This is a composition mini project centered around melody, it is not board specific. The composition is designed as a pre-cursor to free composition focused on melody as a starting point through using students names. It explores the Liszt BACH and Shostakovich name motifs. The whole project is individual so can be either done quickly in 3 lessons or extended over a longer period of time. There are audio links embedded within the star symbols.

This is a full introduction to composition for the AQA GCSE music course however it can be easily adapted for any exam board. It covers what is required for the composition component of the course as well as the fundamentals of composition, some homework and a mini-composition task to help students understand ‘how to’ compose. Any star symbols have a sound link to them and there are some videos embeded in the powerpoint.

This is a 6-week project on Blues Music. I would normally teach Blues music in a practical way however, this is a project designed as a composition task to be completed on BandLab, which these students have not done before so it also includes a ‘how to’ for what they need to do. There are several smaller tasks (research task, performance tasks, quiz) and one main task, I’ve asked students to either complete the practicals on a keyboard or a keyboard app but the main bulk is all BandLab.

This is a one lesson lesson for AOS2: Popular Music for Daft Punk. There are links to songs embedded in the star symbols. Please note, I have only taught AOS2 for the section A portion of the exam so please be aware that there are no songs analysed in the detail required for section C.

This is the powerpoint and worksheets I have used to teach my students about the orchestra in the classical era and the orchestral music of Mozart and Beethoven. There are listening examples either embedded or linked in the PowerPoint and a listening test with answers for the end of the unit.

This is the powerpoint and worksheets I have used to teach my students about the Coronation Anthems and Oratorios of Handel. I also used this topic to teach them about the circle of fifths, modulations, structure, cadences, voices etc. There is therefore quite alot in addition to just the Handel stuff. There are listening examples either embedded or linked in the PowerPoint (in the star icons) and a listening test with answers for the end of the unit.

This is the powerpoint and all music resources I’ve used to teach Blues music of 1920-1950 to my GCSE students. The focus is on the vocabulary and the students listening skills, although there is some background information. I took 2 weeks to teach this with the majority of time dedicated to the students learning one of the four blues songs (also included). After performing, the rest of the class discussed the key blues features in each song. I have also added a class test to summarize the learning over the lessons.

This is a band/orchestra and choir arrangement for Joyful Joyful from Sister Act 2. I arranged this for the ensembles I have in school but have uploaded the Sibelius files to be edited to suit whatever ensemble you have. I have also included just a choir/piano version.

This scheme of work is currently being taught to year 9 students although I have taught it with year 8 at a different school. The scheme of work aims to explore different genres of music including different musical devices before the main project which involves the sound being removed from four different clips (of each genre) and asking students in groups to come up with the music to accompany it. The first lesson is focused on Horror.

I wrote this powerpoint to fit with the new AQA’s new GCSE specification. Pop music from 1990-present fits within Area of Study 2. To accompany this presentation, students worked through the timeline document which was in their books. My teaching focus here is key musical features and how the music sounds, not key facts about the sub genres. Listening examples have been hyperlinked within the green stars.

This is the third lesson in a game music scheme of work taught to Year 8 (KS3). The scheme of work is taught in conjunction with computer games that the students are making in their ICT lessons. The programme used is garageband and taught via our school’s iPads.

This work was designed to teach students about Rock music of the 1960s and 1970s. This PowerPoint was used over 3 lessons to initially teach students about standard rock music of the era, the key sub-genres and a lesson about the Beatles. This work also features 2 homework’s which proved very useful with the students.

I created this scheme of work as a way in to help year 7 students interpret written music before introducing written notation. The scheme of work includes as much practical activity as possible, as a whole class, in pairs and in small groups.

This is my arrangement of Shostakovich’s Waltz No.2 for string orchestra. Attached is a Sib 6, Sibelius Ultimate and PDF file for you to use or rearrange for your own needs.

This is a one lesson lesson for AOS2: Popular Music for Muse. There are links to songs embedded in the star symbols. Please note, I have only taught AOS2 for the section A portion of the exam so please be aware that there are no songs analysed in the detail required for section C.

I wrote this scheme of work for year 7 to introduce them to reading music in a fun way. Initially the students learn to read the treble and bass clef and learn to play a simplified version of Imagine by John Lennon. Later on in the project, students specialised in an instrument or voice and learnt to play ‘The Sky from Jigsaw Jam’ by Music for Youth. The culmination of the project was a whole year performance of the sky.

I have created this scheme of work as a whole term scheme for year 9 students who have already completed their options. It gives them some flexibility and choice over the music that they engage with and requires the department to have keyboards and sibelius/cubase. Included in this is: a topic outline via a powerpoint (this is designed for minimal use during lesson as most of the time will be spent ‘doing’). Some free sheet music but also some sibelius (7) files and cubase files both composition starter materials and arrangements of pieces of music for students to then arrange.

This is some revision materials for all three eras of concerto as well as an end of unit assessment with answers and listening tracks to cover all concerto types suitable for OCR music.

This is the assessment that I have created based on the resources published by Eduqas. Unlike the actual exam, it features multiple sections to test the individual sections of the song so as to really gain a clear picture of their understanding. Because of this, I play them the whole song three times throughout the exam rather than the specific sections but you could easily do it this way if you wish. The test works through each section linearly and lasts around 45 minutes. PDF and word versions have been uploaded as have the answers.