MUSIC

“Music is essentially an emotional language, so you want to feel something from the relationships and build music based on those feelings.” – Howard Shore

The WGSG Music department thrives on the notions of inclusion, creativity and enthusiasm for the subject. We deliver a broad curriculum with an aim to provide an insightful knowledge of musical understanding and quality of performance. We encourage this department to be a friendly hub to share ideas and rehearse in.

In the music curriculum we teach pupils how to extend the way they perceive different styles of music through their musical responses and understanding of how musical elements work. Performing and composing is encouraged throughout every topic each term and will involve performances of a solo and group nature. Exploring the creative avenue in groups improves many basic human skills that are needed in the workplace later on in life, such as self-confidence and team work.

We aim to develop students as a whole person, seeking to raise awareness through the arts within the school. The department offers extra-curricular which encourages good practice and private lessons are available to all pupils on a weekly timetable. Concerts will be presented annually as well as music entertainment provided for assemblies, open evenings, Christmas, singing competitions and informal GCSE concerts.

“Mistakes are part of the game. It’s how well you recover from them that are the mark of a great player.” – Alice Cooper

Year 7

	Topic	Learning outcomes
Term 1	Baseline testing and elements of Music	Establish what prior knowledge students have and build their learning of the basic functions that effect every piece of music. E.g. structure, texture.
Term 2	Music notation	Learn how to recognise and read music notes in the treble and bass clefs, tablature and graphic scores.
Term 3	Keyboard skills	Familiarise with the layout of the keyboard and how to play melodies with both hands.
Term 4	The Orchestra	Learn about the different instrument families and sections within the orchestra. The basic ability to recognise the different instrument sounds.
Term 5	Saharan Sounds / Rhythm	Learn about African music with a focus on drumming. Students will be working largely in groups to compose and perform their own beats.
Term 6	Fusion	Listen and learn about how different styles can be fused. Students will compose and develop their own performances of fused styles.

Year 8

	Topic	Learning outcomes
Term 1	Scales and improvisation	To reinforce on a deeper level the basic fundamental forms of notation. Introduction of the skill to be creative with improvisation.
Term 2	Folk music	Listen and appreciate the folk style of music. Listen and appraise activities as well as learning to perform a piece in ensembles.
Term 3	Notation forms and structure	Learning about how music is formed and put together. This will develop compositional skills.
Term 4	Blues music	Learn to appreciate the blues music and how to perform in this style.
Term 5	Dance music	Learn to listen and appreciate different dance styled music. To recognise features of the different forms and be able to appraise.
Term 6	Theme and variations	The ability to create your own music theme and produce variations based around the one theme.

Year 9

	Topic	Learning outcomes
Term 1	Popular Music	Learn about how popular songs are formed and the process behind this. Studio production is also featured in this topic. Students will form bands.
Term 2	Film music	Appreciation of film music and to develop the skill to analyse music in a formal approach. Different genres of film music will be covered.
Term 3	Musicals	Learning about how music can encompass all art forms. Students will learn about Hamilton and embark on their own musical scene performance.
Term 4	Gaming Music	Students will listen and learn about how gaming music has risen in the popularity charts. Students will compose their own character themes as well as learn to play existing gaming character themes.
Term 5	Hooks and riffs	Following on from popular music, we will explore how to recognise a hook / riff within music, and compose one.
Term 6	Arrangements	A final focus on how to arrange a song. This will draw on all prior knowledge and experience of KS3 practical tasks.

Years 10 & 11

Year 10

	Topic	Learning outcomes
Term 1	Covering the basics	Basic Music theory, understanding notation, rhythms, music elements and how to approach harmony. Performance based skills. How to understand the weighting of the exam and coursework.
Term 2	Analysis of set works by Queen, Spalding and Afro Celt Sound System	We learn to analyse the following components for each piece of music: Melody, Articulation, Dynamics, Texture / Sonority, Structure, Harmony, Instrumentation, Rhythm / Metre, Tempo.
Term 3	Analysis of set works by Purcell, Schwartz and John Williams. Solo performance.	We learn to analyse the following components for each piece of music: Melody, Articulation, Dynamics, Texture / Sonority, Structure, Harmony, Instrumentation, Rhythm / Metre, Tempo.
Term 4	Analysis of set works by Bach and Beethoven	We learn to analyse the following components for each piece of music: Melody, Articulation, Dynamics, Texture / Sonority, Structure, Harmony, Instrumentation, Rhythm / Metre, Tempo.
Term 5	Review of learning. Begin the ‘Free’ composition.	Skill of composition.
Term 6	Complete ‘free’ composition	The experience of composing their own song / piece which counts towards 15% of the GCSE. 10 hours-controlled assessment time allocated for this.

Year 11

	Topic	Learning outcomes
Term 1	Aural dictation + ‘Brief’ composition introduction	How to listen to a melody and work out the missing notes and rhythms.
Term 2	The essay analysis question	The analysis of a known piece we have studied and an unfamiliar piece that is similar in style. Knowing how to draw on similarities and identify the differences.
Term 3	The ‘Brief’ composition completion	The experience of composing their own song / piece which counts towards 15% of the GCSE. 10 hours-controlled assessment time allocated for this.
Term 4	GCSE paper focus	Exam listening practice
Term 5	GCSE paper focus	Exam listening practice
Term 6