Curriculum and Assessment

Autumn

Harmony & Rhythm: Reggae

• Know how a triad is formed.
• Know of off-beat and perform a chord sequence.

Pitch & Timbre: Fanfare

• Know of intervals.
• Know how to perform a fanfare using good technique and consolidating understanding on reading staff notation.
• Know how to compose in the style of a fanfare.

Pitch & Texture: Sea Shanties

• Know how to perform body percussion in time.
• Know how to sustain a melody with others.
• Perform a rhythm and melody at the same time.

Spring

Pitch & Structure: The Blues
 – Know of the Blues scale.

• Know how to improvise to a backing track using the 12 bar blues.

Band skills

Know how to perform within a class band maintaining own part with good technique

Descriptive Music – Nocturnes

• Consolidate pupils understanding of chords (broken chords/major/minor/accidentals)
• Know of Romantic composers who wrote this music.

Know how to perform and compose a Nocturne

Summer

Band skills

• Rehearse independently and effectively
• Demonstrate ensemble skills.
• Act on feedback given to develop technique.

Harmony & Structure: The Blues

• Know of the history of the Blues and importance of Blues music.
• Know how the 12 bar blues structure works.

Know how to perform 12 bar blues.

Pitch & Rhythm: Motif

• Know of motif as a melodic fragment.
• Know how to compose motifs discriminating between more and less musical ideas.
• Implement improvements to revise motifs.

Pitch and rhythm: Advert music

• Know how to compose a catchy jingle for an advert.

Autumn

Summative assessment 1

Through composition:

• Demonstrate understanding of fanfare through composition.
• Using 4ths, 5ths, 8ves to compose a melody.

Formative Assessment

• Act on feedback given by teacher or peers.
• Perform with technique, fluency and with others.

Spring

Summative Assessment 1

Through performance:

• Know of the Blues scale.
• Improvise to a backing track using the 12 bar blues.

Listening test: Reggae, Fanfare, Sea Shanties, The Blues.

Summative Assessment 2

Through composition:

• Use of chords.
• Composing using major and minor chords.

Composing melody with chords.

Summer

Summative Assessment 2

Through performance:

• Ensemble skills
• Technique
• Note reading
• Rehearsal etiquette

Listening test on all genres and knowledge learnt so far

• Encourage them to play you music they have been learning about in lessons and discuss what they hear.
• Attend live music.
• Discriminating between different instrumental sounds. https://www.classicsforkids.com/music/instruments_orchestra.php
• Band skills: https://jamzone.littlekidsrock.org/
• Oak National Academy have some useful resource to support Year 8 units in Music here:
• https://classroom.thenational.academy/units/band-musicianship-1-the-four-chord-trick-3b3f
• https://classroom.thenational.academy/units/band-musicianship-2-the-blues-6049
• Composition could be done using software such as Song Maker, BandLab or Garageband.