Music
Music is a major creative art which goes beyond national and ethnic boundaries. It is an important means of emotional and aesthetic expression, a source of pleasure and a means of expression for young people, a widespread recreational activity in adult life, and also a career opportunity.
As an art form it engenders concentration, teamwork, individual confidence and self-discipline; it is intellectually satisfying and stimulating study, and therefore necessary for the complete education of the individual.
Key Stage 3 overview
The aim of the Key Stage 3 curriculum is to encourage a passion for music. Students will develop a range of subject-specific skills, techniques all designed to improve, enhance and nurture knowledge of music; they will learn how to perform, compose and appraise music across the classical, popular and world music genres. All Key Stage 3 students are introduced to Music Technology.
Key Stage 4 overview
The aim of BTEC Music is to build upon creating music whether in the performance sphere or compositional sphere. Students at Key Stage 4 apply their knowledge of compositional elements throughout a wide choice of music styles and create music primarily through music technology, but also by recording music in live video and audio formats.
All students have access to music technology software which is the main source of capturing evidence. Where students will demonstrate key techniques required to create and record digital and audio formats of music. All Key Stage 4 students have one-to-one Music technology and one-to-one instrumental lessons and a wide resource of instruments to apply that learning.
By the end of their course all students will have completed three components covering a broad aspect of music education, learning and industry standards.
You can download Knowledge Organisers for each year group from our Knowledge Organisers page.
For queries about the Music curriculum please contact Garry Dennis g.dennis@harrisgarrard.org.uk.
Further details of the curriculum can be found below.
Primary
Without music, life would be a mistake.” F. Nietzsche
Music education at Harris Garrard Academy primary phase is to explore sounds and their impact on human lives. It is to realise there are different qualities of sounds made by use of variety of musical instruments and human voices.
It is important the children understand musical terms and they are able to use vocabulary that is characteristic for music.
Key questions to answer through music education process are:
- What sounds make you happy, sad, reflective etc.?
- How do we make/produce sounds?
- What words do we need to know to describe music and to talk about it?
- What do we need to know to write down or to read music?
- What opportunity have the children been provided with to progress to the next level of their creative excellence?
Mr Mioduszewski, Primary Music Lead
Year 7
Year 7 learn about the principal elements of music and how they are the fundamental building blocks in all music forms and styles with topics such and Voices and Instruments, Keyboard Skills, and Latin Music.
Year 8
Year 8 build upon prior learning of key elements of music and study voice and new music styles whilst developing performing and creating music with topics such and Voices and Instruments, Music and Media and Blues Music.
Year 9
Year 9 students are gaining more proficiency in performing and understanding of keyboard skills and are specifically introduced to Music Technology with topics such as Hooks and Riffs, Theme and Variation and Music Careers.
Year 10
Year 10 music is a study of Music Technology as a BTEC Award subject with three component areas of coursework. There is an emphasis on learning to perform music whilst studying primarily different styles of popular music. Students learning about compositional and sonic skills performing live band music and creating music through Music Technology. Component 1 is complete in later part of the first year.
Year 11
Year 11 students complete Component 2 and 3 learning and developing a more precise approach to learning an instrument and more precise skills in developing composing. Work is completed independently and individually at this level; work produced by our students needs to demonstrate knowledge across several different genres and techniques.
Primary Songs 2023 - Tunes and Lyrics
Click on the links below to listen to the songs and download the lyrics
- Best Day of My Life (download lyrics)
- Don't Stop (download lyrics)
- Make Your Own Kind of Music (download lyrics)
- Unwritten (download lyrics)
- Rice Harvest
- Sky Full Of Stars
Careers
Music helps students prepare for a wide range of careers including:
- Composer for: TV, film, video games, orchestra, radio
- Artist
- Producer
- Music teacher
- Music business management
- Sound engineer
- Promoter
- Radio presenter
- Conductor
- Music therapist
Music also develops skills that are essential in any workplace. Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, and can actually wire the brain’s circuits in specific ways.
Students of the arts learn to think creatively and to solve problems by imagining various solutions, rejecting outdated rules and assumptions. Questions about the arts do not have only one right answer.
Students of music learn craftsmanship as they study how details are put together painstakingly and what constitutes good, as opposed to mediocre, work. These standards, when applied to a student’s own work, demand a new level of excellence and require students to stretch their inner resources.
In music, a mistake is a mistake; the instrument is in tune or not, the notes are well played or not, the entrance is made or not. It is only by much hard work that a successful performance is possible. Through music study, students learn the value of sustained effort to achieve excellence and the concrete rewards of hard work.
Music study enhances teamwork skills and discipline. Music provides students with a means of self-expression. Music performance teaches young people to conquer fear and to take risks. A little anxiety is a good thing, and something that will occur often in life. Dealing with it early and often makes it less of a problem later.
Find out more about the careers programme at Harris Garrard Academy.
