Music

‘Music expresses that which cannot be put into words.’

Victor Hugo (writer and human rights activist)

Music at Bredon Hill Academy encourages an active involvement in music making activities. Through performing, singing and composing pupils have the opportunity to work collectively with others to achieve a common goal.

Through our curriculum, pupils:

are taught instrument specific skills to develop their knowledge and understanding of performing;
are taught to read and interpret relevant musical notation;
create and extend musical ideas of their own.

Curriculum Overview

Year 6

Content	Skills
Read It - Rhythm Notation Understand about rhythm and pulse, the difference of performance and composition and how music can be organised. Reading musical rhythm notation; sound and silence.	Identify rhythm notes and rests. Differentiate between rhythm and pulse. Compose and perform repeating rhythm patterns on untuned percussion.
Read It - Pitch Notation Understanding of musical pitch. Rhythm and pitch notation. The pentatonic scale.	Identify musical pitch. Explore the sound of pentatonic scales. Compose own melodic phrases using rhythm and pitch.
Keyboard Skills Development of rhythm and pitch notation. Keyboard performance skills.	Perform a four-bar melodic phrase on the keyboards using correct hand and finger positions. Perform a simple left-hand accompaniment.
Musical Traditions - Folk Music Understand the textural layers and structure in Folk Music. Understand about the sound of folk musical instruments. Pitch and rhythm notation.	Develop keyboard and group performing, selecting suitable Folk timbre. Singing of Folk songs. Arrange a given Folk song. Identify folk musical instruments by sight and sound.
Programme Music Learn how composers have created descriptive music using orchestral instruments. The importance of timbre. How elements of music can be used to represent the characteristics of animals.	Perform melodies following musical notation of rhythm and pitch. Identify orchestral musical instruments when listening and describe music using the musical elements. Compose a piece of programme music.
WW2 Music Demonstrate understanding and skills of musical notation, performing on an instrument. Development of ensemble performing using texture.	Performing project based upon songs from WW2. Perform as a group and as a class.

Year 7

Content	Skills
I’ve Got Rhythm Revision of pulse and rhythm notation. Extend knowledge to include time signatures. Understanding of repetitive rhythmic textures performed on drums.	Develop a feeling for and an awareness of a regular pulse. Perform an 8-bar phrase accurately following musical notation. Perform in time in different time signatures; ¾ and 4/4.
Building Bricks Understanding and identification of the elements of music in different musical styles. Revision of rhythm and pitch notation.	Develop performance skills in ¾ and 4/4 time, reading from pitch notation. Perform with increasing technical skills; dynamic control, selecting appropriate tempo speeds and articulation of individual notes. Composition of musical ideas.
Keyboard Skills Revision of musical stave notation. Revise how a classroom keyboard is used and played. Develop keyboard skills through music that includes dotted notes and white/black notes. Understanding of texture in music.	Perform melodies in ¾ and 4/4 time. Develop keyboard technique. Perform in pairs music that has a melody and chord pattern. Learn to identify different texture layers in music; melody / chords.
Ukulele Skills - Songs from different times and places Understand how to correctly hold and strum a ukulele. Understand the sound of different chords. Understand the difference between a major and minor chord sound. Learn to decode notation of ukulele chords.	Perform the chords of C, F, G7 and Am demonstrating correct ukulele instrumental technique. Compose own chord sequence using the chords of C, F, G7, Am. Identify chord patterns in different musical styles.
Structure: The building blocks Understand what structure is in music. Learn about and identify different musical structures in Classical music; Question and Answer, Binary Form, Ternary Form and Rondo Form in music. Why repetition in music is important.	Recognise and label differences between music based on different structures. Perform and compose melodic phrases in a variety of structures. Use musical notation to write down ideas.
Sonority City – Programme Music Revision of the different orchestral sections and instrumental sounds. Revise the elements of music and develop vocabulary linked to timbre/sonority. Develop an understanding of the meaning in the music heard.	Identify orchestral instruments and describe their timbre. Identify and comment on the use of the elements of music. Compose a piece of programme music to a given brief.

Year 8

Content	Skills
Saharan Sounds Learn about cyclic rhythm and a polyrhythmic texture. Develop an understanding of rhythm grid notation. Learn to perform on a djembe drum. Give a group djembe performance.	Perform cyclic rhythms using repetition in a polyrhythmic texture. Compose ‘call’ sections in a call and response structure. Use correct djembe drum technique. Identify musical elements in a variety of African music.
Offbeat Learn about syncopated rhythms focusing on the music of Reggae and Ska. Understand the sound of reggae and ska music. Revise musical notation. Develop ukulele performance technique to play syncopated melodies.	Arrange and perform as a group a reggae and ska song using a syncopated melody. Use correct ukulele technique. Revise and read from tab / musical notation as appropriate. Identify musical features in reggae and ska music.
All About the Bass About bass clef notation and commonly used bass line patterns. The importance of a bass line for texture and harmony. Introduce primary chords. Explore different bass lines; walking bass lines, arpeggios, broken chords, Alberti bass lines. Explore passing notes.	Identify musical instruments and voices which use the bass clef. Understand the differences between bass and treble clef notation. Perform bass lines in a variety of musical styles following bass clef notation.
Riffs and Ostinatos How popular and classical music can be based on repeated musical patterns. The difference between riffs and ostinatos. Consolidating pitch and rhythm notation.	Performing and singing riff and ostinato patterns. Improvisation skills. Develop ensemble performance.
All That Jazz Understand the musical features of jazz music. Focus on jazz music based upon the 12-bar blues pattern. Revision of primary chords and bass line patterns.	Identify where chords change when listening to jazz music. Create the primary chords of I, IV, V in a variety of keys. Perform as a group. Improvise melodic lines over a 12-bar blues bass. Compose 12-bar blues bass line patterns using primary chords and a suitable melody line. Use musical notation correctly.
Computer and Video Game Music The use of music within a range of computer and video games from different times. Consolidation of rhythm and pitch notation, including syncopated rhythms. Development of instrumental performance technique.	Describe the elements of music heard in computer and video game music. Perform character melodies from known computer and video games. Compose a character motif using features found in computer and video game music.

We teach and assess our curriculum through our curriculum related expectations:

Year 6	Year 7	Year 8
I can identify one feature of an effective warm-up.	I can identify three features of an effective warm-up.	I can explain what makes an effective warm-up.
I can sing as part of a group with overall good pitching, following a conductor.	I can sing as part of a group in a song with accurate pitching and dynamics.	I can sing the main melody while a harmony is added.
I can identify differences within a range of musical elements (including duration, repetition, texture).	I can identify differences within a range of musical elements (including structure and articulation) and name orchestral instruments heard.	I can describe how musical elements (tempo, texture, dynamics) affect the mood of a piece.
I can identify pitch notes on a treble clef stave.	I can add missing notes or rests to complete a specific number of beats.	I can identify pitch between G to middle C on the bass clef.
I can read and play from staff notation including quavers, semiquavers and pitch when given.	I can read short rhythms at sight, play step-wise pitch notation in the treble clef and three chords in tab notation.	I can read and play musical rhythm at sight, treble clef and given bass clef pitch and move accurately through a given chord progression in tab notation.
I can perform a 4-bar pattern as a group, making relevant dynamic changes.	I can perform 8-bars as a group making relevant tempo and/or dynamic changes.	I can perform at least 8-bars as a group in a piece with several parts, keeping together.
I can perform a simple 4-bar melody with accuracy of pitch and instrumental technique.	I can perform a simple melody (of at least 8-bars) in time to a beat using mostly white notes and three chords on the ukulele, with only some hesitation.	I can perform rhythmically simple music using white and black notes, in time to a beat and I can move fluently between three chords on ukulele.
I can compose a 4-bar 'question' and 'answer' melody, using the pentatonic scale.	I can compose a 4-bar melody with balanced phrases in a major or minor key.	I can compose two contrasting rhythmic/melodic sections of at least 4 bars each, including a wider variety of rhythmical patterns.
I can compose a 4-bar pattern with rhythmical repetition.	I can include rhythmic variety in my composition.	I can create a repeating bassline to support melodic lines.
I can improvise from a given 'question' to develop a suitable 'answer'.	I can improvise my own question and answer melody that has a sense of shape.	I can improvise a melody that is rhythmically interesting with shape and direction.

Additional Learning Opportunities:

Peripatetic lessons in clarinet, drums, flute, guitar, piano, saxophone, singing and violin
Lunchtime clubs in singing, band practice, drop in clubs, boom whackers, ukulele, drumming

Last Updated: September 2024