Music at Rugby High School

Performing Arts Department Vision Statement

In Performing Arts, it is our intention to develop students who enjoy their learning, to foster a positive and collaborative rehearsal and performance space, to inspire students to shape and refine their work with energy and focus, and to improve their self-worth. They will learn both the creative and technical side of the subjects, including the language of Theatre and Music.  We aim to provide our students with a life-long love of the Arts and encourage students to explore the wider world of performance work and the culture that surrounds it.  We endeavour to equip our students with a plethora of transferrable skills such as confidence, teamwork, communication skills, time management, self-management, discipline and creativity which will allow them to flourish in the ever-competitive world of work no matter what profession they choose to enter.

Welcome to Music!

The primary aim of the Music Department is to foster an inclusive and supportive atmosphere, where each student deserves the opportunity to engage in a richly varied programme of music. At the forefront of this philosophy is the belief that every person is musical, and that music is an integral part of what makes us human.

Years 7, 8 and 9 Music

Throughout the KS3 curriculum, greatest emphasis is placed on practical music – making by way of performing, improvising and composing. Indeed, the notion of being a “fearless” composer is ingrained from Year 7 upwards, and all students are encouraged to have confidence in their musical abilities, to take pride in their achievements, and to not be afraid to take risks. This is achieved through the exploration of a diverse range of musical styles, and students are encouraged to challenge conventions and to express their own creativity, opinions and ideas about what they believe music to be.

Students receive a weekly 50 minute lesson in KS3. Projects are carefully managed to ensure that all students follow the aims and objectives set out by the National Curriculum. Listening and appraising skills are taught through a combination of class and homework tasks, with key listening assessments taking place across the key stage. Students are formally assessed at the end of every practical project and receive personalised feedback. Music is a highly diverse subject and it is important to provide opportunities to assess musicality in a number of ways.

Year 7 Music

Course content:

• The definitions of the elements of music.
• Basic staff notation, rhythm and pitch on the stave and how to notate a 4 bar melody
• Simple Italian terms e.g. forte, diminuendo, staccato etc.
• The key features of effective melody writing
• The meaning of rhythmic, melodic and structural devices such as syncopation, phrasing, tie, phrase structure, rondo form
• The historical context of Blues music and its musical influences
• How triads are formed and what a 7th chord, the Blues Scale, and intervals of a tone and semitone are
• Identify sharps and flats on the keyboard
• The parts of a ukulele and how to tune a Ukulele
• How to read tab and chord diagrams
• Analyse and interpret and create graphic scores using the elements of music
• Analyse a range of experimental pieces of music using musical language
• Discuss music philosophically and form opinions with musical justifications - what is music?
• A range of melodic and harmonic musical devices
• How to identify a range of tonalities
• How to notate work through annotation, commentary or on the stave using
• Noteflight/Sibelius

Assessment:

Autumn term - Elements of Music listening task, Siyahamba singing/percussion performing assessment (baseline), Arriba Latin Jazz Melody writing composition and performance assessment

Spring term - Blues performing assessment, Blues listening task, Experimental Music listening task, Experimental composition assessment and Graphic Notation

Summer term - Programme Music, Composition Assessment, Romantic era, Programme Music listening tasks

Year 8 Music

Course content: 

• Complete simple rhythmic dictation exercises
• Notate their own Samba rhythms
• Compose syncopated rhythms and melodies
• Structure a Samba/Gamelan Performance using stylistic features and elements of music
• Identify a range of Samba and Gamelan instruments visually and/or through listening
• Compose a chord sequence, bass line and catchy melody
• Write lyrics in the style of Reggae (extension)
• Use Soundtrap to layer multiple layers of functional harmony (Midi and microphone for vocals), and quantise and loop sounds precisely
• Hold their own individual performance in a band performance
• Perform in the Reggae style
• Perform dotted notes and within compound time signatures
• Compose using modes to create folk style melodies
• Understand the keywords: Compound time signature (6/8), Anacrusis/upbeat, drone/pedal
• note, dotted notes, Dorian mode, interval

Assessment:

Autumn term - Ensemble Samba performance and composition, Gamelan performance and/or composition (peer-assessed), Listening and extended writing exercise in Gamelan

Spring term - Performance of Three Little Birds, Compose a section of a Reggae Song

Summer term - Melody writing composition in 6/8, Performance of Kesh Jig, Perform a short yet structured Carnatic piece of music with improvisation

Year 9 Music

Course content:

• Use correct hand position on the keyboard and perform more complex pieces of music with a sense of ensemble and with expression
• Compose using Minimalist techniques
• Develop compositional motifs using music technology
• Describe and explain their musical choices and their expressive effect
• Identify the Minimalist music style through listening
• Understand and interpret lead sheets
• Perform using band instruments on a basic level e.g. drumkit, guitar, bass etc.
• Hold their own, individual part in performance
• Use and understand slash chords, sus chords, chord inversions
• Structure and shape a sung melody line (extension: and add lyrics)
• Identify the key features of Popular Music through listening
• Identify the key features of Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods
• Identify Instruments of the Orchestra
• Use expressive elements in performance
• Respond to a conductor

Assessment:

Autumn term - Create a film music composition using minimalist techniques on Soundtrap, Perform a piece of minimalist music (keyboard and solo instruments), Listening and extended writing

Spring term - Perform a Pop Song as part of an ensemble, each holding their own, Compose a Pop Song as a group, Listening Exercises

Summer term - Listening exercises, Group Performance of In the Hall of the Mountain King, Individual/paired Performance of In the Hall of the Mountain King

GCSE Music

Examination Board: AQA

Introduction to the subject at GCSE

Music at KS4 enhances and develops the knowledge and skills learnt at KS3. In addition to performing and composing coursework, the study of set works in particular allows clear progression and preparation for A Level Music courses. In Year 10 students undertake regular “mock” practical assessments (both solo and ensemble), where each student receives personalised written feedback. This means that by the autumn term of Year 11 students have chosen their final performances pieces and complete “official” mock recordings ahead of the final GCSE recordings in the spring term.

Why choose this subject for GCSE?

As the course progresses, students form personal and meaningful relationships with music through the development of musical knowledge, understanding and skills. Students will be encouraged to engage critically and creatively with a wide range of music, and they should develop an understanding of the place of music in different cultures and contexts, and reflect upon how music is used in the expression of personal and collective identities.

Course content and assessment:

Performing (30%)

• Students perform two pieces, one solo and one ensemble performance.
• The final performances are recorded in Year 11.
• To help prepare for these, students rehearse both in school and at home throughout the course.

Composing (30%)

• Students are required to compose two pieces, one as a free (own choice) composition, and one as a response to a set brief published by AQA (published in Year 11).
• Students are encouraged to draw on their knowledge of performance pieces and set works when composing.
• Each composition must be notated and recorded in an appropriate format.

Listening Exam (40%)

• The content of musical elements, musical contexts and musical language is taught through four Areas of Study, each containing set works. Students will focus on set works from two different AoS.
• The Areas of Study are wide – ranging and include The Western Classical tradition, Popular Music, Traditional Music and 20^th Century Music. Students are also required to appraise unfamiliar music through wider listening.
• Set works include Beethoven's First Symphony (Western Classical Tradition) and three songs by Esperanza Spalding (Contemporary Cultural Music).

All lessons include a high level of practical content. Students are encouraged to seek additional instrumental or vocal lessons outside of class, although this is not essential. It is hoped that students engage in extra – curricular activities on a regular basis to help support and consolidate their musical learning and development. 

A Level Music

For details of our A Level Music course, click here

 

Extra – curricular Activities
Our welcoming environment extends to extra – curricular activities which operate daily and are open to everybody. The vast array of ensembles reflect a broad range of musical interests within both the Department and our student leaders. We are also keen to support students who wish to establish their own ensemble groups as we believe that it is this creative energy which makes RHS different to any other school! Key performance opportunities have included productions such as Much Ado about Nothing (2024), The Red Shoes (2023) and Cooke’s ‘Arabian Nights’ (2018) with the Drama Department; KS3 Awards; Open Evening; GCSE recordings; KS3 lunch time concert sessions; and a range of extracurricular performances.

County Music Service
There is a very healthy uptake of vocal and instrumental lessons (in a range of disciplines), and CMS peripatetic staff visit on a weekly basis to offer individual and shared lessons, for which a charge is made.

Staffing and Facilities
Lessons are taught in the excellent learning environment of the Alexander Youngman Music Centre, which was built during the early 1990s as the result of a very generous legacy. The building boasts a large teaching/recital room that is equipped with: a Yamaha grand piano, Roland electric piano (kindly paid for by the old Girls Society), stage area, drum – kit, electric and bass guitars, amplifiers, steel pans, PCs that utilise Sibelius software and midi keyboards, tuned and un – tuned percussion (including a set of Samba instruments) and recording equipment in the way of a mixing desk, PA, condenser mics and Cubase software. In addition there are five practice rooms, each housing an upright piano.

Staff:

Rebecca D'Souza (Head of Performing Arts) - BA (Hons), PGCE – r.d'souza@rugbyhighschool.co.uk

 Charles Tarry - c.tarry@rugbyhighschool.co.uk