This resource provides a quick and easy map of your child’s curriculum journey in Music. 

Music plays an integral role in student development. It is not only a powerful tool for human imaginative and emotional expression, but also provides the opportunity to widen cultural experience, relieve stress and further social and personal development.

Vision Statement 

The Music Department is committed to ensuring all students at Co-op Academy Walkden have access to diverse and quality musical provision both in the classroom and through extra-curricular opportunities. 

We aim to achieve this through: 

• Collaborative curriculum planning to enable and facilitate the delivery of a diverse curriculum
• Demonstrating outstanding classroom practice that enables all learners to access Music
• Providing quality provision outside of the curriculum to all students, regardless of background

Curriculum
Students of Music at Co-op Academy Walkden will:

• Work collaboratively in a positive way towards a common goal;
• Express their individuality, interests and emotions;
• Experience a range of music in various styles and genres;
• Develop a disciplined approach to practice and rehearsal;
• Demonstrate respect and empathy towards others including recognising the role of their peers and an audience.

The music curriculum, and wider enrichment opportunities at Coop Academy Walkden, enables students to achieve these through three core strands; Performing, Composing and Listening/Appraising.

Key Stage Three
It is important to lay the foundations of music and consolidate the learning students bring with them from Key Stage 2. Throughout Key Stage Three, students develop their knowledge and understanding of the Elements of Music, which underpin all musical performance, composition and analysis. This includes: 

• Rhythm & Pulse
• Harmony & Tonality
• Timbre & Pitch
• Form & Structure
• Musical Expression

Each topic in Key Stage 3 has a discreet link to the Elements of Music, however all of the Elements of Music are covered during each scheme of learning to not only develop students’ knowledge and understanding of key musical concepts, but also their musicianship through performance and composing. Through the topics covered in Key Stage 3 students will begin to consolidate their abilities and understanding with the elements of music, including rhythm, melody, harmony and expression/articulation, as well as exploring notation, improvisation, ensemble musicianship and music technology. 

Students begin Year 7 working as a class ensemble to perform the song Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better, from the musical Annie Get Your Gun. This scheme of learning aims to build on vocal skills students have developed at Primary School and demonstrate that vocal performance is an integral part of Music throughout Secondary School. Students will begin to develop their knowledge and understanding of musical expression through the controlled use of tempo and dynamics.

Following this scheme of learning, Year 7 will cover an Introduction to Rhythm and Pulse. In this scheme of learning students will begin to understand the fundamental differences between rhythm and pulse and how to read basic rhythmic notation, knowledge that can be applied to the performance of almost any musical instrument. 

Once students are familiar with how to read rhythmic notation, this is extended to include treble clef pitch notation. Students will explore how simple melodies are composed using the pentatonic scale and will participate in both an instrumental and vocal performance of the spiritual Amazing Grace. 

Building on the work completed on pentatonic melodies, students will be introduced to simple harmonic progressions and ensemble skills through a performance as an A Capella group. This scheme of learning comes at a crucial time in students’ physical development and through vocal work,  students will begin to feel comfortable and confident in the changes that are happening with their voices. 

The study of the Elements of Music continues with an Introduction to Form and Structure, another opportunity for students to develop their individual skills as an instrumentalist on the keyboard. Students will perform the popular piece Heart and Soul in order to form an understanding of how pieces of music are built as well as continuing to develop their knowledge and understanding of both rhythmic and pitch notation. 

The study of the Elements of Music throughout Year 7 will culminate in the final scheme of learning where students will work in ensembles to perform Pop songs which use the four chord harmonic structure. Students will extend their knowledge of simple chord progressions and apply this knowledge to ukulele playing. 

In Year 8, students will continue to build and develop their knowledge and understanding of the Elements of Music. The year begins by returning to the fundamentals of Rhythm and Pulse, with students exploring how rhythmic ideas are developed by composers by the use of polyrhythms. During this topic, students will use the work of the percussion ensemble STOMP as the stimulus for their compositions and performances. 

The use of music in film and video gaming is an ever expanding field in the music industry. This scheme of learning focuses on the nuances of major and minor tonality through the study of music for films, culminating in an instrumental performance of the main theme from Star Wars. 

In the Spring Term, students revisit the topic of Musical Theatre, this time exploring how the Musical developed in the 1980s with composers such as Andrew Lloyd Webber and Claude Michel Schӧnberg. Students will participate in a class ensemble performance of Can You Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King. In this scheme of learning, students will perform using their voices and ukuleles and will also continue to develop their understanding of musical structures.  

Following on from Musical Theatre and the focus on structure, Year 8 move next to Popular Music. Students will explore how hooks and riffs are used in popular music to make songs memorable and appealing to audiences. Students will work in ensembles to perform a pop song that has a memorable riff. This leads directly to the study of Funk and Blues Music which builds on simple harmonic progressions through the use of bass lines such as the 12 Bar Blues harmonic structure. 

In Year 8, students explore Musical Expression through a keyboard performance of Für Elise and examining Programme Music that was composed in the Romantic period. 

In Year 9 students will continue to develop their practical skills and techniques through a variety of musical styles, genres and instruments. The core elements of music explored in Year 7 and 8 are extended and complemented with the new learning.

Year 9 begins with an exploration of Metre in the 20th Century. Students will use their prior learning on Rhythm and Pulse to understand how composers such as Steve Reich, Phillip Glass and Terry Riley broke the rules on musical composition to create pieces of music that use mathematical sequencing, such as Fibbonacci, and multimeter. 

Building from the work in Year 8 on Music in the Media students will this time explore how music is used in Video Games to create the ambiance of particular settings and events. Students will compose a piece of gaming music using the stimuli of a storyboard to compose a piece of music that is through composed to reflect the scenes within a video game. 

In the Spring Term students will return to both Musical Theatre. Students in Year 9 will explore Contemporary Musical Theatre, specifically Lin Manuel Miranda’s seminal work Hamilton. Students will not only form an understanding of how Musical Theatre continues to develop but also of other contemporary styles such as rap and hip hop. In this topic, students will explore extended harmonic progressions such as the use of diminished and augmented chords. In the final term of Year 9 the focus will be Popular Music.

Students will continue to enhance their knowledge of harmonic progressions through the study of Salsa Music. Within this topic, other works by Lin Manuel Miranda will be introduced such as In The Heights and Encanto, these works explore Miranda’s cultural heritage. Other composers such as Tito Puente are also introduced to explore the rich cultural heritage of salsa. 

In the Summer Term, the focus will be on Popular Music. Students will begin by exploring how pop songs are written and key ‘ingredients’ that are used within popular music to make songs memorable. After half term, students will apply this knowledge to writing their own song in groups or create a cover version of an existing song. The year will culminate with a performance in ensembles of a pop song of their choice. Students are encouraged to follow a more personalised approach, making decisions on style and instruments explored, to further their musical vocabulary and skills.

Key Stage Four

At Key Stage 4, GCSE students will further broaden their experience of musical style and genre, whilst deepening their personal exploration of instrumental skill. 

Students will again explore their learning through the three core strands Performing, Composing and Listening/Appraising. 

Topics studied heavily focus on the key musical elements and include:

• My Music – An exploration of personal instrumental skill.
• The Concerto through Time – Structural and musical development techniques.
• Rhythms of the World – Approaches to rhythm and metre.
• Music for Film and Game – Creating descriptive music.
• Conventions of Popular Music – Including songwriting and the use of technology. 

Musical studies at Key Stage 4 intend to equip students with the skills they need to employ a deep range of technical knowledge, understanding and vocabulary when describing music in these styles and genres, making musical connections between them. Students will also be expected to use these skills to produce engaging, stylistic musical performances and compositions. 

From studying music GCSE, you can go on to study music A-Level or a BTEC Level 3 in Music. This can lead to studying all sorts of subjects at University or onto exciting art based apprenticeships. For example:

• Community Arts;
• Games music composer;
• Music journalist;
• Technician – Sound;
• Live events promoter.

Check out the range of apprenticeships here for which you need good music skills or take a look at some more information about music based degrees here.

Studying music can lead you to studying a wide variety of subjects at University. Such as:

• Community Music;
• Digital music and sound arts;
• Creative Music production;
• Popular Music;
• Music technology.

Have a look at the UCAS website to see how many different combinations you can do.

The Curriculum Overview provides information as to how the curriculum is sequenced to enable students to build their knowledge and skills towards ambitious endpoints in each subject area. Click the picture to enlarge it and read more. Each terms’ learning is complemented by a knowledge organiser.