Curriculum Area:

Music Last Modified: Monday, 27 July 2015

Curriculum Area Booklet

Introduction Music is a place where you have the opportunity to be creative, perform and listen to a whole range of music. St Bernard’s has a thriving music department with many pupils having instrumental lessons on guitar, ukulele, woodwind, brass, string and percussion instruments as well as singing and piano. You are also invited to join in with the school’s many music groups including vocal group, orchestra, drumming group, ukulele club and many more. We now live in a world that is becoming ever more reliant on multimedia technology and Music Technology will help you move with the times. You will have the opportunity to work in a state of the art recording studio and ICT suite, creating music to accompany film and producing your own single.

Staff & Roles The Music department consists of:   

Mrs L. Beck - Curriculum Leader Music and Music Technology Mrs K. Ratcliffe - Teacher of Music Technology Ms N. Vivian – Teacher of Music and Music Technology

Course Information Year 7 Topic Vocal project

Graphic scores Rhythm Notation and keyboard skills

Mood Music

Samba

Focus Pupils explore their voices through singing songs from a variety of different cultures and create their own vocal composition. Pupils learn to interpret a variety of graphic scores, creating a piece of music on the keyboards. Pupils explore rhythm, including reading symbols, using the African drums. Pupils learn the basics of reading music and go on to use these new skills in keyboard performance. Pupils learn about the instruments of the orchestra through listening to the piece ‘Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’ and then create their own mood treasure map. Pupils explore samba music through performance and create their own carnival piece.

Year 8 Topic Blues Music

Bhangra Music

Descriptive Music

African Music

Reggae Music

Band Music

Focus Pupils learn about the social and historical context of Blues music and create a piece using the 12 bar blues and improvisation. Pupils learn about traditional Indian music and how it has been fused with popular Western music to create Bhangra. Pupils learn about ‘programme music’ and how music can be used to describe things. Pupils compose their own music to describe what is happening in a video. Pupils explore African drumming and learn to sing traditional African songs. Pupils have the opportunity to both compose and perform. Students have the opportunities to develop instrumental skills, perform traditional Reggae music and write their own song lyrics. Pupils learn the skills required to be part of a band before choosing a song and creating their own band performance.

Music – Key Stage 4 (Years 9-11) In KS4 pupils have the opportunity to choose GCSE Music or BTEC Music (Technology).

GCSE Music AQA GCSE specification http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/AQA-4270-W-SP-14.PDF AQA GCSE draft specification for September 2016 http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/music/gcse/music-8271/specification-at-a-glance http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/music/specifications/AQA-8271-SP-2016-V0-1.PDF In KS4, pupils have the opportunity to extend their musical understanding through a range of listening, performing and composing activities and assessments. The GCSE is split into a range of units. Unit

1 – Listening

Focus This is the only exam in the music course and is worth 20% of the final GCSE. The exam will be made up of listening extracts of different types of music and answering questions about them. In the unit you will listen to and learn about: The Western Classical tradition Popular music of the 20th and 21st Centuries World music GCSE music gives you the opportunity to listen to and play the music you love as well as giving you the chance to explore new music, instruments and working with new people.

2 – Composing

3 - Performing

4 – Composing

This unit is worth 20% of the GCSE. For this unit the exam board tells you what type of piece of music you need to write and then you have 20 hours to write it. You then have 2 hours to evaluate your piece of music. The composition is done using ‘Sibelius’, a piece of composition writing computer software. This unit is worth 40% of the GCSE. For this one solo performance and one ensemble (group) performance is required. These are recorded in front of as many or as few people as you want, and then the CD is sent off for marking by the exam board. The good thing about this unit is that you can record the piece you are working on as many times as you want to. So if you make a mistake it doesn’t matter, you can try again. This unit is worth 20% of the GCSE. For this unit you can write any piece of music you like in any style you want. You have 25 hours to write this music using ‘Sibelius’.

Year 9 This year the course will cover 3 areas of study; rhythm and metre, harmony and tonality and texture and melody. These areas will be linked to the relevant strands of learning, which will provide pupils with a foundation to start their compositions. Pupils will perform a solo and group piece that will be recorded in the recording studio. Students are encouraged to participate and perform in school events to build confidence and practice their performances before they are submitted. Year 10 This year the course will cover 2 areas of study; timbre and dynamics and structure and form. These areas will be linked to the relevant strands of learning, which will provide pupils with a foundation to start their unit 2 compositions. Pupils will perform a solo and group piece that will be recorded in the recording studio. This recording will be marked against the assessment criteria so students can reflect on their progress. Students will be allocate time to use the rehearsal rooms before recording sessions take place. Exam preparation will take place in lessons through practical tasks, listening extracts and example questions. Revision resources will be available on the school Moodle site. Year 11 This year the course will revisit all areas of study and strands of learning in preparation for mock exams and the final examination at the end of the year. Compositions and appraisals will be completed along with the final recordings of pupils solo and group performances. Revision sessions will be available before school, during lunch and after school.

BTEC Level1/Level 2 First Award in Music (Technology) EDEXCEL BTEC specification http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/BTEC%20Firsts%20from%202012/BF033226-BTECFirst-Award-L1L2-Music-Spec.pdf

The knowledge, understanding and skills learnt in studying a BTEC First will aid progression to further study and prepare learners to enter the workplace in due course. Entry-level employment opportunities in music include roles such as runner, roadie (backline technical support), stage crew, venue staff, music promotion, and retail and sales roles. The BTEC First Award in Music is equivalent to 1 GCSE A*-C. During the course pupils will cover 4

units: Unit 1 –The Music Industry 2 – Managing a Music Product 3 – Introducing Music Recording 4 – Introducing Music Sequencing

Focus The aim of this unit is to understand different types of organisations that make up the music industry and understand the job roles in the industry. The aim of this unit is to plan, develop and deliver a music product, promote a music product and review the management of the product. The aim of this unit is to plan a recording session and use recording equipment safely to produce multi-track recordings. The aim of this unit is to explore music sequencing techniques and music sequencing software to create music.

Year 9 Topics that will be covered this year are: introduction to Music Technology, Music arranging and exploring music sequencing techniques. Year 10 Topics that will be covered this year are: Managing a music project, which will be linked to our school concert (Young Musician of the Year). Pupils will plan, promote, deliver and review the event. Introducing Music Recording where students will learn about health and safety, how to use our recording studio and record other student’s performances and to create a piece of music using music sequencing. Year 11 This year students will have the opportunity to prepare for their mock exam and the final examination of the year. The focus for this year is to look at the Music industry: the types of organisations and job roles.

How will I be assessed? Unit 1 will be assessed externally through an examination. All other assessment will be by submitting coursework and recording practical work. Practical assessment will include video recordings of you setting up, recording and producing music in the studio, you will also be required to submit audio recordings of your work. Written assessment will involve creating websites, producing your own presentations and conducting your own research. Units will be graded as a ‘pass’, ‘merit’ or ‘distinction’. What skills will I develop? During this course you will develop important skills in musical recording, performance, computer music and music production.

For further information please contact a member of the Music curriculum area.