KS3 Expressive Arts: Music

Autumn 1 Autumn 2 Spring 1 Spring 2 Summer 1 Summer 2

Year 7

Unit 1 – Night and Day

The Elements of Music

Pitch, Texture, Timbre and Dynamics

Sound

Graphic Scores

Pitch, Tempo, Dynamics, Duration,

Texture, Silence, Timbre, Attack and

Decay.

Unit 2 – Rhythm and Pulse

Exploring Rhythm

Rhythm, Structure and Form

Rhythm, Pulse, Beat, Ostinato, Note

Values (crotchet, minim, quaver,

pair of quavers, semibreve) and

Rhythm Grid Notation.

Unit 3 – Form and Structure

The Elements of Music

Pitch, Texture, Timbre and Dynamics

Sound

Graphic Scores

Pitch, Tempo, Dynamics, Duration,

Texture, Silence, Timbre, Attack and

Decay.

Unit 4 – Folk Music

Exploring Folk Music

Pitch, Melody and Harmony

Sea Shanties, British Folk Music,

Arrangements, Chords, World Folk

Music, Folk Songs of the UK and

Group Performances.

Unit 5 – Instruments of the

Orchestra

Exploring Timbre

Pitch, Texture, Timbre and Dynamics,

Melody and Harmony

Strings, Brass, Woodwind, Percussion,

March – Class Orchestra,

Conducting, Timbre, Tuned and

Untuned Percussion and Instrument

Research.

Unit 11 – Voiceworks

Exploring Songs and Singing

Pitch, Texture, Melody and Harmony,

Structure and Form

Voice Types (SATB), Harmony/Unison,

A Capella, Call and Response

Songs, Rounds, Song with Ostinato,

Part Songs, Vocal Textures and

Layers.

Composing a graphic score.

Recording a performance in

response to the graphic score.

Writing music with technical

accuracy. Composing and

performing a rhythm.

Understanding the elements of

Music and being able to apply the

understanding when completing

listening work.

Composing two verses and a chorus

in response to exploring Folk Music.

Group performance.

Listening and appraisal work.

Instrumental research followed by a

group presentation.

Vocal workshops. Vocal

performance.

Year 8

Unit 2 - Offbeat

Exploring Reggae and Syncopation

Rhythm, Pitch, Texture, Melody and

Harmony

Calypso, Bass Line, Offbeat Chords,

Syncopation, Reggae and Texture

Unit 1 – African Music

Exploring Polyrhythms

Rhythm, Timbre and Dynamics

Rhythm, Bass/Tone/Slap, Master

Drummer, Rhythm Grid Notation,

Call and Response, Polyrhythms,

Cyclic Rhythms, Syncopation and

Improvisation.

Unit 3 – Variations

Developing Musical Ideas

Texture, Timbre and Dynamics,

Melody and Harmony, Structure and

Form

The Elements of Music, Varying

Melodies, Ground Bass, Major/Minor,

Sequence and Ornamentation.

Unit 4 – Jazz Improvisation

Exploring Improvisation

Pitch, Melody and Harmony,

Structure and Form

12 Bar Blues – Chords, Blues Scale,

Improvisation, Walking Bass Lines,

Ragtime Music, Chord Vamps, Jazz

and Blues Songs.

Unit 7 – Indian Music

Exploring Raga

Pitch, Texture, Melody and Harmony,

Structure and Form

Structure of an Indian Raga,

Traditional Indian Musical

Instruments, Tala, Drone, Raga Scale

and Mood Improvisation.

Unit 8 – Music and Space

Exploring Sounds

Texture, Timbre and Dynamics

Acoustic vs Electronic Sounds,

Programme Music (The Planets by

Holst), Graphic Notation, Timbre,

Instrumentation and Dynamics.

Keyboard performance of Yellow

Bird. Recorded and edited using

GarageBand.

Percussion composition to be

recorded using GarageBand.

Listening and Appraisal work.

Keyboard performance.

12 Bar Blues performance and

composition.

Indian Music Research Project using

ICT. Composition based on an

Indian Raga.

Instrumental performance.

Year 9

Unit 4 – Minimalism

Exploring Motifs, Polyrhythms and

Repetition

Rhythm, Pitch, Texture, Structure and

Form

Cyclic Rhythms, Polyrhythms, Phase

Shift, Structure, Rhythmic and

Melodic Motivic Transformation,

Texture and Layers, Mood, New

Directions in Music, Links between

Music and Art.

Unit 5 – Popular Song

Exploring Songs and Arrangements

Texture, Melody and Harmony,

Structure and Form

Musical Arrangements, Cover Songs,

Popular Songs, Song Structure,

Textures and Layers, Recording a

Song, Musical Technology and

Digital Effects.

Unit 3 – Rock ‘n’ Roll

Exploring Chords and Bass Lines

Pitch, Texture, Melody and Harmony

Chords and Triads, Root, Third, Fifth,

Bass Lines/Walking Bass Line, Chords

and Chord Progressions, Twelve Bar

Blues, Scat Singing and Lyrics.

Performance of Tubular Bells using

GarageBand.

Performance of a popular song

using the keyboards.

Performance and composition of a

Rock ‘n’ Roll song.