Music

In Expressive Arts we aim to foster a love for the Arts by offering a broad and balanced experience across art, dance, drama and music.

Curriculum rationale

In Expressive Arts we aim to foster a love for the Arts by offering a broad and balanced experience across art, dance, drama and music.  We want to enthuse passion, creativity and a love for our subjects that you may not have previously experienced.

The KS3 curriculum serves as an enjoyable, engaging and broad musical experience for all students. 

Our music curriculum has been designed around the three fundamental strands of musical development; performing, composing and listening and appraising.  The curriculum is predominantly practical and aims to engage students in the activity of making music for as much of their time in the classroom as possible.  We believe that learning ‘about’ music should be minimal when a curriculum of ‘doing’ music develops the practical skills that will inform and strengthen students’ wider understanding and appreciation of music.  Students study singing, keyboard, ukulele, guitar, percussion (including drum kit) and use Garage Band and Musescore software for composition work.  Each of these areas are progressively built upon over time using a spaced-learning approach e.g. ukulele is introduced in Year 7 for one topic, a more in-depth guitar unit is delivered in the Spring term and is then returned to in the Summer term as part of the ensemble performance unit.   We aim for all students to have developed functional performance skills by the end of KS3 that they can use beyond the classroom and continue to develop into adult life. 

For details of our Music Development Plan, please click here.

Key stage 3 Curriculum Design

As well as performing, improvising and composing, listening to and appraising music is incorporated into every lesson at KS3 through means of directed listening and targeted questioning used at the start of each lesson.  Notational skills and theory are also woven into the performance and composition topics and are appropriate and relevant i.e. staff notation is taught and used for keyboard work, TAB notation/chord charts for guitar etc.  Assessment is regular and uses the LET model personalised to our curriculum allowing students to make rapid progress and take ownership of what is required from them to progress to the next level.  Students’ current level of attainment is an average of all assessments taken at any given time.

 

Year 7 
Term What Will Students Learn? How Will They Be Assessed?

HT 1

(Aug – Oct)

1. Rhythm (shared curriculum): Students learn how to read/understand and perform rhythmic notation using percussion: whole note – eighth note inc. rests.

 

2. Pitch (shared curriculum): Students learn how to read/understand and perform melodic pitch notation on the treble clef using keyboards: middle C to A (one ledger line above stave).

1. Practical assessment in lesson 4, OMR (knowledge/understanding) assessment in lesson 5 (grades combined to give an average).

 

2. Practical assessment in lesson 6, OMR (knowledge/understanding) assessment in lesson 7 (grades combined to give an average).

HT 2

(Oct – Dec)

1. Pitch (shared curriculum): Continued/completed.

 

2. Singing & Ukulele: Students learn to play 4 chords on the ukulele and perform and sing a range of songs using these chords: C, G, Am and F.

1. Practical assessment in lesson 6, OMR (knowledge/understanding) assessment in lesson 7 (grades combined to give an average).

 

2. This topic is not formally assessed.

HT 3

(Jan – Feb)

 1. Chords (shared curriculum): Students learn about chords and their construction/qualities and perform a range of music using chords on the keyboard and/or ukulele.

1. Practical assessment in lesson 3 or 4.

HT 4

(Feb – Apr)

1. Guitar: Students learn the basics of playing single-note melodic lines and simple chord shapes on the guitar, performing music specially written for SJNGC (“Funky Blues” and “Boris’ Boogie”).

 

2. Keyboard: Students develop and extend their performance ability on the keyboard through studying one of the RSL Debut or Grade 1 pieces (depending on ability).

1. Practical assessment in lesson 4.

 

2. This topic is not formally assessed.

HT 5

(Apr – May)

 1. Ensemble Skills: Students learn how to perform as part of a whole-class group, specializing on their instrument of choice (keyboard, ukulele, guitar or voice): “Stand by Me”. 1. Practical assessment in lesson 4. 

HT 6

(May – Jul)

1. Improvising: Students learn to improvise melodic music using the pentatonic scale and visual stimuli on the keyboard.

 

2. Guitar: Students further develop their performance skills on the guitar, performing music specially written for SJNGC (“Ed Shaped”).

1. Practical assessment in lesson 3.

 

2. This topic is not formally assessed.
Year 8
Term What Will Students Learn? How Will They Be Assessed?

HT 1

(Aug – Oct)

1. Keyboard: Students develop their performance skills on the keyboard through learning RSL Grade 1 piece “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (2-hands together).

 

2. Ensemble Skills: Students learn how to perform as part of a whole-class group, specializing on their instrument of choice (keyboard, ukulele, guitar or voice): “All of Me”.

1. Practical assessment in lesson 4.

 

2. This topic is not formally assessed.

HT 2

(Oct – Dec)

 1. Blues (common curriculum): Students learn about the origin of Blues music, the 12-bar Blues chord progression, the Blues Scale and perform and improvise using the keyboards. 1. Practical assessment in lesson 6, OMR (knowledge/understanding) assessment in lesson 7 (grades combined to give an average).

HT 3

(Jan – Feb)

 1. Composition: Students learn how to originate a chord progression, create a sense of style and to compose and develop melodic ideas within common musical forms.  This work incorporates the use of ICT via Garage Band. 1. Practical assessment in lesson 5, OMR (knowledge/understanding) assessment in lesson 6 (grades combined to give an average).

HT 4

(Feb – Apr)

1. Keyboard: Students develop their performance skills on the keyboard through learning RSL Grade 1 piece “Jupiter” (2-hands together).

 

2. Music Theory: Students revise and recall rhythm and pitch, learn about bass clef, key signatures and chord construction.

1. Practical assessment in lesson 4, OMR (knowledge/understanding) assessment in lesson 5 (grades combined to give an average).

 

2. Workbooks are self/peer-marked in class.

HT 5

(Apr – May)
1. Guitar: Students further develop their performance skills on the guitar, performing RSL Grade 1 guitar music (various).
 1. Practical assessment in lesson 4.

HT 6

(May – Jul)

1. Song Writing: Students learn how to compose, develop and refine chord progressions, riffs/hooks and write lyrics with melody.  Small group work.

 

2. Music Theory: Students revise and recall rhythm and pitch, extend their knowledge of the bass clef, key signatures and chord construction.

1. Practical assessment in lesson 4.

 

2. Workbooks are self/peer-marked in class.
Year 9
Term What Will Students Learn? How Will They Be Assessed?

HT 1

(Aug – Oct)

1. Keyboard: Students develop their performance skills on the keyboard through learning “Eine Kleine Nacht Musik” (2-hands together).

 

2. Composition: Students learn how to create musical ideas within a classical genre context. This work incorporates the use of ICT via Musescore.

1. Practical assessment in lesson 4.

 

2. Practical assessment in lesson 5.

HT 2

(Oct – Dec)

1. Composition: Continued/completed.

 

2. Ensemble Skills: Students learn how to perform as part of a whole-class group, specializing on their instrument of choice (keyboard, ukulele, guitar or voice): “Sweet Child of Mine”.

 

3. Music Theory: Students revise and recall rhythm and pitch, keys and chord construction.

1. Practical assessment in lesson 5.

 

2. Practical assessment in lesson 4.

 

3. Workbooks are self/peer-marked in class.

HT 3

(Jan – Feb)

 1. Composition: Students learn how to create musical ideas within a set-brief (GCSE prep). 1. On-going work is formatively assessed throughout development with regular feedback.

HT 4

(Feb – Apr)

 1. Ensemble Skills: Students learn how to perform as part of a whole-class group, specializing on their instrument of choice (keyboard, ukulele, guitar or voice): “Don’t Look Back in Anger”.

1. Practical assessment in lesson 4.

HT 5

(Apr – May)

 1. Composition: Students learn how to create musical ideas within a set-brief (GCSE prep) – continuation. 1. On-going work is formatively assessed throughout development with regular feedback.

HT 6

(May – Jul)

 1. Ensemble Skills: Students learn how to perform as part of a whole-class group, specializing on their instrument of choice (keyboard, ukulele, guitar or voice): “Who’s the Bossa?”. 1. This topic is not formally assessed.

Extra-Curricular Opportunities

The music department offer the following clubs:

  • Keyboard/Guitar/Ukulele Club (KS3) - Monday & Wednesday lunchtimes. 
  • Choir (All Years) – Tuesday after school. 
  • Band Academy (All Years) – Friday after school. 

In addition, we also produce two major musical concert events per year; one in the Autumn term and one in the Summer term.

Peripatetic music lessons are also available for:

  • Piano 
  • Guitar /Ukulele
  • Drum Kit
  • Vocal 
  • Violin 
  • Cello 
  • Flute 
  • Clarinet 
  • Saxophone 
  • Oboe 
  • Trumpet 
  • Euphonium