Music KS3

Year 7

• DR PITTS In this unit of work, students will explore the elements of music. They will begin to consider what ingredients music needs to be interesting and engaging to an audience. 
• Rhythm In this unit of work students will discover rhythm. They will learn about note values, time signatures and bars before going on to perform and create their own rhythms. 
• Find Your Voice In this unit of work students will explore how the voice is an integral part of music. It is used not only for performance but internalising sound when performing, composing, listening and appraising. 
• Melodies In this unit of work students will start to explore what makes a good melody. They will look at defining features as well as features that make a good melody such as conjunct movement. 
• Scales and Chords In this unit of work, students will begin to explore scales and how they can be used to create music. Students will take scales and create chord structures from them before adding melodies that work with the chords. 
• Structure In this unit of work students will learn about the different musical structures of binary, ternary and rondo form. They will also explore how contrast can be used to create interest. 

Year 8

• Themes and Motifs In this unit, students will begin to look at the role of music within TV, film and video games. Students will explore themes of characters, emotions, places and actions to enhance what is happening on the screen. 
• Textures In this unit of work, students will explore the different textures used in musical theatre. They will look at Monophonic, Homophonic and Polyphonic textures as well as unison and imitation.
• Rhythms of the World In this unit of work students will develop their rhythm skills. They will look at some of the more complex rhythmic devices that are used in both samba and African drumming music. 
• Hooks and Riffs In this unit of work students will look at the way hooks and riffs are used to create catchy ideas… what really makes a great song memorable! Students will begin by looking at a number of hooks and riffs before going on to create their own ideas. Students will also begin to look at recording their ideas into Mixcraft.
• Creating Suspense In this unit, students will learn about minor scales in this unit of work and consider how they can be used to create suspense. Students are able to be creative and consider how composers go about creating music for films. Students will also have the opportunity to explore some of the features of Mixcraft including FX.
• Ukulele Skills In this unit, students will look in further detail at chords used in popular music. Students will combine their vocal skills and ukulele performance skills to create a performance of a number of well known popular songs.

Year 9

• Chamber Music In this unit of work, students will look at the different chamber music ensembles before working on a group to create a performance of a Ode to Joy.
• Cover Songs In this unit, students will look at different cover versions and how the elements of music can be used to create diversity in music. They will then go on to choose a piece of music of their choice and create a cover version of it.
• Protest Songs In this unit, students will look at different pieces of programme music. They will begin by looking Strange Fruit, which is considered the first piece of protest music, before working through the decades and studying music that has been created in response to the Black Lives Matters movement.
• Film Music In this unit, students will look at different techniques used to compose music for the big screen. Students will then go on to compose their own music for a film trailer.
• Song Writing and Promotion In this final key stage 3 unit, students will create a song from start to finish. They will begin by composing a song, then recording it and finally working on promoting their music to ensure it is successful.