Myths about teaching can hold you back
- Year 11
- OCR
The sounds of technology
I can describe and identify the most common uses of music technology, including electronic sound production, sound effects and others.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
- Year 11
- OCR
The sounds of technology
I can describe and identify the most common uses of music technology, including electronic sound production, sound effects and others.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Technology has hugely influenced the way that music is produced, edited and manipulated.
- Synth pads, leads, basses and drum machines are common tools for producing sounds electronically.
- Effects can be applied either live or after recording.
- Some common effects are delay, reverb, chorus, auto-tune, distortion, panning and equalisation.
- Overdubbing and DJing are two other important ways that technology has shaped modern music.
Keywords
Drum machine - an instrument that synthesises drum sounds; the TR-808 is an example
Reverb - an effect that creates the impression of a sound being played in a more ‘echoey’ space
Delay - an effect that ‘echoes’ sounds back after a specific time
Overdubbing - adding new recorded sound to a pre-existing recording to create a combined effect
Scratching - a DJing technique where the DJ creates a ‘wika wika’ sound by touching the record
Common misconception
Music technology consists solely of DAWs and computer-based technology.
For modern musicians, computer-based tools such as DAWs are a brilliant way of using technology. However, music technology is much broader than this - synthesisers, amplification, turntables and drum machines are just a few examples.
To help you plan your year 11 music lesson on: The sounds of technology, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 11 music lesson on: The sounds of technology, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom.
Explore more key stage 4 music lessons from the Timbre and texture in music around the world unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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