Music

Lymm High School..


Images by Gareth Jones

Overview

“Music enhances the education of our children by helping them to make connections and broadening the depth with which they think and feel. If we are to hope for a society of culturally literate people, music must be a vital part of our children’s education.” – Yo-Yo Ma

Our aim is to provide space and time for our students to feel safe to express themselves and enrich their lives with music from varying times and genres.
We want our students to develop their ability to listen to music; to be able to analyse and form an opinion using musical language.

We want our students to have the opportunity to experience the discipline of learning how to play an instrument, perform and create music with an understanding of the organisation of sound.

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At Key Stage 3 students will gain the knowledge of how music is put together by composers and songwriters. They will perform different pieces from different cultures and genres. They will have the opportunity to create their own sounds in different styles with the knowledge gained from the study of different pieces.
Each unit has a main element focus.

An overview of the topics covered at Key Stage 3 is shown below:

 

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Music

Year 10 and 11 follow the Edexcel GCSE course. The course structure has 60% controlled coursework assessment of both performing and composing and 40% external examination of set works study.

Component 1: Performance. Students will record one solo piece and one ensemble piece.

Component 2: Composition. Students will compose 2 pieces, one in a style of their own choice and one to a brief set by the exam board.

Component 3: Listening and Appraising. Students will study 8 set works from 4 Areas of Study (AOS), and will sit an exam at the end of their year 11.

AOS 1 Instrumental Music 1700-1820

  • Brandenburg Concerto No.5 in D major Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Piano Sonata Op.13 No.8 in C Minor, movement 1 Ludwig Van Beethoven

AOS 2 Vocal Music

  • ‘Music For a While’ Henry Purcell
  • ‘Killer Queen’ Words and Music by Freddie Mercury

AOS 3 Music for Stage and Screen

  • ‘Defying Gravity’ from Wicked Stephen Schwartz
  • ‘Main Title/Rebel Blockade Runner’ from Star Wars John Williams

AOS 4 Fusions

  • ‘Release’ Afro Celt Sound System
  • ‘Samba Em Preludio’ Esperanza Spalding

Music Technology

Year 10 and 11 follow the BTEC course. The course structure has 3 controlled coursework assessment units taken from a suite of units within the course structure:

Year 10

  • Unit 7. Sequencing: Producing music in a Digital Audio Workstation
  • Unit 6. Recording: Recording live musicians in our studio and mixing the track down for a final product.

Year 11

  • Unit 2. Managing a Music Event: Organising a live gig, promoting and running the gig, and evaluating the whole process.
  • Unit 1. The Music Industry: External examination on how the industry works and the main organisations and job roles within it

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Music

Year 12 and 13 follow the Edexcel A Level course. The course structure has 60% controlled coursework assessment of both performing and composing and 40% external examination of set works study.

Component 1: Performance. Students will perform a recital with a duration of a minimum 8 minutes.

Component 2: Composition. Students will compose 2 pieces, one in a style of their own choice and one to a brief set by the exam board.

Component 3: Listening and Appraising. Students will study 13 set works from 6 Areas of Study (AOS) and will sit an exam at the end of their year 13.

AOS 1. Vocal Music

  • J.S.Bach: Cantata ‘Ein Feste Burg ist Unser Gott’ BWV 80 movements 1, 2 and 8
  • Vaughan Williams: ‘On Wenlock Edge’ movements 1, 3 and 5

AOS 2. Instrumental Music

  • Clara Schumann: Piano Trio in G minor, movement 1
  • Berlioz: Symphony Fantastique, movement 1

AOS 3. Music For Film

  • Hermann ‘Psycho’
  • Elfman: ‘Batman Returns’

AOS 4. Popular Music and Jazz

  • The Beatles: ‘Eleanor Rigby’ ‘Here There and Everywhere’ ‘I Want to Tell You’ ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ from Revolver
  • Courtney Pine: ‘Lady Day and (John Coltrane)’ ‘Inner State (of Mind)’ ‘Love and Affection’ from Back in the Day
  • Kate Bush: ‘Cloudbusting’ ‘And Dream of Sheep’ ‘Under Ice’ from Hounds of Love

AOS 5 Fusions

  • Debussy: Estampes No.1 and No.2
  • Anoushka Shankar: ‘Burn’ ‘Breathing Under Water’ ‘Easy’ from Breathing Under Water

AOS 6 New Directions

  • Saariaho: Petals for Cello and Optional Electronics
  • Stravinsky: Introduction, ‘Les Augures Printaniers’ ‘Jeu du Rapt’ from Le Sacre Printemps

 

A Level Music Technology

Year 12 and Year 13

Students studying music technology at A Level will complete four components throughout the course. They are as follows:

Component 1: Recording (20% of qualification)
Students will record, edit and mix a song in the recording studio. A list of 10 artists to choose from are released by the exam board each year. This coursework is completed on Logic Pro X music making software

Component 2: Technology-based composition (20% of qualification)
This component requires students to create a 3 minute piece of music to a brief. Students will explore synthesis, sampling and creative effects to create a piece of unique music.

Component 3: Listening and analysing (25% of qualification)
Written listening exam answering questions about the production techniques of unfamiliar commercial recordings.

Component 4: Producing and analysing (35% of qualification)
This exam comprises of a written paper and Logic Pro X producing tasks. Students will correct and edit audio and MIDI files while answering
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