KS3
Key Stage 3
Students will gain knowledge, skills and understanding in music by focusing on different ways music is created in Western, popular and World Music. Through years 7 to 9, students are encouraged to use increasingly technical language when describing musical styles, genres and traditions and relating knowledge to new skills.
Year 7
• Music rhythm cycles, including samba, gamelan and African drums;
• Musical clichés, exploring how music is used in media like film, adverts and TV;
• Soundscapes, including programme music, composing and digital music.
Year 8
• The Blues, exploring how blues music influenced the progress of all American popular music;
• Dance and Folk Music from around the world, as well as closer to home;
• Hooks and Riffs, learning how to spot, notate and compose ‘catchy’ melodies and grooves.
Year 9
• What makes a good song? identifying song structure, style and popular production values;
• Music in the Media, performing film themes and composing to a storyboard;
• Musicals, exploring the concepts, devices and conventions of musical theatre.
In particular, students acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of:
- How music is constructed, eg the use of musical elements and devices.
- How music is produced, eg the use of instruments, ICT, musical processes and procedures, including relevant symbols and notations.
- How music is influenced by time and place, eg the effect of the occasion, purpose or venue.