Music - Year 10

Music Overview

Term 1: Introduction to Performing and Composition

In this unit, students will work through the elements of music, build on theory skills and compose and perform.

  1. Students will complete a listening test and regular smaller tests on theory.
Melody

a sequence of single notes, also known as a Tune.

Harmony

Groups of notes played together, also known as chords.

Structure

Song structure or the musical forms of songs, also known as Form.

Timbre

the characteristic quality of a sound, independent of pitch and loudness.

key signature

a series of #'s or b's (sharps or flats) to indicate what notes are in the scale.

texture

layering of sounds and instruments

rhythm

Sound organised over time.

articulation

The way notes are played or sung.

dynamics

How loud or quiet the music is.

expression

The act of communicating emotion in music.

tempo

The speed of music.

pitch

how low or high the sounds are

tonality

the principle of organising musical compositions around a central note, the tonic...'

Cadence

A progression of (at least) two chords that concludes a phrase, section or piece of music. Cadences can be defined as Perfect, Plagal, Imperfect and Interrupted. Greek folk music has phrases which end with clear cadences.

Metre

The rhythmic structure, the patterns of accents heard regularly recurring measures of stressed (accented) and unstressed (unaccented) beats at the frequency of the music’s pulse. Metre is notated at the beginning of a composition with a time signature.

Articulation

How notes are performed; whether they are smooth or short, accented or not.

Interval

The distance between two notes.

Modulation

How music moves from one key (scale) to another.

Composer

The composer is the person who wrote the piece of music.

Range

This is determined by the highest and lowest notes of a melody or a whole piece or section.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural
Develop the individual:

Create a supportive community:

Term 2: AOS2 Concerto Through Time Overview AOS5 - Conventions of Pop

Students will explore concerto and build an understanding of the baroque, classical and romantic periods in musical history. They will look at how Rock n Roll music is constructed and have the chance to perform and create music in that style.

  1. Students will complete two pieces of assessment. This will be a listening paper based on AOS2 and AOS5. They will also take part in Solo Performance in class and create a composition based on Rock n Roll fingerprints.
Melody

a sequence of single notes, also known as a Tune.

Rhythm

a strong, regular repeated pattern of movement or sound

Harmony

Groups of notes played together, also known as chords.

Timbre

the characteristic quality of a sound, independent of pitch and loudness.

looping

a technique used in electronic music where a sound is repeated.

Meter

How beats or pulse in music are divided up

hit points

when an event takes place in a film

Diagetic Sound

Sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film.

Sampling

In music this refers to sound that has been used from a previous recording and manipulated to form a new piece.

key signature

a series of #'s or b's (sharps or flats) to indicate what notes are in the scale.

word painting

when music is used to underpin the meaning of the words

expression

The act of communicating emotion in music.

pitch

how low or high the sounds are

Agogo Bells

A cowbell with two pitches, one high and one low, played with a wooden stick and hand-held. The bells can also produce a sound by squeezing them so that they strike each other.

Cadence

A progression of (at least) two chords that concludes a phrase, section or piece of music. Cadences can be defined as Perfect, Plagal, Imperfect and Interrupted. Greek folk music has phrases which end with clear cadences.

Aeolian mode

a scale that is reproduced by playing the white notes from A to A an octave above. It has a minor key sound, but does not function like a normal minor scale.

Underscore

Music to accompany a film.

Echo

An electronic effect that adds delay to the sound creating an echo

Effects

Modifying sounds by use of delay, reverb, compression and phasing.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural
Develop the individual:

Students will develop skills needed to independently work on solo performance and acquire new knowledge through the study of the Areas of Study.

Create a supportive community:

Peer to peer feedback when performing, fostering independent study skills and resilience.

Term 3: AOS3 - Conventions of Pop - Pop Ballad AOS2 - Concerto Through Time

Students will learn about the main characteristics of Pop Ballad and continue to deepen their understanding of Concerto Through Time.

  1. Listening Test on AOS, AOS2, AOS 5

articulation

The way notes are played or sung.

ornamentation

a way of decorating a melody

concerto

music for soloist and orchestra

concerto grosso

music for a group of soloists and orchestra

basso continuo

when the bass line and chords are doubled up - in Baroque music this is usually the cello and harpsichord

Cadence

A progression of (at least) two chords that concludes a phrase, section or piece of music. Cadences can be defined as Perfect, Plagal, Imperfect and Interrupted. Greek folk music has phrases which end with clear cadences.

Baroque

Music composed between 1600-1750

Bach

A composer who wrote music in the Baroque period.

Vivaldi

A composer who wrote music during the Baroque period.

Harpsichord

an early keyboard instrument

terraced dynamics

Dynamics that change suddenly rather than gradually.

Diatonic

music in major or minor keys

Homophonic

A texture in which all parts play or sing the same rhythm at the same time, in harmony.

Imitation

A melodic idea in one part which is immediately copied by another part, often at a different pitch, while the first part continues with other music.

Solo Concerto

Written for one soloist accompanied by an orchestra.

Melody and accompaniment

A texture in which one part has the melody while the other parts accompany.

Fugue

A musical form in which a main theme is taken up and developed by each of the parts in turn.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural
Develop the individual:

Students will continue to look at the role of the solo performer through time and work on their own performance skills.

Create a supportive community:

Working together when recreating the role of the orchestra and soloist.

Term 4: AOS4 - Film Music AOS5- Conventions of Pop - Solo Artists

Students will learn the characteristics of solo artists and discover how music can impact the mood of a film.

  1. Solo Performance Part 2

    Complete a short composition based on a short film

Melody

a sequence of single notes, also known as a Tune.

Harmony

Groups of notes played together, also known as chords.

orchestra

A group of performers on various musical instruments, playing together. This usually includes the four families - brass, woodwind, percussion and strings.

Timbre

the characteristic quality of a sound, independent of pitch and loudness.

motif

a motif is a short musical idea that represents a character

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural
Develop the individual:

Students reflect on their creative ideas and look at how they can extend and develop their original ideas.

Create a supportive community:

Students will gain an understanding of the importance of planning when creating a piece of original work.

Term 5: AOS3 - Rhythms of the World Calypso/Samba and Greek Music

Students will begin exploring music from different cultures and parts of the world. The focus is on rhythms and how the characteristics of each genre.

  1. Students will be assessed through a listening paper at the end of the term and composition work will be monitored.
Melody

a sequence of single notes, also known as a Tune.

Harmony

Groups of notes played together, also known as chords.

syncopation

a shifting of the normal accent, usually by stressing the normally unaccented beats.

Meter

How beats or pulse in music are divided up

modal

scales that are not necessarily major or minor

Irregular Metres

Time signatures where there are an odd number of beats per bar e.g. 5/8 or 7/8, often used in Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern folk music.

Microtonal

A type of Harmony used in Arabic folk music and Punjabi Bhangra where the intervals between notes of a scale (or mode) are smaller than a semitone, often a “quarter tone” giving 24 notes in an octave. Microtonal music can sound “strange" or "exotic".

Tala

Indian classical music is based on rhythm patterns called Talas (single Tala) - a repeating rhythm pattern usually played by the Tabla.

Raga

a scale pattern which form the basis for melodic ideas in Indian music.

Accent

Emphasis on a note or chord

Batacuda

A style of samba that is fast and repetitive.

Bateria

A Brazilian percussion ensemble.

Chaal

A rhythm pattern used on Bhangra music.

Clave

A repeated rhythm pattern in Latin American music. There are many clave patterns. One of the most common is Son Clave.

Cross-rhythm

An effect created when different/conflicting rhythm patterns are played together.

Drone

A sustained note that is held in one part while other parts play or sing melodies against it.

Maqsum

A rhythm pattern used in Arabic music

Saidi

A rhythm pattern used in Arabic music

Vibrato

A vibration effect given to a note to make it sound more expressive.

Melisma

One syllable sung to several notes.

Wazn

A traditional Arabic rhythmic pattern,

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural
Develop the individual:

Developing skills necessary to answer questions in the listening paper, continue to develop performance skills and how to extend creative ideas in composition.

Create a supportive community:

An appreciation of world music and knowledge of other cultures.

Term 6: Review AOS1,AOS2,AOS3,AOS4,AOS5

Students will review all the work covered throughout the year. They will continue with their NEA composition and prepare for their mock exam.

  1. Composition One will be assessed - worth 15% of final grade

    Solo Performance three will take place with students recording their solo piece.

    Mock Listening Exam covering AOS2, AOS3, AOS4, AOS5.

Harmony

Groups of notes played together, also known as chords.

hit points

when an event takes place in a film

Diagetic Sound

Sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film.

key signature

a series of #'s or b's (sharps or flats) to indicate what notes are in the scale.

tonality

the principle of organising musical compositions around a central note, the tonic...'

appoggiatura

a grace note which delays the next note of the melody, taking half or more of its written time value.

turn

is a flourish of added notes, similar to a trill. However, instead of alternating notes, like in a trill, a turn is a specific pattern that is played by first playing the note above the one that is written, then the written note.

Agogo Bells

A cowbell with two pitches, one high and one low, played with a wooden stick and hand-held. The bells can also produce a sound by squeezing them so that they strike each other.

Cadence

A progression of (at least) two chords that concludes a phrase, section or piece of music. Cadences can be defined as Perfect, Plagal, Imperfect and Interrupted. Greek folk music has phrases which end with clear cadences.

Chaal

The rhythm on which Punjabi Bhangra is based consisting of a repeated eight note pattern in 4/4 metre. The Chaal rhythm is “swung” (as in Blues music) and has a triplet feel (dum-di, dum-di, dum-di, dum-di).

Dhol

A type of drum used in Bhangra music (smaller than the Dholak) and played with the hands, often slung from the shoulder. The Dholakplays more complex rhythms and decorated parts along with the Dhol.

Dissonance/ dissonant

Notes that 'clash'. The opposite of consonance.

Idiomatic

Well suited to the expressive and technical capabilities of the instrument or voice.

Underscore

Music to accompany a film.

Descending

Moving downwards in pitch

Beat

The beat in a piece of music is a regular pulse that we can clap along to.

Mickey Mousing

Using music to mimic what is happening in the moving image.

Bansuri

A flute-type instrument.

Broken Chord

A chord in which the notes are played one after the other rather than at the same time.

Range

This is determined by the highest and lowest notes of a melody or a whole piece or section.

Diatonic

music in major or minor keys

Leitmotif

a recurrent theme throughout a piece of music, associated with a particular person, idea or situation.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural
Develop the individual:

Students will work towards deadlines and complete composition 1. They will build confidence through performance and learn to recall information and analyse sound in preparation for the mock listening exam.

Create a supportive community:

Revision techniques will be shared in preparation for mock exam and students will support each other during the performance seminar.