Music

We aim to create well-rounded individuals. Music Education develops confident and committed students through developing skills and attitudes such as: problem-solving, perseverance, diligence, team work, time management, organisation, responsibility, cultural history, analysis, confidence, social skills, discipline, self-evaluation and interpersonal skills. Music students become creative and self-assured members of society with a variety of skills that allow them to succeed both musically and beyond.

Music is offered as:

• Core subject Years 7, 8 & 9
• GCSE Option Years 10 & 11
• IB Music Year 12 & 13

Key Stage 3 Music

Curriculum Overview

Year 7

Students receive two lessons per fortnight, through which we introduce the core elements of Music Education, which is analysis, composition and performing.  Students cultivate these skills individually, in small groups and as part of the whole class, in addition to being given a basic grounding in the key concepts of music such as melody and harmony etc.  Students are taught fundamental performance, composition and analysis skills and are introduced to Sibelius, the industry-standard music notation software. 

Year 8

Students receive three lessons per fortnight in which they expand and develop the basic skills taught in year 7 and apply them to wide variety of genres. Students are introduced to music and cultures from across the world and focus on building their knowledge and applying their skills to increasingly challenging music allowing them to increasingly develop their self-confidence and creativity. Students study a number of set works in depth. 

Year 9

Students receive two lessons per fortnight.  Students further develop the skills and knowledge gained in years 7 and 8 to provide a bridge to GCSE Music. 

Assessment

Each topic will normally entail two assessments, one practical and one analytical.  Students might be assessed on a performance or composition relating to the topic that has been studied and that will be assessed against clearly defined criteria.  Practical tasks are differentiated allowing students to be given additional credit for taking more challenging decisions.  This reflects how coursework is assessed at GCSE.

Students will also undertake regular listening and appraising assessments.  These take the form of GCSE-style listening assessments.  These assess students’ listening skills as well as their knowledge of key concepts and set works. 

Further Reading/Resources

• A listing of events taking place in the Medway Theatres https://www.medwayticketslive.co.uk/
• Although aimed at GCSE students, the BBC Bitesize website details some of the techniques Key Stage 3 will be introduced to this year and is fun and accessible: https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/ks3-music/zbwtrj6
• Music theory activities  https://www.musictheory.net/exercise

Key Stage 5 Music

Students at Key Stage 5 follow the IB Music course as part of the IB Diploma. 

Assessment at IB

The Music course is an incredibly varied course which allows students the opportunity to explore the areas of music they are  interested in while also developing their performance, compositions and research skills.  The IB music course is 100% coursework based. There is no written examination on the Music course. Students can tailor the course towards their areas of interest and enjoyment.

Exploring music in context (30% Standard Level, 20% Higher Level)

Students select samples of their work for a portfolio submission (maximum 2,400 words). The submission contains:

1. Exploring as a researcher – written work demonstrating engagement with, and understanding of, diverse musical material from at least two areas of inquiry
2. Exploring as a creator and as a performer – one practical creating exercise (score maximum 32 bars and/or audio 1 minute as appropriate to style) and one performed adaptation of music from a local or global context for the student’s own instrument (maximum 2 minutes)

Experimenting with music (30% Standard Level, 20% Higher Level)

Students submit an experimentation report with evidence of their musical processes in creating and performing focused through at least two areas of inquiry in a local and/or global context. The report provides a rationale and commentary for each process. Students submit:

1. Experimenting as a researcher – a written experimentation report that supports the experimentation (maximum 1,500 words)
2. Experimenting as a creator and as a performer – practical musical evidence of the experimentation process in the form of three related excerpts of creating (total maximum 5 minutes), three related excerpts of performing (total maximum 5 minutes)

Presenting music (40% Standard Level, 30% Higher Level)

Students submit a collection of works demonstrating engagement with diverse musical material from four areas of inquiry. The submission contains:

1. Presenting as a researcher – programme notes (maximum 600 words)
2. Presenting as a creator – composition and/or improvisation (maximum 6 minutes)
3. Presenting as a performer – solo and/or ensemble (maximum 12 minutes) and excerpts, where applicable (maximum 2 minutes)

The contemporary music-maker (HL only, 30%)

Students submit a continuous multimedia presentation documenting their real-life project. Students submit:

Multimedia presentation (maximum 15 minutes), evidencing:

1. the project proposal
2. the process and evaluation
3. the realized project, or curated selections of it.

Further Reading/Resources

– Allmusic blog, a website which regularly share articles and information about the music world https://www.allmusic.com/blog

– FACT Magazine, an online magazine which looks at the popular side of music and music technology https://www.factmag.com/

– BBC Sounds, radio shows and productions which include a large library of music playlists, radio and television shows https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds

– Berlin Philharmonic Concert Hall, a recording of many of the concerts done by the Berlin Philharmonic https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/titelgeschichten/20192020/digital-concert-hall/

British Values:

British Values in Music

Rule of law: Look briefly at copyright laws as part of doing covers and theme and variations.

Individual Liberty: Elements of civil rights explored in Jazz and Blues such as Racism. Gender equality briefly explored in the fact most great composers are male (and usually white).

Mutual respect: Lots of analysis and exploration of different cultures and music including – Caribbean Music, Samba, Jazz and Blues, Indian music, British Music and African Music

Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs: As part of the analysis of the wide variety of worlds music (Caribbean Music, Samba, Jazz and Blues, Indian music, British Music and African Music) we explore different faiths and beliefs to promote tolerance