Why do we learn music?
‘Music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we are from, everyone loves music.’ Billy Joel
High quality music making stimulates personal, emotional and intellectual development. Given the right conditions, at Ark Blake we believe that every child can be a musician and that Ark Blake’s Music provision can enable all young people to access high quality experiences that deliver lifeenhancing benefits.
Students will get opportunities to engage with music from a breadth of traditions and cultures as performers, composers and critical listeners. This develops the knowledge, skills and behaviours that will equip them for a lifelong relationship with Music, enhancing their musical understanding, enjoyment and success. As pupils progress, they will develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.
Our approach
The purpose of Music as a subject at Ark Blake is multi-faceted. Nearly everyone enjoys music, whether by listening to it, singing, or playing an instrument. Music builds imagination and intellectual curiosity. Introducing music in primary school and continuing with it at secondary school can help foster a positive attitude toward learning and curiosity. Artistic education develops the whole brain and develops a child’s imagination. With encouragement from teachers and parents, students playing a musical instrument can build pride and develop their confidence. Music is a community within itself and many pupils find comfort and excitement knowing that they belong and can thrive in an environment that supports their creativity.
Not only will music education allow children to develop their musical skills, it will also give them the opportunity to work on their math skills, reading and writing skills, science skills, and history knowledge. For example, time signatures in music are an excellent way to incorporate fractions, and lyric analysis and song writing will allow students to work on their reading abilities.
Additionally, developing an understanding about how instruments work will involve information on the physics of sound, and learning about music’s place in society will shine a light on important historical events. When pupils finish studying Music at Ark Blake Academy they will take with them a wealth of transferable musical and social skills, musical experiences from the classroom, school concerts and school music trips which will bring a great sense of achievement and often instigate lifelong friendships.
Year 7
Pupils will be performing (using their bodies and voices as instruments), composing and notating a Stomp inspired whole class piece and one in smaller ensembles. Pupils will compose within a given structure using 4 beat rhythmic patterns as their building blocks. Pupils will learn how to notate their rhythmic patterns using staff notation. Pupils are then introduced to pentatonic and major scales and learn the secrets of effective melody writing whilst acquiring a good and sustainable keyboard technique. They learn staff notation in the treble clef. Pupils develop an understanding harmony, chords and chord relationships whilst developing keyboard and guitar/ukulele skills. They develop ensemble skills that support connected playing and learn about chord charts and rhythm grids.
| Autumn | |
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What is the difference between pulse and rhythm? Structure: Introduction (intro), outro, section, bar, ‘groove’, ostinato, contrast. Texture: Unison, layered texture, two-part, polyrhythmic Tempo, metre & rhythm: Pulse, tempo, beat, bar, barline, 4/4, downbeat, semibreve, minim, crotchet, quaver, syncopation, polyrhythm, rest, addition, subtraction, on the beat, offbeat, ostinato, count-in |
| Spring | |
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How many notes are there in the Pentatonic Scale? Structure: Bar, phrase, balanced phrase Melody and Pitch: Step, leap, phrase, question and answer, treble clef, scale, scale degrees, stave Texture: Melody and accompaniment, unison, harmony Dynamics and articulation: Pianissimo, piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, forte, fortissimo, crescendo, diminuendo Sonority: Keyboard and voice |
| Summer | |
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How can do we compose music that represents a specific mood? Structure: Bar, verse, chorus, introduction Pitch & Melody: Degrees of the C major scale, semitone, staff notation Harmony and tonality: Major and minor triads, primary and secondary chords, root note, 3rd, 5th, inversions, chord chart Texture: Melody and accompaniment Tempo, metre & rhythm: Sustained, on-the-beat, off-beat, syncopated, 4/4, dotted crotchet, tie. Dynamics & Articulation: Staccato, legato and accent Sonority: Guitar strumming |
All Year 7 subjects Next Year 7 Subject - Art, Crafts and Design
Year 8
Pupils will perform and compose music with increasingly complex rhythms, textures and structures influenced by West African traditions. They will secure basic djembe playing technique and drive forward their ability to improvise. Pupils will explore the relationship between melody and harmony, develop their keyboard skills and their ability to perform an independent line within a contrapuntal texture before each pupil settling on an instrumental ‘specialism’ and drive forward their technical and ensemble skills playing as part of a band. They extend their knowledge of harmony, learn to improvise phrases melodies, and improve their musical literacy as they work from different notations.
| Autumn | |
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What are the four different hand techniques used on the Djembe? Structure: Bar, phrase, section, ostinato, call and response, signal Melody and Pitch: Low bass, high tone, slap, flam Texture: Layered texture, unison, polyrhythmic, monophonic, polyphonic Tempo, metre and rhythm: Pulse, beat, polyrhythms, syncopation Sonority: Master drummer, djembe, strokes (bass, tone, slap, flam) |
| Spring | |
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What are the main textures used in the Baroque period? Structure: Ground Bass Melody and pitch: Scale, step, leap, root note, 3rd, 5th, octave, passing note, ornament, trill, ascending, descending. Harmony and tonality: Major, minor, primary and secondary triads, root position, key signature, C major. Texture: Contrapuntal, canon, entry, voice, bassline. Tempo, metre and rhythm: Dotted crotchet, minim Dynamics and articulation: Slur, legato, staccato, detached Sonority: Basso continuo, harpsichord, spread chord, cello, violin, bowed. Contexts: Western Classical tradition, Baroque period (1600-1750) |
| Summer | |
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How are the notes in the 12 Bar Blues bassline linked to the Blues Scale? Structure: 12-bar blues, call and response, strophic (aab) Melody: Phrase, flat, blue note, repetition Texture: Melody and accompaniment, unison, harmony, riff, block chords, walking bass Tempo, metre and rhythm: Compound time signature pulse, swung quavers, triplets, shuffle Dynamics and articulation: Slurring and legato Harmony and tonality: Blues scale, root note, primary chords, seventh chords Sonority: Piano, guitar, strumming, strumming, tremolo, bottle-necking, bass guitar, voice, sliding, brushes (drumkit) Context: The Blues has its roots in gospel, traditional African music and work songs. The Blues is of historical significance (associated with the newly acquired freedom of former slaves) and has influenced numerous other musical styles, including jazz, rock and roll and contemporary pop songs. |
All Year 8 subjects Next Year 8 Subject - Art, Crafts and Design
Year 9
In year 9 pupils will explore to the musical ideas in different styles and traditions through performance and analysis and listening and appraising. Pupils will also deepen their technical skills on their ‘specialist’ instrument and engage with more complex melodic, rhythmic and harmonic material by fusing two contrasting musical styles/traditions. Pupils will learn to apply their knowledge of melody, rhythm and harmony to the world of Electronic Dance Music, understanding how to manipulate texture and exploit technology within a creative project.
| Autumn | |
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What makes a genre of music fusion? Structure: Sections; alap; jhalla Melody and pitch: Chromatic passing notes, improvisation, riff; sargam – sa, re, pa; tihai; grace notes; upper mordents; intervals; semitone; ostinato; ornaments - mordent; grace note Harmony and tonality: Drone; rag; harmonic minor; extended chords; 7th chords; Aeolian mode on C; broken chords; bass line; root Texture: Layers; polyphony; call and response; homophony; doubling; loops; broken chords Tempo, metre and rhythm: Habanera; repetition; tal – sam; theka; syncopation; off-beat; sustained; dotted; pulse; free tempo; interlocking moderato; allegro Dynamics and articulation: Accented; detached; legato Sonority: Afrobeat: ‘horns’; bass guitar; percussion—claves, maracas, shekere, conga Neotango: bandoneon; piano; bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electronics, vocals North Indian classical: sitar; bansuri; tabla; tanpura Afro Celt Sound System: bodhran; music technology; synths; whistle; tambourine; shaker; African drums Contexts: Fusion music is created by merging the musical ideas within different genres, styles and traditions of music. Musicians are influenced by their heritage; traditional music is modernised by the addition of electronics. |
| Spring | |
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Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Structure: 1, 2 and 4-bar loops, mix-in, A section, breakdown, build, drop. Melody and pitch: Repetition, development, riff. Harmony and tonality: Chords/scales in a minor key, chord progression, (inversion). Texture: (Mix-in, breakdown, drop), bassline, riff, chordal, arpeggio. Tempo, metre and rhythm: Syncopated, sustained, 4/4, quantize, semiquaver, 120bpm. Dynamics and articulation: Crescendo (fade in), diminuendo (fade out), forte. Sonority: Synthesized sound, reverb, panning, filter, FX, automation. Contexts: EDM is a term used to refer to a range of electronic music genres that exploit music technology. EDM is usually played in nightclubs/at festivals by a DJ who mixes together tracks to create a seamless flow of music. |
All Year 9 subjects Next Year 9 Subject - Art, Crafts and Design
Performance & Application
For Years 10 and 11, students are offered three routes for their Performance & Application lessons:
- Route 1: A dedicated, weekly, teacher-led performance lesson where students are taught a focused number of tailored arrangements to their class. Arrangements will be provided.
- Route 2: An integrated approach. At times students apply the knowledge they have acquired in their appraising lessons through focsued, teacher-led practical performance and composition tasks. At other times students will learn bespoke ensemble performances with the rest of their class. Arrangements will be provided.
- Route 3: An integrated approach where students apply the knowledge they have acquired in their appraising lessons through practical performance and composition tasks. Performance coursework is taught and developed mostly by peri teachers outside of timetabled lessons under close supervision by the music teacher.
Year 10
| Autumn | |
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Composition Appraising |
| Spring | |
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Composition Appraising |
| Summer | |
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Composition Appraising |
All Year 10 subjects Next Year 10 Subject - Art, Crafts and Design
Year 11
| Autumn | |
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Composition Appraising |
| Spring | |
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Composition Appraising |
| Summer | |
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Appraising |
All Year 10 subjects Next Year 10 Subject - Art, Crafts and Design