Curriculum
Musical Discovery
Music at Thorns is a vibrant and exciting subject which builds the core components of performing, composing, listening and appraising through a range of topics. Our stimulating curriculum ensures that all students are involved in practical music-making and through this they develop their knowledge of a variety of musical styles. Students have the opportunity to learn a variety of instruments in class time including the ukulele and the keyboard as well as access to numerous other instruments with peripatetic teachers one-to-one. Extra-curricular music is strong at Thorns and includes Choir, Band and Music Practice Club.
Students have one hour a week of arts lesson in year 7 and 8, doubling to two a week in year 9. During their time in Music they develop their performing, composing and appraising skills through;
Year 7: 10 Weeks, 1 hour a week
The Elements of Music (5 Lessons)
Students arrive at Thorns with a variety of musical experience. This unit aims to introduce them explicitly to the terminology of the subject through the discipline of instrumental playing. Students learn about rhythm, dynamics, instruments, texture, harmony and tempo through chair drumming, ukulele and keyboard. During the scheme they will appraise, perform and compose using each instrument.
The Basilisk (5 Lessons)
Students will delve into the world of programme music and music technology composing their own piece of music to describe the character from Harry Potter using their devises, BandLab for Education (a Digital Audio Workstation) and keyboard. They will develop understanding of ostinatos, drones, texture, instrumentation as well as timing and MIDI editing.
Focus Day (5 hours): in the past, year 7 have had the opportunity to attend the CBSO KS3 concert at Symphony Hall in Birmingham as well as participate in DAW composition activities and workshops with practitioners and L4L teachers.
Performing Arts Focus Day (1 Hour workshop): the day is focused on a musical and students participate in a whole class singing workshop around a song from the chosen piece of Musical Theatre.
Year 8: 10 Weeks, 1 hour a week
The Ukulele Through Time (5 Lessons)
Students develop their ukulele skills as well as knowledge of different popular music genres each week. Students learn bar chords, palm muting and genre specific strumming patterns to perform as a class.
Theme and Variation (5 Lessons)
Students listen more deeply to musical of the Western Classical Tradition and develop their composition skills further with a greater sense of timing and connection through developing the melody of Frere Jaque in 5 different ways to create their own theme and variation piece. Students will understand the concept of the relative minor, passing notes, how to add harmony to a melody.
Music Focus Day (5 hours): About Me. Students develop their sense of identity through music exploring songs they enjoy the most as well as creating their own song using a DAW and lyric witting linking with English whilst developing their relationship with their form group and L4L teacher.
Performing Arts Focus Day (1 Hour workshop): the day is focused around a musical and students participate in a whole class singing workshop around a song from the chosen show.
Year 9: 10 weeks, 1 hour a week
The Blues (5 weeks)
Students develop their two-handed playing skills learning each layer of the blues on the keyboard. The 12 Bar Blues in G Major, the walking bass, improvising using the G Major Blues scale and learning a head melody. They will then combine these skills into their own paired blues performance.
Students will listen to a blues standard each week as well as new and fresh interpretations of it and examples of popular music using the 12-bar blues to understand it relevance to today’s music and its effectiveness as a compositional tool.
Hip Hop (5 Weeks)
Students will write their own Hip Hop track composing a layer each week through a DAW using famous classic hip hop tracks as inspiration looking and lyrical content of hip hop comparing to Shakespeare and his use of iambic pentameter.
Performing Arts Focus Day (1 Hour workshop): the day is focused on a musical and students participate in a percussion and workshop around a song from the chosen show.
Music is an option subject. Students are presented with the course through options assemblies and marketplace event. All details can be found in the options area of the website.
The course involves:
- 4-6 mins of performance including 1 min of ensemble (group) playing. This could also be a sequenced performance where students input most layers of a piece with one like being played live using a DAW. This is 30% of their final mark.
- 4mins composition portfolio. One is a free composition where students write their own brief fitting on of the areas of study. Students then select one of four briefs set by the exam board to create another piece. This is 30% of their final mark.
Both pieces of coursework are internally marked and externally moderated by the exam board.
Exam: Students sit a 1hour 15 mins listening exam based on the four areas of study;
- AoS 1 Musical Forms and Devices (Western Classical Music) including one set work Badinerie by Bach.
- AoS 2 Music for Ensemble (Chamber Music, Musical Theatre, Jazz and Blues)
- AoS 3 Film Music
- AoS 4 Popular music (pop, rock, bhangra and fusion) including one set work Africa by Toto
Y10 Focus Day (5 hours): Students spend the day deep diving ‘Africa’ by Toto, one of the set works, understanding how it uses the musical elements and performing it as a class.
Y11 focus day (5 hours): Students will rehearse and record their ensemble performances.
