this to include the use of triads and extended chords. The understanding of harmony is then applied to texture and how this can be used to create more complex pieces through composition.	Playlist coming soon
Summer 1	Composition and Performance	Through a practical exploration, students develop the knowledge and skills that they have gained throughout the year and apply this in order to develop their own composition. Students are also given time to develop their individual performance skills in preparation for their end of year solo performance examination.	Playlist coming soon

Supporting Your Child’s Learning

We offer a range of tools to support student’s learning. These include:-

Focus on Sound – Music education resource

Flat – Music Notation Software

All of this software can be accessed through Microsoft Teams on the chromebooks or other mobile devices. We would encourage you to help your children access this at home, so that they can effectively work on home learning tasks or develop their skills outside of lessons.