In year 8 pupils will develop a range of skills through their music education. They will listen to, compose and perform in a variety of different styles.They will learn how to perform confidently with others and develop social skills such as cooperation and communication. When listening, pupils will analyse music using the Musical Elements as well as compare different styles and give critical analysis of many different styles of music. In Performance, pupils will be given the opportunity to play brass, woodwind, strings, percussion, and keyboard instruments and they will develop their skills even further by composing for those instruments too! They will show knowledge of the compositional devices that are specific to different styles in their practical assessment.
Topics Covered
Term 1 / Term 2 / Term 3
Reggae
- Develop keyboard skills
- Develop knowledge of World Music
- Gain understanding of the Musical Elements appropriate to reggae and how they can be used in performance.
- Gain skills in using the Musical Elements to distinguish between different styles of Jamaican music.
- Understand the basic features of music from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern eras.
- Learn how to listen to a piece of orchestral music and work out which era it was written in.
- Perform a piece of Beethoven whilst varying the musical elements to reflect two different eras of Western Art Music.
- Discuss the impact that the slave trade had on music at the time.
- Listen to the impact that this had on music today.
- Perform two pieces of music demonstrating knowledge of the specific musical features appropriate to ragtime and blues.
- Discover why composers in the 20th Century moved away from traditional guidelines around musical composition.
- Analyse the development of new compositional techniques used in minimalism and serialism.
- Compose using the techniques of either minimalism or serialism.
- Investigate pop music culture and the purpose of dance music specifically.
- Analyse the musical devices used in dance music today.
- Use compositional devices with music technology to create a dance remix.
Assessment/Exams Information
December / March / June
Practical assessment –keyboard performance.
Listening assessment – Musical Analysis and comparison of musical styles. / Practical assessment – one composition using 20th century techniques and one performance of either ragtime or blues
Listening assessment – analysis of compositional devices. / Practical assessment- one remix of a dance track
Listening assessment – analyse methods of composing using music technology.
Cross curricular
Literacy
- Correct spelling of musical vocabulary
- Extended writing tasks comparing the use of the musical elements and distinguishing the style accordingly.
- Use extended writing to discuss how different cultures and traditions affect the way music is created.
- Use extended writing and advanced musical vocabulary to describe how music technology is used in modern dance music.
Numeracy
- Use knowledge of fractions to aid the understanding of rhythm and note lengths
- Use knowledge of sequences to adapt motifs using 20th century compositional techniques.
- Use advanced knowledge of fractions to adapt tempo and time signatures so that a sample from a piece of music fits into their remix.
PSHCE
- Discuss the impact of Caribbean culture on Reggae, Ska and Rocksteady.
- Analyse the impact that the slave trade had on blues in the 1920s and the impact that it had on RnB in modern society.
- Discuss the legalities of sampling music from copyrighted tracks to create a dance remix.
Homework
Pupils will be given homework every 4-6 lessons. This will include research, learning performance parts, researching our topic andanalysing music in different styles.
Additional Support:
Any pupils wanting to arrange extra-rehearsal/practise can do so at lunchtime or after school by arrangement with their music teacher
Extra-curricular/Enrichment:
Pupils are invited start instrumental lessons, attend our choir, orchestra, dance club or even take part in our school production.