Music

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Syncopation in songs

Syncopated rhythms

Introducing polyrhythm

Layering rhythms

Creating polyrhythms

Polyrhythmic accompaniments

This unit explores different rhythm patterns from around the world. Through body percussion pupils play contrasting styles of rhythms and transfer these onto untuned percussion.  They play one rhythm against another, building up layers of sound whilst  maintaining a secure sense of pulse.

Sing, play, perform: accompanying songs with polyrhythms

Civil rights songs and the power of repetition

Sharing emotion through song

Sharing important issues through music and song

The importance and power of songs from the past

The differences of rap and beat poetry

Singing for the change we want to see in the world

Singing together: music that comments on social change

Improvisation and the minor pentatonic scale

Playing the D minor pentatonic scale

Playing a minor pentatonic jazz melody

Improvising a phrase using the D minor pentatonic scale

Improvising longer phrases using the D minor pentatonic scale

Creating and performing an improvised jazz piece

In this unit, pupils listen to improvisation in jazz ensembles. Using the minor pentatonic scale on pitched percussion, they learn a minor pentatonic melody and practise tools to guide successful improvisation including repetition and sequencing.

Compose and rehearse: improvising with the minor pentatonic scale

Fusion and the evolution of musical styles

Fusing and layering rhythmic patterns

Melody in fusion music

Practising repetitive cells for a fusion performance

Fusing together and arranging musical ideas

Performing, listening and responding to each other

In this unit, pupils listen to music in which two or more styles have been fused together to create something new. They also learn short musical ideas that represent different musical genres and combine these as part of an ensemble.

Playing together: arranging and rehearsing a fusion performance

Theme and variation as a musical structure

Learning a musical theme

Composing a rhythmic variation to a theme

Composing a melodic variation to a theme

Composing a further variation to a theme

Practising and performing composed variations on a theme

In this unit, pupils will compose short variations on a given simple theme using glockenspiels or online keyboards on tablets or laptops. Exploring examples of theme and variations such as 'The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra' will create an understanding of how this structure is formed.

Compose and Create: creating melodic variations based on a theme

Controlling our voice to convey the feeling of a song

Balancing harmony lines in songs

Characterful singing

Articulation and vocal quality when singing

Effective rehearsal for a singing performance

Reflecting on a successful performance

In this unit, pupils develop their vocal technique and perform songs with a harmony line. They learn to rehearse songs to a performance standard and evaluate their singing, ensuring that they are able to convey the style of each song through an accurate, confident and responsive performance.

Singing for performance: conveying emotion and character through performance

To understand the difference between three and four time

To explore changes in metre

To explore compound time

To develop our understanding of compound time

To explore irregular metre

To develop our understanding of irregular metre

Metre

Understanding syncopation

To layer syncopated rhythms

To read syncopated rhythms

To compose a syncopated rhythm

To perform using syncopated rhythms

To summarise our learning of syncopation

Rhythm 4

Recognising melody

Constructing and playing a melody using a scale

Magical stories and tone poems

Melody and tonality

Spreading the news and telling a tale - the passing down of tunes in folk song

Renaissance and Baroque variations, opera arias and jazz scat - show off that melody!

Tonality

Binary form

Ternary form

Sonata form

Sonata and rondo form

Rondo form

Musical structures recap

Structure

Exploring recitative and arias

Introducing Gamelan - a review of polyrhythms

Gamelan - interlocking melodies

Composing a gamelan ensemble piece

Pulse and rhythm - Ghanaian rock game

Graphical notation and Djembe rhythms

Putting it all together - interlocking melodies, polyrhythms and structuring scores.

Beat, pulse, rhythm, structure

Music

Choose a unit (6)

Choose a previously released unit (5)

These lessons will be removed by the end of the Spring Term 2026.