Lesson Materials
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May 2012
- Key Stage 3
Author: Jane Werry
Above all, bhangra is enormous fun. Even if your students have no real knowledge of Asian culture already, they will recognise it (and probably break out into some spontaneous dance moves). Its immediate, super-catchy appeal is what makes it such a winner as a KS3 project. It creates opportunities to explore melody and rhythm, how the style has changed over time and there is also plenty of cultural content to delve into. This resource gives you everything you will need for performing, listening, composing and research activities. Even if you are complete newcomer to this style, I hope to provide you with enough background information and structured activities to create a successful project for your students. Read less...
- Key Stage 4
Assessment for learning in GCSE music
Author: Anthony Anderson
With the focus on creative work accounting for such a large percentage of all music GCSEs, AfL is an essential ingredient in effective teaching and learning in the music classroom. But it will not happen by chance. Opportunities for reflective assessment must be embedded into daily practice, rather than considered only as a separate entity at the end of a unit of work. Such an approach enables students to understand the importance of assessment for themselves and to be fully involved in its implementation. Assessment should not be for its own sake or merely as evidence that evaluative processes are taking place. It should be focused, useful and relevant. As a natural outcome, students should understand not just that they need to improve, but how to do it. With that in mind, this resource offers some approaches to try. Read less...
- Key Stage 5
AQA A2 Set Works 2013: Elgar Symphony no.1 in A flat major
Author: Alan Charlton
Elgar''s Symphony no.1 in A flat major is one of the two set works in Section B of the AQA A2 Unit 4 exam and students choose whether to study this or the Shostakovich Symphony no.5 (which will be covered in a future resource). This resouce will mostly focus on structure, particularly the ways in which Elgar treats form, thematic development and tonality in the symphony. It will also cover his general approach to orchestration, harmony, rhythm and texture and will provide some context information. Read less...
April 2012
- Key Stage 3
Teaching composition using film and TV music
Author: Simon Rushby
Young composers encounter two main problems – having ideas in the first place, and then working out what to do with them. Yet so much inspiration can be derived from studying the very music they spend most of their time hearing. Here are three activities that can be worked into lessons at any stage of the Key Stage 3 music course, or even into early GCSE lessons to provide ideas for first compositions. Read less...
- Key Stage 5
Author: Alex Tester
Teaching a new work can be bewildering, particularly one with such an international flavour, and mixture of different styles. So for the analysis, a structure-based approach makes it easier to digest, taking each section of the colourful score at a time. Within these sections, it’s useful to take students through the individual topic words that the IB syllabus encourages use of. This resource will present you with a guide to analysing these set works along these lines. Read less...
- General
Dazzling lessons for observations
Author: Jane Werry
You may be thinking – my teaching is perfectly fine, why should I do anything different when someone comes to observe? – but my answer to that would be to remind you that when you take a driving test, your instructor will tell you to make sure the examiner sees you checking your mirrors. Lesson observations are exactly the same – we want to be sure that the observer is aware of the things we are doing. This resource aims to give you an understanding of what an outstanding music lesson should look and sound like, and some practical ideas for bringing this to life. Read less...
March 2012
- Key Stage 5
Author: Alan Charlton
Two set works are prescribed for Section B of the AQA Unit 4 exam: Mahler Symphony no.4 in G major and Vaughan Williams Symphony no.5 in D major. Students will have opted to study one of these set works. In the exam, students are given a choice of two essay questions on their chosen set work. Each question is worth 30 marks out of a total of 100 for the exam. Students take clean copies of the scores into the exam with them and are allowed to write bar numbers on them beforehand. The exam questions that have been set so far seem to fall into a few categories, and this article organises information according to these question types which focus on a set work: discussing its innovative or traditional qualities; discussing how it uses one or more elements of music (melody, harmony, etc.); writing a commentary on an individual movement, or substantial section of a movement; discussing its external influences (musical styles, texts, programmes, etc.); discussing its orchestration. Read less...
AQA A2: Four decades of Jazz and Blues (1910 to 1950)
Author: Owen Leech
Since this is a dauntingly vast subject, I think that it is important to provide students with a clear, if necessarily simplified, overview of the period. To this end, I provide a compact, but hopefully fairly comprehensive summary of the origins of jazz, which I hope will help in the answering of various types of question. Then I focus on three specific types of question that have typically been set for this area of study, with guidelines on how to answer them and recommended musicians and repertoire. In the third of these, which deals with the careers of Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker, I look into two historically significant recordings (Louis Armstrong''s Alligator Crawl (1927) and Charlie Parker''s Ko-Ko (1945) in greater depth. These would also prove excellent examples in the answering of various general questions. Read less...
Music and the Stage (OCR A2 and AQA AS)
Author: Jane Werry
Success in the exam depends on two areas: knowing the right stuff and being able to write about it in a way that gains you marks. What I hope to do here is to tease out, through close inspection of past papers, what information needs to be learned, and then give you strategies and materials for consolidating this knowledge and practising essay technique. I also aim to give you ideas which will be easy for you to prepare and deliver while keeping students very busy. After all, these are their exams and they should be working harder than you are. Read less...
February 2012
- Key Stage 5
Edexcel revision materials - AS instrumental set works (2012)
Author: Alan Charlton
This resource is designed to support the understanding and memorising of terminology, background information and musical features associated with three of the Edexcel 2012 AS set works: NAM 3 (Berlioz), NAM 15 (Corelli) and NAM 23 (Schumann). Read less...
Revision materials - OCR A2: music and belief (2012)
Author: Jane Werry
Many students find this part of the historical and analytical paper the hardest part of the course. What I aim to do here is give you strategies and materials for tackling all four areas. While they are specific to the music and belief unit, many could be adapted easily for use with any topic. Read less...
Author: Hugh Benham
The main part of this resource deals with set works by Vivaldi (OCR) and Beethoven (AQA). Numbered questions on each work and other short tasks are provided for students to use on their own and/or in groups sessions. These are not intended as specimen exam questions, but will help confirm prior learning, or perhaps suggest areas where additional work is needed. Answers are provided. Read less...
January 2012
- Key Stage 3
Author: Jane Werry
Most people, especially our students, have a whole bundle of preconceptions about opera: opera is boring, opera is old, opera is posh and I don''''''''t know anything about it. Bashing these preconceptions is what makes covering opera at Key Stage 3 so much fun. The activities in this resource aim to give students a thorough understanding of what opera actually is, its cultural context, and enough terminology to be able to talk about opera knowledgeably. There is plenty of listening involving a wide range of repertoire, a chance to sing and play opera tunes, and compose an operatic death scene. Read less...
- Key Stage 5
Listening: harmony and tonality, and notating melodies
Author: Hugh Benham
The majority of students find it challenging when asked in listening exams to comment on harmony and tonality or identify chords, cadences and modulations, even though these features are vital in conveying a composer''''''''s message. How can teachers help students gain confidence and achieve success in these areas? The final section of this article has some suggestions for how students might get better at writing down melodies played to them (melodic dictation). Read less...
- General
How to start and run a successful choir
Author: Benji Vincent
Singing is fun, and proven to be physically and psychologically good for you. But how do you go from singing your favourite songs in the car to becoming a successful choirmaster or director? Starting a choir can seem daunting and overwhelming, but it can be a pleasurable process. Choirs have come back into fashion; just look at the huge hype and buzz that surrounds television shows such as Glee, The Last Choir Standing and (whether we love them or hate them) Gareth Malone''''''''s numerous
programmes on various school, community, and now forces, choirs. Singing appeals to all age groups and generations in so many ways; you just need to be able to tap into this and prove that singing is not ''''''''old school''''''''. Read less...
December 2011
- Key Stage 3
Author: Harriet Power
The Carnival festival is held all over the world and represents a fusion of different cultures and music. The celebrations line the streets with dance, parades and colourful costumes. This article explores the four main Carnivals - Rio de Janeiro, Trinidad, Bolivia and Venice - and offers a range of ideas for some engaging schemes of work at Key Stage 3. Read less...
- Key Stage 4
Author: Jane Werry
For all of these reasons you probably find yourself with an assorted bag of musical pick''n''mix in your GCSE classes. You are under pressure to cater for all of them and enable them to achieve the best possible grades. Your differentiation strategies are likely to be stretched to the absolute limit. This article aims to give you a selection of ideas for differentiation by task and by assistance, as well as some thoughts on general approach. These will enable you to cater for all your students no matter how wide the musical gulfs between them. Read less...
- Key Stage 4/5
Author: Hugh Benham
Many students compose for voice(s) in their GCSE and GCE Music coursework. This article is designed to help, especially with the handling of voices and textures for choirs and vocal ensembles; the notation of vocal music; and the basic principles of word setting. Read less...
November 2011
- Key Stage 3
Author: Jane Werry
You may well find yourself at the end of this term with one or two lessons �left over� after your planned projects are finished, mainly because the autumn term is so long. Perhaps you do not want to start a new project with the holidays beckoning, so here is a collection of ideas for fun yet worthwhile one-off (or two-off)Christmas-themed lessons that you can use or adapt with any Key Stage 3 classes. Read less...
- Key Stage 4
GCSE composition: the three-note piece
Author: Simon Rushby
Many students begin their GCSE Music course worried about composing. Equally, many come to their first composition lesson with lots of ideas but little knowledge of what to do with them. Only those with experience, confidence, or preferably both, find that they can launch straight into composing with any degree of success.
Music teachers have a wealth of ideas to cross this early hurdle and get students composing effectively early on. I would like to share one such idea that I have used with great results over the past few years, which is effective at levelling the inevitably uneven playing field of a Year 10 music set. It is likely that such a set will include those who have never composed on their own before (their composing experience maybe having been limited to group projects in Key Stage 3) to those who have been writing songs on their guitar, keyboard or computer at home since they were eleven. Both these kinds of student, and the vast majority that fall somewhere in between, will find this project a helpful way to start writing effective pieces. Inexperienced or unconfident composers will find the lack of a need to magic sophisticated ideas out of thin air extremely liberating, and those with experience or confidence will learn valuable lessons about limiting one’s resources and doing the most that one can with next to no material. Read less...- Key Stage 5
AQA AS: teaching Unit 2 Brief A
Author: Richard Knight
Many teachers will instinctively have a belief in the value of compositional techniques, and will have strong and well-considered reasons for wanting students to take Unit 2 Brief A of AQA AS Music. They will also know that there is a significant challenge with this brief for pupils who embark on an AS music course with no experience of traditional harmony and counterpoint.
This article provides teachers with a series step-by-step worksheets to guide students through all the details of technique required for success in the two questions of this brief. Read less...
October 2011
- Key Stage 3
Where music is made: how venues shape compositions
Author: Richard Knight
It can be easy to think that music inhabits some strange parallel universe and arrives fully formed in the minds of musicians and composers. Without denying the creativity of composers throughout the centuries, it''''s also interesting to look at how the venues where music was made played a significant role in how it was written. In your local area, music is being made today by musicians who are influenced by the venue where they are playing. This offers an ideal opportunity to link the work in your classroom to activities in your local community, perhaps by asking those engaged in musical activities outside school to contribute class presentations. It also creates opportunities to draw parallels between the influence of musical venues in your community today and similar examples from music history, which can provide an entry point into a better understanding of various repertoires. Read less...
- Key Stage 4
Author: Alan Charlton
Minimalism has been a popular topic for examination boards for many years. The most enduring of contemporary classical music styles to emerge since the 1950s, it lends itself well to classroom teaching. This resource focuses on exploring the minimalist techniques of Steve Reich. It includes several contrasting composition and performance activities as a way of exploring the techniques used in the Edexcel GCSE set work, Steve Reich�s Electric Counterpoint (Third Movement). These activities, several of which use music technology, can be further developed into GCSE composition coursework submissions. Read less...
- Key Stage 5
Structuring compositions for GCE Music
Author: Hugh Benham
As well as attractive musical ideas, every composition needs a secure structure, both overall and at the level of individual sections and passages. This resource is aimed at exploring the idea of structure – both on a small and large scale – with the hope of increasing students’ confidence in both areas. In music, people learn much if not most of what they know by listening to and studying music composed by others. Analysis, above all with the ear, but also from scores, is vital for every aspiring composer. With this in mind, there are references below to existing pieces, some of which might provide models for composition exercises or for finished submissions. Read less...
September 2011
- Key Stage 3
Author: Simon Rushby
All music teachers know the difficulties that are encountered when teaching composing to Key Stage 3 students,
especially when, as is normal, the students have a range of musical experience that ranges from very
little to quite a lot. However, there are many ways that commercial pop music can help to inspire even the most reluctant young
composer to try his or her hand at songwriting, and here Simon Rushby provides some ideas for this very rewarding activity.
This scheme of work covers six or more double lessons on the topic of ?how to write a song?. It focuses on each element of a good song ? melody, lyric, chords, structure and arrangement, and then draws all of these elements together to make a final song. Read less...- Key Stage 4
Handheld Technologies: Enhancing Learning at KS4
Author: Benji Vincent
For many teachers, the thought of using handheld learning devices in the classroom raises some interesting
questions, such as ''will it be expensive to run?'' or ''am I confident enough with the technology to make this
work?''. Some will inevitably ask themselves what the place of an iPod or iPhone is in education. Let loose with
up-to-the minute technology, surely many students will simply be tempted to mess around on social networking
sites like Facebook or Twitter or play games in lessons? These were questions that definitely passed through my mind before I started making use of handheld devices in lessons. But this has started to change...
Handheld technologies can help you squeeze much more into music lessons or examination/qualification related
courses. It''s the nearest you can get to having a number of other teachers in the classroom, or an army
of enthusiastic new teaching assistants. Read less...- Key Stage 5
Edexcel A2 Music Applied Works 2012
Author: Alan Charlton
This resource will focus on three of the five applied works for 2012 that are tested in Section B (Music in Context) of the Unit 6 exam: Gabrieli - In ecclesiis (New Anthology of Music 27), Auric - Passport to Pimlico: The Siege of Burgundy (NAM 42) and Mustapha Tettey Addy - Agbekor Dance (NAM 62). It provides context information and analysis of the musical features of these works and includes suggested classroom activities. Read less...
August 2011
- Key Stage 3
Classroom management in KS3 Music
Author: Jane Werry
In music, we give our students all sorts of exciting bits of equipment to use and make sounds with, so it is no wonder that sometimes behaviour management seems more difficult than in other subjects. I hope here to provide you with some ideas about how you can maintain good patterns of behaviour in the music classroom. None of these ideas are complicated and they all work for me. I very much hope that you will find one or two things here that you can try and will make your life easier. Read less...
- Key Stage 5
AQA AS: Dominant 7ths, diminished 7ths and Beethoven's first
Author: Richard Knight
At AQA it''''s time for a change of set work at AS level - no more Jupiter Symphony. Instead, we have to grapple with Beethoven, and the first and second movements of his first symphony.
This change presents an opportunity to review your approach to teaching AS level. The obligation to steer your pupils through Beethoven''''s harmonic vocabulary is a wonderful invitation to develop your pupils'''' own harmonic palettes when they come to compose. Read less...- General
Author: Jeffery Wilson
As one of the fundamental building blocks of music, rhythm is of great interest to composers at any stage of their development. Here we investigate ways of exploiting, manipulating and organising rhythm creatively in the composition of music in the following topic areas: word play; rhythmic energy; the dance; and applying rhythm. Read less...
July 2011
- Key Stage 2/3
Author: Andy Brooke
This unit of work is base on forests, and though the teaching and learning is music-based (not arboreal), there are plenty of opportunities for cross-curricular collaboration bewteen feeder primaries and secondary schools. This six-week project is really in two halves, and whilst it has been designed to run in the order shown, it is possible to begin with the second half. Read less...
- Key Stage 4
Engaging teaching: GCSE set works
Author: Anthony Anderson
Set works should not be a barrier to learning. They should be springboards into an inspiring musical journey. And with a little bit of creative thought, this is exactly what they can be. Stich the works together as part of a programme of study, which allows students to reflect, be inspired and find their own responsive voice, and there is no doubt that musical understanding will grow.
Here is an idea for building a scheme of work that groups together different works with common or contrasting features. That is not to say that this is the right way of teaching set works - you will need to consider what works best for your students - but should give you an idea of how you might go about your planning. Read less...- Key Stage 5
OCR GCE Music: Prescribed Orchestral Scores (June 2012-January 2014): Haydn and Beethoven
Author: Hugh Benham
Three scores are prescribed for OCR AS Unit G353: Introduction to Historical Study in Music. In this resource we concentrate on: Haydn Symphony No.103, finale; and Beethoven Violin Concerto, first movement. For each, we deal with: instruments and their use; and structure, tonality and harmony. Read less...
June 2011
- Key Stage 3
Author: Jane Werry
Music associated with War is a vast and varied topic that encompasses music that is stirring, moving, and rich in history and interest. This resource aims to provide a wide selection of performance, listening and research activities that you can dip into as and when you wish, and bring together for a composing task in which students keep a ''''composer''''s notebook'''', writing down musical ideas they have picked up that could be used as inspiration for their own pieces. Read less...
- Key Stage 4
Author: Benji Vincent
Offered here are two assignment briefs that cover one of the core units in the specification for the Edexcel 2010 Level 2 BTEC First in Music, including the certificate, extended certificate and diploma. Each brief is designed to look and feel like a real brief that might be given to a freelancer working in the music industry. The aim of this unit is to give learners a broad knowledge of employment opportunities in the music industry and the jobs undertaken by those who work in it. Read less...
- Key Stage 5
Edexcel A2 instrumental set works 2012: Cage, Shostakovich and Ram Narayan
Author: Simon Rushby
The seven instrumental set works for the A2 examination in 2012 include three very different 20th-century pieces, for which revision notes are provided here. The seven instrumental works are studied in preparation for Section C of the Unit 6 paper, in which students have to write one essay. Advice on how students can prepare for this is also provided. Read less...
May 2011
- Key Stage 3
Author: Jane Werry
This resource aims to show how the principles of assessment for learning (AfL) can be combined with sensible use of the National Curriculum levels and QCDA guidance to create a system which is meaningful for students and useful to teachers. Read less...
- Key Stage 4
Edexcel GCSE: western classical music
Author: Simon Rushby
This resource looks at the Edexcel western classical music set works with a particular focus on the questions that might be asked in the listening paper. Read less...
- Key Stage 5
AQA AS/IB: Mozart Jupiter Symphony
Author: Alan Charlton
Mozart''s Jupiter Symphony is currently the set work for the IB Diploma and AQA AS level, where it appears in Section B of the listening paper of Unit 1. This article focuses on providing an analysis of each movement and pinpointing features of the melody, rhythm, texture, instrumentation, harmony and dynamics. Read less...
April 2011
- Key Stage 3
Author: Simon Larner
This scheme offers ideas for listening to, performing and composing music for computer games. Additionally, because it is so essential to show progress in students’ learning, it ties in the most relevant links to NC levels so that you can use the material in a differentiated way. The scheme also highlights the areas where personal learning and thinking skills can be deployed by students. Read less...
- Key Stage 4
Author: Simon Rushby
All three major UK examination boards require students to complete a certain amount of extended writing as part of their GCSE Music course, and yet this is an area for which students often spend a comparatively small amount of their time preparing. Most if not all of this writing has to be done under examination or controlled
conditions, whether as part of performing or composing coursework, or in the listening examination taken at the end of the course. This article provides what advice to help students construct effective written answers that score the best marks. Read less...- Key Stage 5
Edexcel A2 revision: Bach, Brahms and Schoenberg
Author: Hugh Benham
Edexcel A2 revision notes: Bach, Brahms and Schoenberg Read less...
March 2011
- Key Stage 3
Author: Jane Werry
Ballet is a huge topic and gives us many beautiful, interesting and exciting examples of orchestral music and choreography. What I have provided here is a collection of flexible resources that can be used to deliver a project encompassing performing, listening and composing and putting all three within the context of ballet as an art form, drawing on students' prior knowledge and broadening their musical and cultural horizons along the way. I have provided some ideas about how you could run it as a cross-curricular project with your dance department, or you could introduce some of the dance and movement ideas yourself. You may find that ballet is not covered separately in dance until Key Stage 4 in your school: if this is the case, the project would still work as a cross-curricular venture which explores the links between dance and music in a more general way. Read less...
- Key Stage 4
Author: Melissa Bastin
In this article I will look at different types of choral music that may be investigated in response to the Music for Voices component of the AQA GCSE specification and the Great Choral Classics unit of the OCR specification. Read less...
- Key Stage 5
Edexcel AS: instrumental music (2011) revision
Author: Alan Charlton
These revision notes are for three of the works from the 2011 Edexcel list of AS set works for the Instrumental Music area of study:
Tippett - Concerto for Double String Orchestra, first movement
Webern - Quartet Op. 22, first movement
Berio - Sequenza III.
Read less...
February 2011
- Key Stage 4
BTEC Firsts: developing as a musical performer
Author: Conor Doherty
This unit allows the student to consider the elements of performance outside the purely musical. Prolonged professional music-making requires awareness of both style and image and of the importance of health and wellbeing. The following assignments and supporting materials for the teacher allow the investigation and teaching of these essential extra-performance elements.
The four assignments in this article cover all the criteria necessary for Unit 10. The first covers criterion 1, the second, criterion 2 and the third and fourth both cover criteria 3 and 4.
Assignment 1 - a research and written assignment on health and wellbeing
Assignment 2 - a presentation on the style and image of a professional artist/s
Assignment 3 - a performance of 1970s music with attention to style and image
Assignment 4 - a performance of original material with attention to style and image. Read less...- Key Stage 5
AQA AS: Mozart Jupiter symphony (revision)
Author: Richard Knight
Comprehensive revision notes for your students on the two required movements of this set work. Read less...
- General
Composing: scales, modes and keys
Author: Richard Knight
Advice and original musical examples to expand your students' creative toolbox, looking at a range of scale types, the seven main modes and the colours of different keys. Read less...
January 2011
- Key Stage 2/3
Author: Andy Brooke
This is a six-week unit of work for you to take into your feeder primaries. It is not a glorified voice workshop; indeed, the nitty-gritty of singing technique is not dealt with in detail. Rather, it seeks to use singing as the medium through which to deliver National Curriculum objectives in a fun, progressive way, and with high expectations of the children – they have an entitlement to that.
Logistics:
- There will be six lessons of around an hour, which will take place in the primary school
- Lesson content will be delivered by both the primary class teacher (CT) and secondary music teacher (MT)
- In between sessions, the class teacher will provide opportunities for children to further develop ideas, carry out preparation tasks and develop cross-curricular opportunities.
Some basic assumptions are also being made:
- The class will be of mixed ability, around average size (25–30)
- The primary teacher’s specialism is not music
- Little in the way of specialist equipment will be available.
Read less...- Key Stage 4
Author: Simon Rushby
In this article I approach the Edexcel GCSE World Music set works with a focus on the questions likely to be asked in the listening paper. I have therefore addressed each set work as follows:
- Context – a little of the historical and stylistic background.
- Style/overview – an investigation of the main stylistic features of the work. Detailed listening guides can be found in Rhinegold’s Edexcel GCSE Music Study Guide (3rd edition), so I won’t be repeating any of that information here. However there will be a good look at the characteristics of each piece, and it would be good if these sections were read in conjunction with the scores, found in the Edexcel GCSE Anthology of Music.
- A guide to the types of questions likely to be asked, and the best ways to prepare students for the exam.
Read less...- Key Stage 5
Edexcel A2: instrumental music (2011) - Shostakovich, Ellington, Davis
Author: Alan Charlton
This article provides background information, analysis and activities/questions for three of the set works in the Instrumental Music area of study for examination in 2011. Read less...
Spring Term 1 - 10/11
- Key Stage 3
Author: Robert Steadman
Advertising jingles are an important tool in the hands of big companies promoting their products. The jingle can work in conjunction with graphics, visuals, acting and spoken word. Consequently, I have designed this scheme of work to explore advertising jingles with a strong cross-curricular approach linking ideas that could be used in music, drama and media studies. Read less...
- Key Stage 4
Coping with the GCSE ensemble experience
Author: Anthony Anderson
Let's be honest: managing ensemble performances and recordings is a nightmare. However, there are some approaches that can help to calm the choppy waters and to prevent music teacher insanity! Carefully thinking through possible procedures for managing the ensemble rehearsal and recording process, planning this in detail, encouraging students to reflect and take responsibility for their own learning can all bring rewards and be a good alternative to ad hoc chaos. It is for this scenario that these materials have been designed, including a student resource pack intended to help students to move step by step through planning, rehearsing and assessing their own performance. Read less...
Author: Sam Gladstone
These lesson materials can be used to introduce gamelan through listening, composing and performing to KS3 students, and is relevant for GCSE and iGCSE listening papers. Analysis of the musical processes in gamelan also provides effective preparation for the IB unprepared listening paper and musical links investigation. Read less...
- Key Stage 5
Edexcel AS Music Technology focus styles (2011): soul and indie rock
Author: Chris Duffill
This article is primarily aimed at covering the knowledge and skills needed for this section of the Music Technology AS listening paper, but will also cover other wider areas of relevance in music technology, both for the Edexcel A level and any of the other boards.
It will also have wider uses in the curriculum if these styles are required as an area of study, and some of the technology aspects may be useful at GCSE and even KS3.
It covers:
- Stylistic features (ensembles, timbres, writing approaches, performance, recording, production and use of technology)
- Context (influences, significant artists, social and cultural background, development, popularity)
- How to deliver the Special Focus topics in the classroom; cross-over with practical tasks and skills development (two-way process!); other listening and analysis work
- Examination questions (format, approaches to successful answers, common difficulties).
Read less...Author: Mark Wilderspin
Students of the OCR specification at A2 have six choices of Historical Topics (Section B) within their Historical and Analytical Studies paper (unit G356). Music for Screen is one of these options and this article seeks to offer some guidance as to how this particular option might be delivered in the classroom. In it, I will clarify how the topic fits into the syllabus as a whole; suggest a scheme of work for teaching to students; and review pertinent aspects of exam technique, with specific reference to past questions and to the examiners' reports. Read less...
- General
Including students with SEN/disabilities
Author: Jonathan Westrup
The resource is divided into three sections:
- SEND, music technology and your music department: a general discussion of meeting the needs of students with SEND
- Practical activities for your lessons: detailed descriptions of a range of approaches, with suggestions for equipment (and filmed examples of many of the activities)
- Accessible teaching and learning resources: examples of teaching resources that allows many students with SEND access to the same music accreditation opportunities as their non-disabled peers.
Read less...
Autumn Term 2 - 10/11
- Key Stage 3
Author: Anthony Anderson
Have we thought about what it is like for those covering our own lessons when we cannot be at school for some reason? There must be a better way than a few questionable photocopied worksheets. What is envisaged here is working in partnership with another teacher who does not have to be a music specialist at all, but is a trusted and valued fellow professional.
In order to enable an engaging cover lesson and not rely on an overly complex scenario, the cover lessons presented here do not take a topic-based approach. Instead, lessons seek to explore musical elements (a concept and its associated branches) in a self-contained lesson.
Two versions of lesson plans and resources are provided: one for the music specialist and one for the cover teacher. These have been carefully written and are designed to be accessible with support and explanation from the music teacher. Read less...Author: Charlotte Lane
This article discusses how to embed and assess personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS) in the music curriculum. It examines the material available at the outset of the introduction of the PLTS framework and shows how we have developed this material for use in classrooms across the whole of our school. It explores both the PLTS framework and the development of the music skills diary for use in the KS3 music curriculum. Read less...
- Key Stage 4/5
AQA GCSE: rock, hip hop and R&B
Author: Adam Lane
The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the many and varied genres of popular music encompassed in the title. By covering the key features, artists and important milestones within the genres and providing links to listening material, this article will be useful, not only when teaching this particular strand for AQA GCSE, but also for post-16 students. Read less...
- Key Stage 5
Edexcel A2 Music Tech: task 3c (composing)
Author: Chris Duffill
This article will look at techniques for composing using technology, at how to help your students develop the necessary skills in creating unique sounds, and also how to use them effectively as compositional elements. The requirements of writing to a brief and the types of brief offered will also be discussed, and there will be some exploration of what makes successful composition, in the context of the using the parts created using technology. Read less...
Edexcel AS: Vocal Music (2011)
Author: Simon Rushby
This article provides set-work information and sample questions for three of the Vocal Music list for 2011: Summertime (Gershwin), You Can Get It If You Really Want (Desmond Dekker and the Aces) and Don’t Look Back In Anger (Oasis).
Read less...- General
Composing: tempo, metre and rhythm
Author: Richard Knight
This article explores the importance of rhythm, tempo and metre - aspects often undervalued by student composers. Ideas and advice are demonstrated using practical examples. Read less...
Autumn Term 1 - 10/11
- Key Stage 2/3
Author: Andy Brooke
This unit of work is based on the theme of music for special events, with a focus on fanfares and an initial emphasis on music for the Olympic Games. It would tie in very well with a cross-curricular topic on the Olympics, which primary schools might like to consider over the next couple of years, given that the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in London in 2012.
The project will last for half a term, and will promote skills development in performing, composing, listening and appraising, at the end of which children will perform their own composition for a special event in school, either real or imagined. Teachers might like to consider a real performance at a real event, such as sports day. Read less...- Key Stage 3
Author: Jane Werry
This unit of work uses performing, composing, research and listening to provide students with an understanding of structures and compositional techniques used in the Classical period, and uses Beethoven's fifth symphony and Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik as starting points. It also incorporates numerous strategies for Assessment for Learning. I have found it to be very successful towards the end of Year 8, although you might decide that it would suit your students at a different point in KS3.
By focusing on the ways in which Classical composers develop their musical ideas, and how these ways can be combined, students are given valuable tools for creating music which not only help them meet the assessment criteria for the higher NC levels, but which will be useful for them at GCSE level. Read less...- Key Stage 4
Author: Perez Bugby-Ainsworth
Improvisation is an exciting performance skill that can be examined thoroughly within Unit 13. The learner is taken on a musical journey which explores improvisation in its many styles and genres. The pass criteria can be met through a series of teacher-led workshop/improvisation activities, however to meet the merit and distinction requirements, it is important for the students to explore improvisation in non teacher-led, smaller groups – allowing for students to be original, creative and spontaneous.
The assignment brief for this unit must incorporate the practical and improvisatory nature of the module. This scheme suggests tasks and activities for the brief, along with guidelines for assessment. An example outline of the brief to give to your students can be found at the end of this article.
Students will explore musical improvisation through group work, improvise within three musical templates, and perform spontaneously showing manipulation of the musical content.
Read less...Edexcel GCSE: 20th-century music
Author: Simon Rushby
In this article I approach the Edexcel GCSE Area of Study 2 20th-century set works with a focus on the questions likely to be asked in the listening paper. I have therefore addressed each set work as follows:
1. Context - a little of the historical and stylistic background.
2. Style - an investigation of the main stylistic features of the work. Detailed listening guides can be found in the Rhinegold Edexcel GCSE Music Study Guide, so I won't be repeating any of that information here. However, there will be a good look at the characteristics of each piece, and it would be advisable to read these sections in conjunction with the scores, found in the Edexcel GCSE Anthology of Music.
3. A guide to the types of questions likely to be asked, and the best ways to prepare students for the exam. Read less...- Key Stage 5
Author: Alan Charlton
In the Unit 6 paper, knowledge of the Applied Music works is tested in Section B, ‘Music in Context’. Candidates choose to answer two out of three questions, each of which is awarded 13 marks.
The specification states that Section B questions ‘prompt candidates to identify given musical features from selected set works and comment on how these features help to place the work in a social and historical context. Answers may be in note form or continuous prose.’
This article will focus on identifying the contextual features of three 2011 works (Bach, Bernstein and the Jig and Reel), with the aim of enabling students to answer any questions on context they may be asked in the examination. Read less...Author: Huw Ellis-Williams
Three jazz works feature for the first time in the OCR specification for the summer examination in 2011:
1. Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven: Alligator Crawl (Chicago, 1927)
2. Charlie Parker’s Reboppers: Ko-Ko (New York, 1945)
3. Miles Davis and the Gil Evans Orchestra: It Ain’t Necessarily So from Porgy and Bess (New York, 1958).
This article will discuss these three works and suggest useful listening that students can do in class. Careful listening is an essential part of studying these works, particularly for Section B questions. In preparation for Section C, the article will explore some of the historical issues that students may find useful to address in the essay questions and link these issues to evidence drawn from the works themselves. Although for the purposes of the examination students are not required to study works other than those prescribed in the specification, there are also suggestions for further listening taken from tracks on the recordings specified by OCR. Read less...
Summer Term 2 - 09/10
- Key Stage 3
Author: Chris Elcombe
Flamenco is usually overlooked when it comes to teaching world music, but there are lots of good reasons why it can make for a fascinating and engaging topic for you and your students. Together, you can explore its powerful and unusual rhythms, the drama of its melodies and chords, and develop effective but simple improvisations, while learning about flamenco’s rich history, from the caves of Andalusia to the tourist tablaos of the Costas.
You don’t need flamboyant singers or classically trained dancers in your class to make sense of flamenco; you don’t even need guitarists (although one or two might help) – keyboards and any bass and melody instruments will all work, together with clapping and some sort of hand drums, with singing as an optional extra. These lesson materials will give you the tools to perform two styles of flamenco music, as a class.
Read less...- Key Stage 4
AQA and Edexcel GCSE: composing in a Classical style
Author: Alan Charlton
Amid the wide range of possible styles for the composing element of the new GCSE specifications, the Classical style offers some of the most significant long-term rewards. If studied thoroughly, it gives students an invaluable grounding in all sorts of areas of music:
- Simple harmony, including simple modulation and cadential progressions
- Phrase structure, particularly in the use of question-and-answer phrases
- Tonal structuring
- Simple forms
- Melodic writing and development, including the handling of dissonant notes
- Idiomatic instrumental writing and an appreciation of texture.
This article examines these techniques through practical analysis and composition exercises, culminating in a composition project.
Read less...Author: Christopher Walters
For many people, Africa is synonymous with music. Traditional music appears integral to life on the continent, celebrating daily rituals and major milestones, but nowadays the reality is different. Many African people have become distanced from traditional culture as a result of economic migration to urban areas, in some cases generations ago. Exposure to various kinds of music in towns and cities has led to the emergence of new styles that draw on both popular and traditional influences, representing some of the most exciting music in Africa today; nowhere has this happened more than in Kenya. This article will examine the Kenyan pop scene in detail, within the country''s broader musical context. Read less...
- Key Stage 5
BTEC Nationals: the music freelance world
Author: Benji Vincent
Offered here are four assignment briefs that cover Unit 38 – The Music Freelance World, one of the units in the specifications for the Edexcel BTEC Nationals in Music and Music Technology, including all the current BTEC National Awards, Certificates, Diplomas and the new 2010 BTEC National Certificates, Subsidiary Diplomas, Diplomas and Extended Diplomas.
This is a specialist unit for all of the current 2007 specification BTEC National courses. It can also be offered as an optional unit for all of the 2010 BTEC National courses, with the exception of the National Certificate and National Diploma in Music Technology (Events Support).
Read less...Author: Robert Steadman
Programme music is an important subject in the OCR A2 Music examination. It appears in two separate units:
- A2 Unit G355: Composing 2
- A2 Unit G356: Historical and Analytical Studies in Music.
This article introduces a variety of works that could be studied as ‘related repertoire’, and complements these with a number of composing ideas.
Read less...- General
Music lessons for the digital native
Author: James Cross
Our students have grown up digital. Many secondary students will have had access to the internet for as long as they can remember, and they inhabit a world that is becoming more connected and multimedia-centred by the day. Music, for them, is now digital – whether they are sharing it with friends, downloading it from iTunes or listening to it on their iPods.
A few years ago, the internet was mainly useful to the music teacher as a research tool. In the age of ‘Web 2.0’ however, the internet is now much more interactive. Social networking sites, collaboration tools and services that quickly let anybody publish content have exploded in popularity.
So where does this leave the music teacher? This article explores some practical ways in which teachers can leverage students’ interest in technology to make music teaching more effective. The aim of this article is to present a variety of versatile ideas that the interested teacher can pick and choose from and incorporate into their teaching, rather than whole lesson plans. By giving these ideas a try, your classroom can become more connected, relevant and engaging for your ‘digital native’ students!
The following areas will be covered, with step-by-step guides and practical ideas for their use in both KS3 and with examination classes:
- Using digital video:
- Creating a class blog:
- Creating an online school record label.
Read less...
Summer Term 1 - 09/10
- Key Stage 2/3
Author: Andrew Brooke
Below is a six-week transition unit in which the secondary music teacher will work alongside the primary class teacher, on the theme of 'the Amazon'. So, put on your black pumps, line up by the door (boy-girl, boy-girl) and get back to primary school!
Proposed outcome: students will compose a set of compositions using different stimuli; they will perform their own compositions and taught material; they will practise and record their work.
Logistics:
- There will be five lessons of around 75 minutes, which will take place in the primary school
- The primary class teacher (CT) and secondary music teacher (MT) will deliver the lesson content both discretely and through team-teaching
- It is envisaged that the class teacher will provide opportunities both to learn from the central theme (i.e. the Amazon) and develop musical skills and understanding.
Some basic assumptions are also being made:
- The class is of mixed ability, around average size (25)
- The primary teacher's specialism is not music
- Children may or may not have had a solid musical foundation
- There will be few specialist resources/equipment.
Read less...- Key Stage 3
Author: Philip Ciantar
This article will unfold quite similarly to the way my first trip to Libya progressed. Although my main interest was in learning about the ma'luf in Libya, this also brought me in touch with other musical genres, forms and musical practices diffused both in Libya as well as in neighbouring north African countries (mainly Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco) and the Arab world more widely.
This article provides information about these, as well as suggested listening resources, performance and research activities, and ideas for class discussion. Read less...- Key Stage 4
BTEC Firsts Unit 6: working as a musical ensemble
Author: Simon Larner
Working as a Musical Ensemble is a popular unit in the Edexcel BTEC Music syllabus. This scheme focuses on students learning the 'musical interpretation of pieces'. For this purpose I have chosen the three solo character songs from The Wizard of Oz, as they have additional chorus parts and therefore allow for groups to define their own roles within the ensemble (solo or chorus) according to their ability and ambition. Of course, by choosing these songs as the stimuli, the brief can also be submitted for the Musical Theatre unit of the Performing Arts syllabus, under the heading 'interpreting lyrics, mood, the character of the music', as music teachers are so often called upon to fulfil their share of the BTEC in Performing Arts. Read less...
Improving texture in GCSE compositions
Author: Richard Knight
Not many of us as composers can call on a wealth of imaginative melodic, rhythmic or harmonic ideas - there is often a sense that we are covering ground that others have visited before us with greater success, but whatever material we do invent can be given a dash of fresh, creative flavour by the way we might go about setting our ideas into a musical texture.
In this article we will look at some ways in which this can be done so that students can be encouraged to shake up their approach to handling texture in their compositions. This can be a fruitful area to develop in young minds, for once they latch onto the difference that some varied use of texture can bring to their compositions, imaginative thoughts about texture can come first and then stimulate the production of interesting melodic, harmonic and rhythmic material to suit the intended textural context. Read less...- Key Stage 5
Aspects of the orchestra and symphony, 1700-1830
Author: Hugh Benham
This article can serve as a complement to study of Classical-period orchestral music for all three main A-level exam boards in England:
- AQA: Western Classical Tradition AoS
- Edexcel: Instrumental Music AoS
- OCR: 18th/early 19th-century Orchestra AoS.
Although it makes some reference to the Baroque period, this article focuses primarily on some Classical and early Romantic developments in the orchestra and its instruments, and the symphony.
Read less...Edexcel A2 revision sheet: Beethoven Septet in E flat, movement I
Author: Richard Knight
Revision notes for your students on this Edexcel set work. Read less...
Edexcel A2 revision sheet: Gabrieli Sonata pian' e forte
Author: Richard Knight
Revision notes for your students on this set work. Read less...
Author: Alan Charlton
Copland's El Salon Mexico is one of the two prescribed works for International Baccalaureate standard level (SL) and higher level (HL) for examinations in 2011 and 2012. This article will focus on equipping students with the necessary background knowledge, analytical understanding and technical vocabulary to allow students to answer the set-work essay questions of the IB examination relating to El Salon Mexico.
El Salon Mexico is also a good introduction to students of other syllabuses on several topics to do with 20th-century music: the integration of folk music into classical music, 20th-century rhythmic techniques, harmony and orchestration.
Read less...
Spring Term 2 - 09/10
- Key Stage 3
Author: Roberts Steadman
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Pupils love to learn about musicals; I guess it’s the mix of music, drama, catchy songs, costumes and dance. The whole spectacle of the production has great appeal and that’s the reason why the musical became one of the most important genres of the 20th century. This scheme of work takes pupils through the history and development of the modern musical and then looks in greater detail at one classic example, West Side Story.
A project about musicals easily lends itself to some cross-curricular collaborations with drama and dance but, potentially, also with the English department if they are studying a book or play that has been adapted as a musical. In addition, the media studies department may be studying a film that has been made into a musical.
Read less...Author: Jane Werry
Music is all around us, and fulfils an extraordinary range of purposes in our lives: to soothe, to inspire, to energise, to bond, to sell washing powder – the list is endless. The aim of this unit of work is to get students to consider the role of music in their own lives, and understand some of the ways that it affects the lives of others. I have used this unit successfully towards the end of Year 8, although it could be adapted to fit in earlier or later in KS3.
The unit includes listening, performing, and composing activities centred on football songs, lullabies, Olympic songs and music in adverts. There is also a research project which students complete as an ongoing homework over the course of the unit, which covers music in sport, music and healing, music and propaganda, the Mozart effect, and muzak. Giving students choices can be a powerful motivator, and one of the things my students have enjoyed most about this unit is its flexibility and opportunities for them to choose which performing and composing activities they do.
Read less...- Key Stage 4
GCSE: technology performance options
Author: Rachel Brooks & Craig Ratcliffe
The use of technology in performance has been embraced by all the main examination boards in the recent changes to the GCSE specifications (from September 2009). As the popularity of music technology is seeing an increase in schools and with students, you may be intending to offer music technology-based performance options for the first time to your students.
This article guides you through the sequencing and multi-tracking processes and provides suggested activities for you and your students to practise these. Read less...Author: Richard Knight
Tango appears in the new OCR GCSE specification (Area of Study 3: Dance Music) and this article is intended to provide some helpful insights and material for teachers engaged in delivering this course. It could alternatively form the basis of a KS3 project, and it is also hoped that the materials included will be of wider interest, since tango offers a whole new musical world that will appeal to many.
2009 has been a significant year in the history of tango: in September UNESCO awarded tango world heritage status. Its presence on the UNESCO list is unusual: a style of dance and music alongside the great natural and man-made sites of the world (Stonehenge, the Grand Canyon, Sydney Opera House, etc.). You won’t find polka, waltz or foxtrot on the list; not even samba or salsa. So what is so special about tango?
Read less...- Key Stage 5
AQA A2: English Choral Music of the 20th Century
Author: Richard Knight
The AQA approach of setting topics but not prescribing specific works can lead to an embarrassment of riches when it comes to music that you might choose to study. In the Rhinegold Study Guide for this specification, space permitted only a fairly tightly drawn selection of works. For the English Choral Music topic, the three most famous works of the category were examined, at least in part:
- Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius
- Walton: Belshazzar’s Feast
- Britten: War Requiem.
While these three towering scores offer more than enough material, there is no shortage of wonderful alternative pieces that teachers could also incorporate, either to augment the musical diet, or to provide an alternative to the mainstream sacred works of the century and to provide a wider chronological span.
This article is intended to cover three such pieces in some detail. These are:
- Lambert: The Rio Grande – a rollicking, jazz-infused cantata-cum-piano concerto depicting Brazilian partying, written in 1927
- Howells: Hymnus paradisi – an extraordinary personal response to bereavement written by this master of the English cathedral tradition between 1935 and 1950
- Rutter: Requiem – a skilful blend of various influences from this modern master of English choral music.
Read less...
Spring Term 1 - 09/10
- Key Stage 3
Author: Richard Knight
In Classroom Music summer term 1 2008/09, various ideas were presented for projects using the sea as an inspiration for music. Here, in a companion article, we look at various projects related to more land-based elements of nature.
For artistically minded people, there is nothing new in turning to the natural world around us for inspiration. In an age where a rebalancing between man and nature is, many would argue, overdue, encouraging pupils to respond creatively to the natural world around them, tapping into their often fervent concern for their planet, has much to recommend. There are many facets to nature that one can explore musically; here we consider three: landscape, animals and weather.
Read less...Author: Simon McKerrell
This article unveils the world of Roma music (‘gypsy’ music) in the Balkans and elsewhere in Europe. The article places an emphasis on developing an understanding of the culture of the Roma, and how this is reflected in their music and music about them.
Topics include: varied listening (art and traditional genres); class discussions of discrimination; working with Balkan rhythm, music and language; creative improvisation; gender; making a Roma cimbalom (dulcimer); understanding how and why Roma are a marginalised group in Europe.
Read less...- Key Stage 4
BTEC Firsts: exploring musical composition
Author: Barry Russell
TV-theme, film and video-game music composition projects are common currency. The assignments in this article frame three approaches to these sorts of project and, as well as giving students the opportunity to meet all the grading criteria for BTEC Firsts Unit 4, are designed with supporting materials for the teacher to help students develop their ideas.
The projects are also easily adapted for classroom work in Years 7–9 and as frameworks for integrated assignments related to the AQA GCSE area of study: Film Music.
Although all the assignments are ostensibly about composing for TV, film and games, each has a related compositional concept:
Assignment 1 – manipulating musical ideas and units
Assignment 2 – using modal material
Assignment 3 – extending tonality, developing atonal material.
Read less...Author: Charlotte Lane
This scheme of work is intended for use with key stage 4 students and has been developed from existing schemes that have been taught at both KS4 and KS3 level. It is designed to fulfil many of the listening, performance and composition requirements of the AQA, OCR and Edexcel syllabuses and could also be adapted for the BTEC First Certificate in Performing Arts at Level 2. Where appropriate, links have been highlighted directly to the pertinent course material.
The intention has been to provide access to teachers and students, regardless of ability level or availability of resources, to this very relevant and current musical genre.
The journey that the learner takes encompasses an investigation into the musical style that is hip hop, and leads the learner through practical composition and music-making opportunities. The scheme provides a guided approach to creating and performing a hip-hop piece, but also offers many other performance opportunities throughout. Read less...- Key Stage 5
Edexcel AS Music Technology: focus styles 2009/10 - reggae and heavy rock
Author: Chris Duffill
This article is primarily aimed at covering the knowledge and skills needed for section B of the Music Technology AS listening paper, but also covers other wider areas of relevance in Music Technology, either for the Edexcel A level or any of the other boards. It will also have wider uses in the curriculum if these styles are required as an area of study, and some of the technology aspects may provide useful at GCSE and even KS3.
It includes: stylistic features – ensembles, timbres, writing approaches, performance, recording, production and use of technology; context – influences, significant artists, social and cultural background, development, popularity; how to deliver the Special Focus topics in the classroom; crossover with practical tasks and skills development (a two-way process); and other listening and analysis work. Read less...Edexcel AS: 20th-century vocal music
Author: Simon Rushby
This article will explore in detail the last three of the six set works that students have to know for the Vocal Music area of study for Unit 3.
Rhinegold’s Edexcel AS Music Study Guide (second edition) by David Bowman and Paul Terry provides detailed background and analysis of these works, and I do not intend to repeat that information here. Instead I will look at each of the three songs from the perspective of the two types of question that will come up in the 2010 summer AS examination. Read less...
Autumn Term 2 - 09/10
- Key Stage 2/3
Author: Andy Brooke
How well do you know the students who will be starting in Year 7 next September? What have they been doing for the last seven years, and what have they learned? Have you ever met any of their primary school teachers?
This six-week KS2/KS3 transition unit on the theme of machines promotes stronger links between primary and secondary teachers, and suggests that primary school is still just as fun-filled, feel-good and action-packed as we remember ... and with any luck, the kids might even think so too.
This is a unit of work that could be used or adapted as a transition unit, to be delivered by a secondary music teacher alongside the primary class teacher. There are some ambitious activities but, as teachers, we can do no greater service to the students than to have high expectations of them, and to insist that they have similarly high expectations of us and of themselves. Read less...- Key Stage 3
Author: Joe Moretti
GarageBand can be thought of as the complete music package for the classroom: the range of techniques and facilities that it brings is extensive. Through three projects aimed at students at KS3, I will attempt to demonstrate the range and scope of these. The projects will cover the following key areas:
1. Loops - exploration of texture, dynamics, instrumentation and structure; sharing to devices (including ringtones).
2. Class singing - GarageBand and MIDI files, instrumentation and adding live musicians.
3. Audio recording - recording audio via three sources, and introduction of effects.
Read less...Author: Ruth Hellier-Tinoco
Viva Mexico! The land of sun, turquoise waters and beach resorts. You've seen the mariachi musicians with their huge hats, tight jackets and trousers with silver buttons. You've heard the brilliant trumpets and the soaring violins. You think of dry mountain landscapes and tall spiky cactuses.
But what of P'urhepecha music? Of gentle duet singing, flowing string ensembles and rousing brass bands? In the state of Michoacan, nestled in the green, wooded mountains and on little islands on Lake Patzcuaro, thousands of P'urhepecha musicians play sones, abajenos and pirekuas for religious fiestas, for birthdays, for festivals and for their sweethearts.
Through these lessons, students will listen to and learn to play and sing two P'urhepecha sones. Read less...- Key Stage 4
Edexcel GCSE: Area of Study 3 (popular music in context)
Author: Simon Rushby
This article approaches the Edexcel 'Popular Music' set works with a focus on the questions likely to be asked in the listening paper. Each set work is addressed from the point of view of the different areas of knowledge needed for the paper, as follows:
Context - a little of the historical and stylistic background
Style - an overview of the main stylistic features of the track
A listening guide or overview - best read while listening to the track
An examination of the elements of music - pitch, rhythm, harmony and tonality, instrumentation
and texture, structure and any other important features
Some sample Section A and B questions, or a guide to the types of questions likely to be set.
Read less...- Key Stage 5
BTEC Nationals: three performance projects
Author: Adam Lane
Offered here are three assignments which together cover three of the BTEC National units for the various Music qualifications:
Unit 22: Music Performance Techniques
Unit 31: Pop Music in Practice
Unit 40: Working and Developing as a Musical Ensemble.
The three assignments are presented here as task sheets suitable for handing out to learners, with each task clearly linked to the grading criteria. Read less...Author: Veronica Jamset
This article will outline how the listening and analysis tasks have changed in the new specification for
OCR A2.
Rhinegold will not be publishing a revised listening tests book for this, but here, the author of the existing edition explains how the material in it can be adapted for use in current teaching, suggesting new questions to ask and issues for you to discuss with your students. The article will then examine Parry's setting of Jerusalem in detail, asking questions that fit the requirements of the new specification (and providing the answers), while including extracts from the score to analyse. Read less...Author: Hugh Benham
In part 1 of this article (Classroom Music autumn term 1 2009/10), tonality was defined, and considered in terms of various listening, analysis and composition tasks. In part 2, some historical trends are outlined; understanding of these will assist analytical studies in particular, for a range of courses including A level, IB and Pre-U.
There are three main lines of investigation:
How Renaissance and early Baroque tonalities compare and contrast with later major- and minor-key tonality
Classical-period major-minor tonality, especially in terms of musical structure
How, from the 19th century, this type of tonality was superseded. Read less...
Spring Term 2
- Key Stage 5
Author: Alan Charlton
The new Edexcel AS composition paper (Unit 6MU02) is now in its second year of teaching. Replacing the old paper 6702/01, it incorporates a number of changes that will have caused teachers to revise their delivery of the unit, in many cases quite drastically.
This article will examine these changes and provide practical advice and ideas for your teaching, and for students as they prepare coursework and the accompanying sleeve note. Read less...
