Half Term 1: Intro to Music: Rhythm

• Content: Understanding rhythm, and having the language, knowledge and skills to explore this further is essential in Music. Students will begin Yr 7 by developing their ability to read and write rhythm and rest symbols. They will take part in different rhythm playing, listening and composing exercises and will use this increased knowledge and understanding to compose a rhythm piece combining multiple rhythms from different players.

• Assessment: 10 Questions, listening test, written rhythm lead sheet for performance, recording of final group performance, teacher observations, learning log.

Half Term 2: Intro to Music: Pitch and Keyboard

• Content: Students will extend and develop their knowledge of staff/stave notation and will use this to learn to sight-read simple keyboard music, leading to two-handed playing of simple pieces. Keyboards are primary input devices in music software applications so familiarity and playing skills are useful skills for the future. Students will also learn warm-up exercises/drills and will develop the correct playing technique for both hands.

• Assessment: 10 Questions, recording of final performance, teacher observations, learning log.

Half Term 3: Chords and Melodies

• Content: Much of the music we hear and listen to is based around chord patterns as a basis and will explore examples of how this can be done across different genres and traditions, in order to compose their chord sequence and melody. They will learn to write simple diatonic chords and melodies using chords.

• Assessment: 10 Questions, written composition, final recording of composition, learning log.

Half Term 4: Theme and Variations

• Content: Having studied rhythm, pitch, harmony (chords) and tonality (major/minor/chromatic), students will build on their composing work from Half Term 3 to compose a variation through theme and a series of variations. They will study what theme and variation looks and sounds like in different genres and chord sequences.

• Assessment: 10 Questions, listening test, written composition, recording of final composition, learning log.

Half Term 5: Ukulele: Shotgun

• Content: Students will develop their ukulele playing skills, as well as their ability to read basic ukulele tablature. They will learn some simple chords and a melodic hook and will work as a class to produce an arrangement of the song Shotgun, using basic song structure, adding other parts (bass, simple drums, guitar, voice). They will explore strumming and picking patterns and will experiment with left-hand technique such as hammer-on.

• Assessment: 10 Questions, teacher observations, recording of class performance, learning log.

Half Term 6: Superheroes and Villains

• Content: In this unit, students will build on their knowledge of simple diatonic chords (from Half Term 3) and melodies by exploring different tonality (major, minor, chromatic) and how this can 'colour' the mood of the music or audience perceptions. They will study music from different superhero films and listening and playing tasks. They will create a leitmotif for a superhero and supervillain character and develop this for different scenes/situations the character experiences. They will also develop their knowledge of musical structure and use this to extend their composition work.

• Assessment: 10 Questions, listening test, written composition, final recording of composition, learning log.

Half Term 1: Music for Special Events: Fanfares

• Content: In this unit, students will learn about fanfares - their purpose and history, and how their musical features help them achieve their purpose. They will study and analyse several well-known fanfares, they will play some fanfares and they will compose a fanfare for a specific special event, learning about and using specific composing techniques (such as 5ths, imitation, drone and unison) in their work. This type of music has endured for hundreds of years.

• Assessment: 10 Questions, Written version of student fanfare, recording of finished fanfare, listening test, learning log.

Half Term 2: Ukulele: A song for Christmas

• Content: Students will build on Yr 7 ukulele playing skills and will learn to play and understand more complex chords and chord sequences, as well as learning to play more demanding melodies. They will develop their right-hand playing technique and will develop their understanding of texture and song structure variations through learning to play a Christmas song, ready to perform for an audience.

• Assessment: 10 Questions, final class performance, teacher observations, learning log.

Half Term 3: World Percussion: Samba!

• Content: Each class will form a samba band, learning typical samba rhythms and learning to play these on traditional samba instruments, such as surdo, agogo bells and repinique. They will learn the calls and signals and will produce their own samba piece, following a typical structure. Students will learn about the cultural significance of samba music in Brazil, and percussion music in the wider world.

• Assessment: 10 Questions, final class performance, teacher observations, learning log.

Half Term 4: Music and Faith

• Content: Music is an essential part of most cultures around the world, but there are differing views on music amongst different religions. In this unit, students will understand different religious approaches to music and sound within Islam, Christianity, and other major religions, listening to and analysing examples such as the Adhan, nasheeds, worship and other devotional music, and studying texts by religious scholars. They will continue to practice and develop their playing and performance skills.

• Assessment: 10 Questions, Teacher observations of rhythm playing, learning log, formal extended written test.

Half Term 5: Music for Dance

• Content: Students will study dance music from across the world - Irish jig, bhangra, salsa, and waltz as well as EDM, building on their knowledge of samba from Half Term 3. They will use Garageband loops to compose and arrange an EDM track. They will learn about structure, timing, rhythm and creating and releasing tension, and how to apply these in their track, as well as software skills as they use FX to complete their EDM track.

• Assessment: 10 Questions, uploaded recordings of student dance tracks, learning log, listening test.

Half Term 6: Got the Blues

• Content: Blues music is considered one of the core basic musical building blocks of rock, hip hop, disco, soul, grime, drill and jazz, and so students will study the origins of blues music, as well as its key musical features. They will learn to play the 12-bar blues sequence, sing Blues songs with style and accuracy, and learn to improvise a solo using the Blues scale.

• Assessment: 10 Questions, teacher observations of singing, recordings of improvising and playing 12 bar blues, learning log.