Term 1: Ground Bass
Students will look at the ground bass structure as a composition technique and analyse historical examples of this. They will analyse the structure and look at scores to understand how the various layers are built up. They will be given a bass line and will then compose a series of layers which work together harmonically. They will select appropriate timbre and notate each layer using both treble and bass clef. The piece will be recorded, performed and evaluated using peer and teacher assessment.
Students will be assessed on their ability to recognise the genre and structure of the topic area via aural and oral listening exercises. They will be continually assessed during the composing of the music with a final assessment of the performance. These 3 marks will then come together to give a final level.
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:
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 2: Christmas no.1
Students will discuss the properties of a top ten Christmas hit. They will listen to various examples analysing structure, content and presentation. They will also look at what was happening in society at the time of the hit which might have influenced its composition. Students will work in pairs and learn to play the chords and bass line for Wham's 'Last Christmas'. There will also be the opportunity to learn to play the chorus melody. Students will then use Noteflight software to notate the bassline and chords of Last Christmas. Extension work includes the notation of the melody.
The focus of this term was to improve and develop keyboard skills and notation to enable students to be in a better position to compose.
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:
Knowledge of pop culture and how it relates to society at any given time. Understanding of current climate.
Create a supportive community:
Understand that people approach Christmas with different viewpoints and experience. Traditional Christmas is not appropriate to everyone. Understand the power of music. Teamwork.
Term 3: Film Music
Students will learn about the 2 types of film music: action and background, and how and where they are both used. They will learn what its function is and the importance of timbre to create an effect. They will listen to various examples and learn terms such as leitmotif and how they give important clues to a film. Students will be given guidance using ostinati which they will then compose a piece of music to include appropriate timbre, key and structure. The piece will be composed using Sibelius music software and evaluated using peer and teacher assessment.
Students will be assessed on their ability to recognise the genre and structure of the topic area via aural listening exercises. They will be continually assessed during the composing of the music with a final assessment of their contribution to the group effort and the success of the parts and piece as a whole. These 2 marks will then come together to give a final level.
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:
The role music plays in the entertainment industry and how it is used to increase our enjoyment and heighten our senses and overall experience.
Create a supportive community:
Use of teamwork, talk about feelings and how different situations and people can affect our mood and experience.
Term 4: Reggae
Students will study how reggae developed looking at his roots from blues, jazz, rocksteady and ska. They will listen to various examples noting the offbeat rhythm, slow tempo and the use of call and response. Students will look at its tradition of social criticism and religion in its lyrics and discuss their own criticisms of society. They will perform some reggae songs with particular focus on offbeat chords and syncopated melodies. There will be listening tasks where students will analyse how musical elements are used.
Students will be assessed on their ability to recognise the genre and structure of the topic area via aural and oral listening exercises. They will be continually assessed during the composing of the music with a final assessment of the performance. These 3 marks will then come together to give a final level.
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 an area of pop culture and how it can be used to criticise or protest against the establishment/religion society. Understanding of current climate.
Create a supportive community:
Understand that people have different viewpoints and ideas of how society should run and the place of religion. Understand the power of music. Teamwork.
Term 5: Beatle mania
Students will learn about the career of the Beatles and how they came to be widely regarded as the foremost and most influential act of the rock era. They will look at how they were influenced by many different styles and genres including skiffle, beat, and 1950s rock and roll, pop ballads, Indian music , psychedelia, hard rock and classical elements as well. Students will learn how their enormous popularity produced the term "Beatlemania". Students will learn 2 contrasting Beatles songs and compose their own riffs for each song. The songs will be recorded using a multi-track recorder; students will mix down multiple tracks to a master track. Each song will be evaluated using peer and teacher assessment.
Students will be assessed on their ability to recognise the genre and structure of the topic area via aural and oral listening exercises. They will be continually assessed during the composing of the music with a final assessment of the performance and recording. These 3 marks will then come together to give a final level.
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:
Understand the influence this group had on subsequent music and how they were influenced by other pop culture which preceded them. Understand how actions can influence others. Understand how many different types of music can mix together.
Create a supportive community:
Teamwork in producing music together. Tolerance of different styles and that they can enjoy and make use of different types of music.
Term 4: Concerto Grosso
Students will study the historical development of the concerto grosso. They will listen to and analyse various examples of this form and be able to recognise the ripieno and the concertino understanding their function within the piece. They will compose a class concerto grosso where the whole class plays a given ripieno and different groups compose a concertino with a given chord structure. The piece will be recorded, performed and evaluated using peer and teacher assessment.
Students will be assessed on their ability to recognise the genre and structure of the topic area via aural and oral listening exercises. They will be continually assessed during the composing of the music with a final assessment of the performance. These 3 marks will then come together to give a final level.
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.