Music
Subject Leader: Mrs M Charles-Khan
Subject Leader Email Address: maria.charleskhan@swale.at
Music gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.
PLATO
Subject overview
Music fills our lives. Studying music is both about learning to make music and about understanding one of the most powerful creations in human history, how it surrounds and affects us. Students explore the core inter-related dimensions of music such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics and tempo using their voices, instruments and digital tools. The curriculum builds practical skills and deepens cultural appreciation by examining diverse musical traditions, genres and history. The ability to cooperate, support, empathise and encourage are the key skills that students develop.
Year 7
Term 1
Topic: Vocal skills and exercises.
Enquiry Question: How can I create the best vocal performance?
Term 2
Topic: Keyboard skills and music notation.
Enquiry Question: How can you use notation to play a piece of music accurately?
Term 3
Topic: Rhythm, music notation and ensemble.
Enquiry Question: How can I work and as part of an ensemble?
Term 4
Topic: The musical work “Carnival of the Animals”, orchestra and how different elements of music are used in a piece to achieve the sound effects of different animals.
Enquiry Question: How does a composer trick our ears into seeing animals without using any words or pictures?
Term 5
Topic: Music creation, advertising music and composing a short piece of music.
Enquiry Question: How is music used in television adverts?
Term 6
Topic: How artists have gained fame and playing music by an artist.
Enquiry Question: How do music artists become famous?
Year 8
Term 1
Topic: Chords and riffs on keyboard and guitar.
Enquiry Question: What does it take to be part of an instrumental band?
Term 2
Topic: Approaches to writing lyrics and composing a complete song.
Enquiry Question: What English skills do I need to write songs?
Term 3
Topic: Rhythm and how to create a group piece of music using body percussion.
Enquiry Question: How can we make music without using any instruments?
Term 4
Topic: Passive consumerism to analytical music appreciation.
Enquiry Question: How do we make eyes hear and ears see?
Term 5
Topic: Reggae music and how to play the riff to “Three Little Birds” with bassline and chords.
Enquiry Question:
Why is reggae music different and what makes it so distinctive?
Term 6
Topic: How artists have become famous and how to play their music.
Enquiry Question: How do music artists become famous?
Year 9
Term 1
Topic: The different instruments and musical techniques used in Reggae music and learn how to play “Just The Way You Are” by Bruno Mars in a Reggae style.
Enquiry Question: Can we use the Reggae skills we know to turn a Pop song into a Reggae song?
Term 2
Topic: To be able to play the keyboard accurately and music notation.
Enquiry Question: How can you use notation to play a piece of music accurately?
Term 3
Topic: Film and music genres and how they are different. Composure of film music.
Enquiry Question: How can we tell what genre a film is just by listening to the music?
Term 4
Topic: The origins of music and Blues music. 12 bar Blues structure and Blues scale.
Enquiry Question: If the Blues disappeared from history, what would happen to your current favorite playlist?
Term 5
Topic: Music notation and playing the keyboard using Jazz style. Play the piece “Fly Me To The Moon”.
Enquiry Question: What are the different styles of music and how can we play them in school?
Term 6
Topic: How artists become famous and play a piece of music by an artist.
Enquiry Question: How do music artists become famous?
Year 10
Term 1
Topic: Musical forms and devices.
Enquiry Question: Does the way a song is structured really have any meaning to it?
Term 2
Topic: Popular music.
Enquiry Question: Is all popular music the same as the music currently released?
Term 3
Topic: Music for ensemble (Jazz).
Enquiry Question: An ensemble means we perform as a group. How is a jazz performance different from other ensemble performances?
Term 4
Topic: Film Music.
Enquiry Question: How are all elements of music and music techniques used to create music for films?
Term 5
Topic: Music for ensemble.
Enquiry Question: How are chamber music ensembles different to those we looked at earlier in jazz music?
Term 6
Topic: consolidation of learning, revision and mock exams.
Enquiry Question: How can I best revise for my music exam?
Year 11
Term 1
Topic: Musical forms and devices.
Enquiry Question: Does the way a song is structured really have any meaning to it?
Term 2
Topic: Popular Music.
Enquiry Question: How has music been recorded over time and how has this changed?
Term 3: Music for ensemble (musical theatre).
Enquiry Question: Is musical theatre just about people singing and acting on stage?
Term 4
Topic: Film music.
Enquiry Question: How are all elements of music and music techniques used to create music for films?
Term 5
Topic: consolidation of learning, revision and exams.
Enquiry Question: How can I best revise for my music exam?
How is the course assessed?
A combination of written and practical exams.
Sixth Form
Years 12
RSL Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in Performance / Technology for Music Practitioners
Terms 1 and 2
Topic: Planning a career in music.
Enquiry Questions:
What do I need to do to achieve my career goals?
Can I write an effective song?
Terms 3 & 4
Topic: Music video production.
Enquiry Question: How can I make an effective music video?
Terms 5 and 6
Topic: Auditioning for music and live sound engineering.
Enquiry Questions:
What would make a musician unforgettable for the right or wrong reasons?
What are the strategic approaches needed for successful live sound engineering?
Year 13
Terms 1 and 2
Topic: Session musicians and lighting for music events.
Enquiry Questions:
What does it mean to be a 'musical chameleon' and why is it the ultimate survival skill in the modern music industry?
What does it take to build, program and run a professional live lighting rig from scratch?
Terms 3 and 4
Topic: External exam board assessment.
Term 5
Topic: Consolidation and assessment.
How is the course assessed:
Internal assessment and external controlled assessment.