St Catherine's Catholic School
Music
Head of Department (HOD): Miss Z. Joanes
Teacher names: Mr D. Redmond
Music at St. Catherines allows student to explore the world of sound through creative, engaging lessons and extra-curricular activities. We engage students through 4 key areas: performance, composition, listening & appraising and The Language of Music. Music is not only creative and expressive, but instils a deep sense of discipline and commitment in our students. Our subject provides opportunities for students to offer service to the school through concerts, choirs, orchestra, instrumental lessons and a wide variety of trip.
KS3:
Main Skills developed in Year 7:
- Developing instrumental skills (all ability levels)
- Working and performing with others as an ensemble
- Reading music and understanding notation
- The Elements of Music (introduced)
- Listening and appraising a variety of styles and time periods
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Year 7 |
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1 |
"Bassline Assessment (SELSA)" |
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Assessment: The Language of Music |
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What Do I know about Music? |
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Exploring and expressing |
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2 |
"Discovering Music" |
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Assessment: Performance |
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Playing an instrument, reading music |
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Piano and keyboard techniques |
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3 |
"Scores and Notation" |
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Assessment: Composing |
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Reading a score, understanding symbols |
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Composing a melody with accompaniment |
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4 |
"Timbre" |
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Assessment: Listening and Appraising |
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The world of sonority (sound) |
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Orchestra and other ensembles |
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5 |
"Traditional Music" |
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Assessment: Composing |
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The origins of music in Great Britain |
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Medieval music |
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6 |
"Samba Ensembles" |
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Assessment: Performance |
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Understanding rhythm and polyrhythm |
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Playing as a large ensemble |
Main Skills developed in Year 8:
- Developing composition and notation skills using scores
- Appreciating music from other cultures
- How to use Rondo, Ternary and Binary forms
- Developing harmony and chord writing.
- Appreciating how music can tell a story
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Year 8 |
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1 |
"Melody" |
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Assessment: Composition |
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Developing an accurate melody |
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Composing for my instrument |
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2 |
"Structure" |
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Assessment: Performance |
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Core forms and structures in music |
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Structural devices and techniques |
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3 |
"Harmony and Chords" |
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Assessment: The Language of Music |
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Major / minor and 7th chords |
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How to create a chord yourself |
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4 |
"Ballads" |
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Assessment: Performance |
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Telling stories through music |
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Writing lyrics for a composed melody |
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5 |
"Indian music and Bhangra" |
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Assessment: Listening and Appraising |
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Learning about Indian scale and melody |
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Understanding cultures around the world |
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6 |
"Japanese Music" |
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Assessment: Performance |
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Developing performance technique |
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Exploring structures from other cultures |
Main Skills developed in Year 9:
- Using advanced structures such as 12 Bar Blues and Pop
- Appreciating how industry affects music
- Using technology to compose music i.e. “Cubase” Digital Audio Workstation
- Understanding music history
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Year 9 |
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1 |
"12 Bar Blues" |
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Assessment: Performance |
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12 Bar Blues structure and improvisation |
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Blues instruments and the slave trade |
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2 |
"Film and Computer Game Music" |
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Assessment: Composition |
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Ensemble composition and performance |
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Composing for the media industry |
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3 |
"Popular Music" |
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Assessment: Performance |
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Pop structure and popular styles |
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How to write pop riffs and hooks |
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4 |
"Western Classical Music" |
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Assessment: The Language of Music |
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Understanding classical styles |
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Introducing Minimalism |
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5 |
"Dance Music (Cubase) 1" |
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Assessment: The Language of Music |
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How to compose using technology |
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Understanding the role of the producer |
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Linked Assessment |
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6 |
"Dance Music (Cubase) 2" |
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Assessment: Composition |
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Structuring dance music in any style |
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Developing techniques and skills using technology |
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KS4:
Course Content:
At GCSE, our course is arranged in a similar way to years 7, 8 and 9. The three main areas continue to be
- Understanding Music (Listening and Appraising)
- Performing
- Composing
Exam Board and Qualification: AQA GCSE Music
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What’s Assessed? |
How? |
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Component 1: Understanding music |
Listening Contextual understanding |
Exam paper with listening |
Questions:
Section A: Listening – unfamiliar music (68 marks)
Section B: Study pieces (28 marks)
The exam is 1 hour and 30 minutes.
This component is worth 40% of GCSE marks (96 marks).
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What’s Assessed? |
How? |
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Component 2: Performing music |
Music performance (solo and in a group) using voice or instruments |
As an instrumentalist and/or vocalist and/or via technology: Performance 1: Solo performance (36 marks) Performance 2: Ensemble performance (36 marks). |
A minimum of four minutes of performance in total is required, of which a minimum of one minute must be the ensemble performance.
This component is 30% of GCSE marks (72 marks).
Non-exam assessment (NEA) will be internally marked by teachers and externally moderated by AQA.
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What’s Assessed? |
How? |
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Component 3: Composing music |
Composition (regularly achieved using CUBASE, building on skills from year 9) |
Composition 1: Composition to a brief (36 marks) Composition 2: Free composition (36 marks). |
A minimum of three minutes of music in total is required.
This component is 30% of GCSE marks (72 marks).
Non-exam assessment (NEA) will be internally marked by teachers and externally moderated by AQA.
What will I study?
Western classical tradition 1650 – 1910
The Coronation Anthems and Oratorios of Handel.
The orchestra music of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.
The piano music of Chopin and Schumann.
The Requiem of the late Romantic period.
Study piece
Haydn: Symphony 101 in D major The Clock, movement. 2
Reading staff notation
Students must be able to identify musical elements when reading short passages of unfamiliar music in staff notation of up to 12 bars.
Writing staff notation
Students must be able to demonstrate the ability to write staff notation within short passages of up to eight bars:
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Melodically up to four sharps and flats
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Rhythmically including simple and compound time.
Chords
Students must learn major and minor chords and be able to identify them in aural and written form.
Examples of relevant types of chords can be found in the musical elements table
Musical vocabulary and terminology
Students must be able to identify and apply appropriate musical vocabulary and terminology
Popular music
Music of Broadway 1950s to 1990s.
Rock music of 1960s and 1970s.
Film and computer gaming music 1990s to present.
Pop music 1990s to present.
Traditional music
Blues music from 1920–1950.
Fusion music incorporating African and/or Caribbean music.
Contemporary Latin music.
Contemporary folk music of the British Isles.
Study piece
Santana: Supernatural – the following three tracks: Smooth, Migra, Love of my Life.
Western classical tradition since 1910.
The orchestral music of Copland.
British music of Arnold, Britten, Maxwell-Davies and Tavener.
The orchestral music of Zoltán Kodály and Béla Bartók.
Minimalist music of John Adams, Steve Reich and Terry Riley.
Reading staff notation
Students must be able to identify musical elements when reading short passages of staff notation of up to 12 bars.
Chords and chord symbols
Students must learn major and minor chords and their associated symbols and be able to identify them in aural and written form. Examples of relevant types of chords and symbols can be found in the musical elements tables.
Musical vocabulary and terminology
Students must be able to identify and apply appropriate musical vocabulary and terminology to music heard and notated. The appropriate vocabulary required can be found in the tables relevant to the area of study.
Website links:
Careers:
www.planitplus.net/CareerAreas/
