Music - Pewsey Vale

Music Curriculum Update 2021

MUSIC

Subject Leader – Mrs S Du Toit

sdt@pewsey-vale.wilts.sch.uk

Music

Music at Pewsey Vale School is a stimulating and vibrant environment where all students are encouraged to perform and compose music irrelevant of their previous musical experience. Different themes are covered throughout the year encompassing three main learning objectives:

Listen, Appraise and Musical Notation
Performance
Composition

At Key Stage Three, Music is taught for a single lesson per week. During these lessons students will be given the opportunity to develop their practical musical ability using the classroom instruments, electronic keyboards, guitars and ukuleles. Throughout the course they will also learn how to read and understand the basic building blocks of music and apply this knowledge to compose and appraise their own and other students’ work.

Year 7

Autumn Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
September – October	The Elements of Music with specific emphasis on note duration	Listening: Element identification Notation: Note duration, Time signature, Bars, Bar lines Composing and Performing: Elements composition	Element Poster
November – December	Keyboard Skills	Performance: Black note March Composition: Own Black note March Performance in C Major Appraise	Theory Revision worksheets
Spring Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
January –February	Graphic Notation	Composing and Performing own Graphic composition as an ensemble	Complete classwork
March – April	Stave Notation	Composing and Performing my own melody Appraise Notation: Treble clef notation	Theory worksheets
Summer Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
April-May	The Symphony Orchestra Program Music: Peter and the Wolf, William Tell Overture	Listening: Instrument identification Performance: Theme from studied work	Research task on chosen instrument
June-July	Ukulele: 4 Chord Songs	Solo Performance Ensemble Performance: Play that Song	Theory worksheets

Year 8

Autumn Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
September – October	Ukulele: Finger picking TAB notation Treble Clef notation with ledger lines	Performance: Choose own piece from several options and difficulty levels Appraise Notation: Treble Clef notation with ledger lines	Complete class work
November – December	Exploring Mood in music through “The Planets’ by Gustav Holst	Listening: Identify and explain how music elements create mood in music Notation: Identifying Tones and Semitones Ensemble Performance: Mars	Complete class work
Spring Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
January –February	Tonality and Mood in Music Scale Construction: Major, Minor, Chromatic Muse Score	Composition: The Missing Planet	Complete classwork
March – April	World music: Japanese Music	Ensemble Performance: Sakura	Research task: Japanese instruments
Summer Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
April - May	World music: Indian music	Performance: Improvise on Indian Ragas Appraise Composition: Indian piece using traditional Indian instrument timbres, structure and ragas. Appraise	Listening tasks
June - July	Latin American music	Solo performance: The Tango Ensemble performance of a Latin piece using traditional percussion instruments. Appraise	Research Task: The Tango

Year 9

Autumn Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
September – October	Ukulele: Finger picking TAB notation Treble Clef notation with ledger lines	Performance: Choose own piece from several options and difficulty levels Appraise *Notation: Treble Clef notation with ledger lines	Complete classwork
November – December	Tonality Major, Minor and Chromatic Scales	Listening: Identifying tonality by ear Solo or Ensemble Performance: Chromatic piece Appraise Notation: Constructing scales	Complete classwork
Spring Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
January –February	Musical Conventions in Film Music	Listening: Identifying the musical elements in different film genres Performance: Solo or ensemble performance of a chosen film piece Appraise Composition: Creating my own leitmotif Appraise	Research task: Famous film composer
March – April	Film Music continues	Composition: Compose music for a Horror or Sci-Fi film using the appropriate musical elements and a storyboard	Complete classwork
Summer Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
April - May	The Blues	Performance: Improvise using the Blues Scale Appraise	Listening tasks
June-July	Conventions of Popular music	Performance: Ensemble or solo performance of chosen	Research Task: The music Industry

Assessment
Assessment will take place at the end of each project. Students will be assessed against Key Stage three assessment matrices for Music. During the course of their study, these levels can go up and down depending on the student’s individual ability in each of the three learning areas: Performance, Composition and Listening, Appraise and Notation. Final levels will be based on an aggregate of all three areas. We will always encourage interested students to extend projects beyond the minimum requirement and every lesson will have several worksheets of different difficulty levels available to cater for all abilities.

Click for access to Assessment Matrices

Assessment Matrices

Equipment
Ruler, sharp pencil, rubber and blue or black pen.

Extra-Curricular Activities

Pewsey Vale offers the following peripatetic instrumental lessons: Brass, Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Guitar, Drums and Keyboard. These lessons take place during school hours. For more information please contact the Head of Music.

Other extra- curricular activities include a Ukulele Band and School Orchestra. A time table will be made available to all interested students.

GCSE Music
Examination Board: WJEC/ Eduqas
Specification: Music

Specification link

www.eduqas.co.uk/qualifications/music/gcse/eduqas-gcse-music-spec-from-2016-d.pdf

Overview
The course is divided in three components:

Listening and AppraisingPerformance andComposition

Component 1: Listening and Appraising

Students will explore the music elements through listening and analysing music loosely categorised into 4 areas: 1. Musical Form and Devices 2. Music for ensemble (classical quartets, musical theatre, blues and jazz) 3. Film music and 4. Popular Music

The final assessment will take place by writing an externally marked paper counting 40% towards the overall grade.

Component 2: Composition

Students must submit two compositions of at least 2 minutes each. The first composition is a free choice while the examination board will set a composition brief for the second piece. Both compositions must be completed and submitted in May of the examination year for moderation as both pieces are internally assessed. This component counts 30% towards the overall grade.

Component 3: Performance

Students must submit two recorded performances equivalent to Grade 3 ABRSM standard in May of the examination year. One solo a d one Ensemble performance. These performances are internally assessed and moderated. This component counts 30% of the overall grade.

Year 10

Autumn Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
September - December	Theory and Harmony Analysis Performance	Written paper Performance	Complete classwork Theory worksheets Practise instrument
Spring Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
January - April	Musical Form, Devices and elements Performance	Listening Paper Performance	Complete classwork Listening exercises Practise instrument
Summer Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
April - July	Music terminology Instruments Composition 1 Performance	Composition Listening Paper Written Paper	Revision Worksheets

Year 11

Autumn Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
September - December	Music for Ensemble Popular Music Performance	Written paper Listening Paper	Complete classwork Listening exercises Practise instrument
Spring Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
January - April	Composition 2 Classical ensemble Film music Performance	Composition Performance	Complete classwork Listening exercises Practise instrument
Summer Term	Topic	Assessment	Home Learning
April - July	Fusion Revision	External paper: 1 h 15min	Revision worksheets and papers

Assessment
Students are assessed using the exam board assessment sheets. Assessments are reported to parents/carers at intervals during the academic year.

Home Learning
Apart from homework set to reinforce class learning, it is expected of GCSE Music students to practise for at least 30 minutes each day. Although not compulsory, peripatetic instrumental lessons are highly recommended as it is impossible to monitor every student’s practical progress every week.

Useful resources:

Websites:

Youtube for listening exercises

www.eduqas.co.uk/students

www.eduqas.co.uk/qualifications/music/gcse/#qualSearch

Books, Articles and other Resources:

WJEC/Eduqas GCSE Music: Jan Richards