GCSE Music RHYTHM and DEVELOPMENT

This topic focuses on Rhythmic Development, specifically: rhythmic augmentation; rhythmic diminution; rhythmic retrograde; combining techniques. Students are taken through the process with both an information sheet, and a step-by-step PowerPoint. Incidental learning is deliberately included throughout in order to pre-teach things that will come up in other lessons: note groupings; tied notes; rules about crossing the centre of the barline. Independent learning is promoted throughout. 10 x notation tasks develop students’ ability to manipulate rhythms in specific ways which can be applied to composing later on. 10 x listening questions follow which develop students’ ability to focus on rhythmic change, and specifically: tempo (augmentation slower; diminution faster; retrograde and repetition, the same); if it is the same tempo, students must focus on the beginning or end of the rhythm to determine whether it is a repeat or retrograde… the exact same skill required to identify a given rhythm from a number of options in listening exams.

All of this comes with a 27-slide animated and beautifully-presented PowerPoint, annotated with detailed teaching guidance notes, to make delivery of the topic smooth and efficient – plus a 2-page student information sheet, 4-page activity sheet, and 3-page detailed answer sheet. With regards to the listening questions, MP3s are provided (and they are always my own compositions), and you may well want to insert the audios into the slide rather than use media player.

I take great pride in my resources, and the time and effort I put into them is immediately clear. I am confident that you will find this topic to be fully and comprehensively resourced in order to meet both your needs and the needs of your students… and it will save you (literally) hours of planning, too. I welcome any questions and feedback, and I can be contacted at rainynightmusic@hotmail.com. Thank you for considering my resources for your classroom.