Term 1: Ground Bass
Students will explore music of the Baroque Period gaining an understanding of its sound world and approaches to instrumentation, texture and harmony. In performance, students will unpick Pachelbel's Canon in D to explore its use of ground bass and use of texture through canon and polyphony. They will then create a modern-day interpretation of the piece in ensembles inspired by rap and R'n'B tracks including NDubz: We Dance On and Coolio: C U When you Get There.
Students will be assessed through their understanding of the Baroque Period through listening activities as well as their performance skills in small and large ensembles
Ground bass
bass line upon which further melodic layers are added on top.
Pedal note
a single note that is held on or repeated in the bass.
Cantus firmus
fixed tune upon which melodies are laid. This term was used in the medieval and renaissance periods.
Violin
highest of the string instruments played under the chin and uses the treble clef.
Viola
string instrument larger than the violin played under the chin and uses the alto clef.
Violoncello
large string instrument which provides the bass line. Uses the bass clef but can also use the tenor and treble clef.It is played between the legs.
Pizzicato
strings to be plucked.
Arco
strings to be bowed.
Pachelbel
1653 – 1706, composer in the Baroque period.
Purcell
1659 – 1695, composer in the Baroque period.
Develop the individual:
Understanding of Music from the Baroque Period and how modern music is inspired by these pieces.
Create a supportive community:
Developing ensemble skills through collaborative working, listening and problem solving.
Term 2: Electronic Dance Music (EDM)
This unit focuses on how texture can be used to create contrast in an extended piece of music, exploring the build, tension and release techniques commonly found across musical genres, styles and traditions.
The unit builds on students' musical understanding of motivic development - including the craft of writing countermelodies, elaboration, fragmentation, augmentation and diminution.
Students will generate their material by using established knowledge of melody, harmony and bass lines to analyse, compose, record and arrange their own EDM track using a Digital Audio Workstation.
Students will:
1. Listen to and analyse music from the EDM genre.
2. Create short composing tasks in the genre (improvising, composing, arranging)
3. Compose an extended piece of work using a Digital Audio Workstation.
Bass
Used in most popular songs, mostly electric 4 stringed guitar.
Electric guitar
6 or 12 string guitar used as rhythm and lead.
Reminiscent
looking back to similar things from the past.
Sentimental
looking back fondly sometimes a little sadly.
Nostalgic
sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.
Johnny Marks
composer with the most Christmas hits; Rudolph, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree and A Jolly Holly Christmas.
Irving Berlin
composer of the most recorded Christmas song White Christmas.
Amplifier
A device that increases the level or amplitude of an electrical signal, making the resulting sound louder.
Audio
the transmission, recording or reproduction of sound, whether digitally, electrically or acoustically.
Scratch
A scratch vocal is a vocal done during a basic recording session to help the musicians play their parts. At a later date the final vocal track is overdubbed. It can also be the action of a musician or disc jockey quickly moving a record back and forth on
Develop the individual:
Creativity in the generation of ideas.
Resilience, organisation and determination in meeting composition deadlines.
Information Technology skill development in recording, mixing and arranging music.
Create a supportive community:
Students will work collaboratively on their compositions in creating, mixing and arranging their own EDM tracks.
Term 3: Leitmotif in Film and Gaming Music - Heroes and Villains
This unit focuses principally on Melody and Harmony whilst also incorporating other musical elements commonly found in Film and Gaming music to describe characters, places, actions and unseen features on screen.
The unit will expand students knowledge of motivic development by exploring well-known leitmotif by film and gaming composers e.g. Koji Kondo, John Williams, Hans Zimmer and John Powell. They will analyse the success of these leitmotifs and build their knowledge through performance and composition of their own ideas. To do this, they will apply knowledge of melody, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation and texture to creative effective responses to stimuli.
Students will:
1. Listen to and analyse examples of leitmotif
2. Examine
Blues
style of music which has its own scale, blues notes and originated in the Deep South. Improvised.
Jazz
uses improvisation, polyrhythms, syncopation and the swung note and is a fusion of many blues related forms.
Rock steady
originated in Jamaica, successor of ska and precursor of reggae. Uses offbeat and staccato chords like ska but much slower.
Ska
mixture of calypso, American jazz and rhythm and blues. Has a walking bass and fast tempo.
Protest
speak out against something you don't believe in.
Bob Marley
1945 – 1981, composer and performer, world ambassador for reggae music.
Rastafarianism
young, Africa-centred religion which developed in Jamaica in the 1930s, following the coronation of Haile Selassie I as King of Ethiopia in 1930.
Off beat
emphasis place on the weaker beats of the bar eg off the main beat.
Lento
slow.
Dreadlocks
grown and twisted hair.
Develop the individual:
Knowledge of pop culture and the development of dance music along with music technology.
Create a supportive community:
Understanding of the cultural and social role of Dance Music through musical history and modern society.
Term 4: Film and Computer Game Music - Heroes and Villains (Leitmotif)
Students will dive into the world of Film Music and explore the world of leitmotif. They will gain an understanding of how film score composers use this Wagnerian operatic device to describe both heroes and villains in their movies by exploring their use of melody and harmony. Students will perform a number of examples and compose their own leitmotif to a stimulus using their new knowledge. In listening and appraising, students will explore John Williams' music from Indiana Jones, Jaws and Star Wars, Michael Giacchino's music from Spiderman and Alan Silvestri's music from The Avengers Assemble.
Students will be assessed on their performances of examples of Leitmotif, their melodic compositions for heroes and villains and their listening skills within the genre.
Diegetic music
music contained within the action of a film eg music heard on a radio.
Underscoring
adds to the mood of the scene, reinforcing dramatic developments and aspects of character.
Mickey-Mousing
when the music is precisely synchronised with events on screen.
Orchestration
how a film is scored.
Tonal music
music which uses a key, major or minor according to the mood of the film.
Atonal music
music without key, often used in horror films.
Syncopation
chords/notes on the off or weak beats.
Leitmotif
a recurring musical idea.
John Williams
Jaws, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,Hook, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Artificial Intelligence: A.I., Harry Potter
Atmosphere
how a place/situation feels.
Develop the individual:
Students will gain an understanding of the role of Music in influencing an audience's interpretation of a character.
Create a supportive community:
Students will work collaboratively in pairs in sharing composition ideas and implementing them in their compositions, whilst also working together to perform their own music and that of existing composers.
Term 5: Film and Computer Game Music - Sound Design
Students will develop an understanding of the role Music plays in enhancing action on screen and gameplay within movies and computer games. They will gain knowledge of how composers use the musical elements to generate excitement as well as to embellish and elicit an emotion from the audience and gamers. Students will then compose music for gameplay or a scene from a film using Logic Pro XI. In listening and appraising, students will explore examples of musical underscore from The Matrix, A Series of Unfortunate Events and Mission Impossible.
Students willl be assessed on their listening and appraising skills through analysis of the musical elements as well as the composer's purpose and intention. They will compose Music to moving image, describing the footage through effective composition.
Concerto grosso
instrumental form used in the Baroque period using an orchestra and solo group.
Ripieno
whole orchestra in the piece.;
Concertino
solo group of instrumentalists who play alternatively with the larger group.
Corelli
1653 – 1713, composer in the Baroque period.
Vivaldi
1678 – 1741, composer in the Baroque period.
Contrast
2 differing sections eg tempo, dynamics etc.
Ornament
decoration of music eg trills.
Perfect cadence
end of a section/piece ending on chord 1 (like a full stop.)
Imperfect cadence
end of a section ending on chord 5 (like a comma) sounds unfinished.
Legato
smoothly.
Develop the individual:
Knowledge of European music traditions from the baroque period.
Create a supportive community:
Develop communication skills, teamwork and understand their own tradition. Understand how old structures can exist alongside new ideas.
Term 6: Performance Challenge - Battle of the Bands
Students will explore the rhythmic world of Brazilian Samba by bringing to life many of the musical features that makes it synonymous with the equally famous sights and sounds of the Rio Carnival. They will gain an understanding of the percussive instrumentation and the rhythmic complexities of each part. They will develop a deeper understanding of syncopation and polyrhythmic layering. They will further their understanding of improvisation and Call & Response structures. Students will perform as a class and compose in groups through the aural tradition.
Students will be assessed through formative feedback having listened to each other perform. They will suggest areas of strength and development through their knowledge of ensemble performance.
Counter culture
going against current social ideas.
Prolific
a lot of something.
Influential
someone or something that has an impact on or shapes how people act or how things occur.
Genre
type of something.
Ballad
a poetic story set to music usually slow and melodious in style.
Pyschedelia
subculture within a culture which has distinct patterns of behaviour and belief. They are take part in drug use.
John Lennon
songwriter, guitarist, pianist, vocalist for the Beatles.
Paul McCartney
songwriter, guitarist, pianist, vocalist for the Beatles.
Ringo Starr
drummer for the Beatles.
George Harrison
songwriter, guitarist, vocalist for the Beatles.
Develop the individual:
Students will gain an appreciation for the culture of Brazil as well as enhancing their teamwork, communication, creativity and problem solving skills.
Create a supportive community:
Students will develop an awareness and appreciation for different styles of Music.