I'm a music teacher and head of department who has been working in London secondary schools for 10 years. I create all sorts of resources to help with the teaching of every day music- throughout KS3,4 and 5. All of the resources I have created have been used in my lessons and are refined and updated in order to make them suitable for everyone to use!
I'm a music teacher and head of department who has been working in London secondary schools for 10 years. I create all sorts of resources to help with the teaching of every day music- throughout KS3,4 and 5. All of the resources I have created have been used in my lessons and are refined and updated in order to make them suitable for everyone to use!
This is my version of River Flows in You by Yiruma for solo piano.
It is slightly simplified but around grade 3 standard and works well with all years but especially those preparing for GCSE performances.
Letter names are given above the notes to help those who don’t read music but I’ve also included a PDF without letter names.
This is my arrangement of the main theme from Harry Potter for piano.
It has the letter names written above notes to help those who don’t read music.
It’s a fairly easy version with basic left hand chords.
This is a curriculum overview for KS3
It has 6 suggested half-termly scheme of work topics for each year group- 7,8 and 9.
Each topic has a rough outline of what it involves, key words (linked to OCR GCSE listening spec) how it will be assessed, as well as a levels overview for parents and how parents can support their child at home.
If you are interested in delivering any of these sows of work and would like resources such as a written sow, powerpoints, scores, listening activities, videos etc then send me a message or check my shop as I am in the process of uploading them- all for a great price :)
This is a simple listening assessment for year 7 students based on the Schindler’s list theme tune.
It is a good way to assess what students know already and give students a baseline listening grade.
This is a guide for students (and teachers!) for creating a neat and readable score in Logic.
It gives simple instructions with pictures to help you navigate the process more easy.
This is especially useful for students who have composed GCSE compositions on Logic, as sometimes if they have composed lots of tracks, the go to score will look very cramped and messy!
This is a skills audit for students to complete at the start of the course- it asks them to rate various musical skills, based on performance, composition and listening.
There is also a section where they can tell you some information about what they play etc.
Can be revisted again later is you are doing a BTEC course in order to see if they have made progress.
This is a complete unit of work all about Classical Music.
The aim of this unit is to introduce KS3 pupils to Classical Music in a fun and engaging way to give them an appreciation of the genre and knowledge of it to ready them for GCSE.
The unit gives a brief history of Classical Music and gets students playing famous Classical pieces- in particular in the Hall of the Mountain King. Fur Elise, Suprise Symphony and Danse Macabre scores are also included as piano scores.
Students also learn about rhythm and pulse, dynamics, pitch and texture- key words they will need to GCSE.
This scheme can be approached in different ways and is versatile- I have taught this using ICT and music software such as garageband, keyboards or using a range of instruments such as tuned percussion and guitars.
The unit includes a written scheme of work, 7 powerpoints, a video with fun info about Classical Music and piano scores for In the Hall of the Mountain King, Danse Macabre, Fur Elise and Suprise Symphony.
This is a powerpoint with help on how to answer the long answer questions and the different types that may come up.
It mostly uses extract from the GCSE Music OCR Complete Revision & Practice book but if you don’t have that you can find the extracts online- I will update to incude the titles of the songs when I am back at work.
This is a duet version of River Flows in you by Yiruma which I have arranged.
The primo part follows the main tune and broken chords using both hands much like the original at around a grade 3/4 standard
The secondo part plays chords and bass using both hands at around a grade 2/3 standard, This works well for GCSE ensemble performances.
Notes are written above all notes to help those who don’t read music.
This is a bundle of 4 work sheets for use with your GCSE students, in particular for composition in a Popular Song style.
The composition audit is a good way to assess what students know about basic composition skills at the start of the year and is formatted in a traffic like system.
The composition top tips is a 1 page hand out for students which gives some ideas on what to include for a melody, drum beat, chord sequence and bassline- for a pop style song in particular.
What should I include in a pop song composition gives a range of features that you would expect to have in a Popular song, broken down into texture, structure, melody, timbre, rhythm and metre, tonality, harmony, dynamics and melody. This is a good guide for students and can aid in planning lessons on the different areas.
**Composition check list **is a good task to do with students when they are trying to develop their pieces- it is a tick sheet activity, with questions around the layers, structure and contrast and development that they have in their piece. It also gives some further ways that they can develop their piece.
These are my arrangements of Fur Elise, Swan Lake theme and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for easy piano- they have left and right hand parts written out with letter names above the notes for those who don’t read music.
Very popular with KS3 students.
This bundle of resources centers around learning the flat and sharp key signatures (up to four flats and sharps) This is particularly useful for GCSE students.
The keys and key signature pp can be covered in 2-4 lessons and teaches students how to recognise the sharp and flat key signatures with top tips for doing this and chances to practice.
There are two homework worksheets- to help students revise and remember what they have learnt about the flat and sharp key signatures.
There is also a key signature game- which has the name of each key in bold for you to cut out and place around the room. You can then test students by asking them for example " which key has 2 sharps?" and getting them to move around the room to find the correct key.
The excel spreadsheet contains scales written in letter form e.g. CDEFGABC and colour coded, for every note of the scale. This is a good way for students to get used to what notes are in each key, through playing them.
There is also an extra **powerpoint for revision or homework **which asks students to create their own revision aid for the key signatures- this is a good way to consolidate the learning.
These are 10 Classical Songs written out for Ukulele- (can also be used for a melody instrument that uses the treble clef)
This uses treble clef notation and also has ukulele tab aswell as the notes labelled.
They are also colour coded in case you want to stick small dots onto your ukuleles which I have done in the past to help learners.
This is a unit of work for KS3 all about Blues Music.
It is the same as my other Blues unit but also includes video tutorials.
This unit has a practical approach and can be taught in a range of ways. I have done it just using music ICT software and midi keyboards, using live instruments when students work on their own e.g. pianos or live instruments where students work in groups on a range of instruments such as bass, piano, guitar and drums.
This teaches some history and context as well as the main techniques of Blues- walking bassline, 12 bar blue chord sequence, improvising using the blues scale. It also has a few lessons on learning The Entertainer which I have found students enjoy learning.
Included in this unit is a written scheme of work, 6 powerpoints, 8 video tutorials for walking bassline, 12 bar blues chord sequence, blues scale and the Entertainer as well as a levels demonstration video.
I have also included some resources for the Miles Davis song ‘So What’ as this has proved popular in the past as a Blues piece for students to learn.
