Music

Autumn
Students will start their music education exploring Rhythm and Pulse. They will learn the importance and the use of a pulse, the different techniques to follow while playing rhythms to a pulse and re-enforce accurate time keeping. 

In the second half of the spring term, students will continue to develop their rhythmic accuracy while exploring African drumming, body percussion and hand percussion. They will also develop their vocal skills through singing and learning techniques such as call and response. 

Spring
Students start exploring pitch and melody and begin developing their keyboard skills. They will learn to identify the notes on the piano while also learning to access reading notation. This knowledge will be used to play notated melodies. 

Year 8 Students will spend the second half of the Spring term further developing their keyboard skills while being introduced to harmony and chords. Students will learn how chords are built and how it is used in an ensemble while maintaining time keeping and linking knowledge to the elements of music.  

Summer
There is no Music for Year 8 in the Summer Term. 

Assessment 

All assessments in Key Stage 3 are 2-fold. Students are initially assessed in their lessons every week on their ensemble skills, including how they communicate ideas and support the dynamics of the ensemble. They will also be marked on their conduct while working in an ensemble. At the end of the unit, Students will then perform as an opportunity to demonstrate skills and techniques learnt in that half term. The breakdown of half termly assessments is as follows:  

Autumn 1 – Rhythm & Pulse  

• A group performance whereby students will demonstrate their composed rhythms and showcase how well they can maintain their timing as well as their musical accuracy.  

Autumn 2 – Kpanlogo  

• This is a whole class ensemble where Students will show how well their time keeping has developed. They will demonstrate their use of call and response, vocal projection, improvisation and technical control. 

Spring 1 – Pitch & Melody 

• Students will deliver a performance, playing a chosen piece on the piano / keyboard, where they will demonstrate their ability to maintain musical accuracy, timing, and reading melodic notation.    

Spring 2 – Chords (Harmony) 

• Students will deliver a performance where they will play the chords to a chosen piece, while maintaining musical accuracy, technical control, implementing their own sense of style by choosing their own rhythm, and have the option to improvise a melody.  

Autumn
Students will start their music education exploring Rhythm and Pulse. They will learn the importance and the use of a pulse, the different techniques to follow while playing rhythms to a pulse and re-enforce accurate time keeping. 

In the second half of the Autumn term, students will begin developing their keyboard skills while being introduced to harmony and chords. Students will learn how chords are built and how it is used in an ensemble while maintaining time keeping and linking knowledge to the elements of music. 

Spring
There is no Music for Year 9 in the Spring Term. 

Summer
Students will continue from where they stopped in Autumn by further developing their keyboard skills. This will also serve as a recap for them. They will be introduced to sharps and flats and extended chords, while learning to play chords and melody at the same time. 

In the second half of the summer term, Year 9 Students will explore music of African American origin, while focussing on the Blues. They will study the historical context of the genre. Students will then learn and play the different components that make up the Blues in an ensemble setting. This unit will focus on harmony, rhythm, vocal skills, ensemble skills, improvisation, technical control, musical accuracy and listening.   

Assessment 

All assessments in Key Stage 3 are 2-fold. Students are initially assessed in their lessons every week on their ensemble skills, including how they communicate ideas and support the dynamics of the ensemble. They will also be marked on their conduct while working in an ensemble. At the end of the unit, Students will then perform as an opportunity to demonstrate skills and techniques learnt in that half term. The breakdown of half termly assessments is as follows:  

Autumn 1 – Kpanlogo  

• This is a whole class ensemble where Students will show how well their time keeping has developed. They will demonstrate their use of call and response, vocal projection, improvisation and technical control. 

Autumn 2 – Chords 

• Students will deliver a performance where they will play the chords to a chosen piece, while maintaining musical accuracy, technical control, implementing their own sense of style by choosing their own rhythm, and have the option to improvise a melody. 

Summer 1 – Chords II (Sharps and Flats, Extended Chords) 

• Students will deliver an ensemble performance where they will play the accompaniment and melody to a chosen piece, while maintaining musical accuracy, technical control, implementing their own sense of style. They will also create their own structure to demonstrate a beginning, middle and end. 

Summer 2 – The Blues 

• Students will deliver a group performance where they will adopt a role. The different components will be harmony, bass line, swung rhythm and improvisation. Students will be marked on their musical accuracy, technical control, improvisation skills and their ensemble skills.