Music
What is
Music
?
“Music is one of the most powerful things the world has to offer. No matter what race or religion or nationality…or gender that you are, it has the power to unite us.” – Lady Gaga
At Penyrheol we believe that Music is an enjoyable, diverse, practical, hands-on subject, where you will get the exciting opportunity to make, create and communicate music through singing, using a range of musical instruments and Music Technology.
Music at Penyrheol closely follows Curriculum for Wales ‘What Matters’ Statements in Expressive Arts.
In each unit of work, you will:
- Explore
- Respond and
- Create
Why is
Music
important?
“Music isn’t a ‘nice-to-have’, it’s an essential part of every child’s education.” – The Importance of Music, GOV.UK
There have been many scientific studies that have found that there is one activity that can…
- improve our brain function
- help our memory
- aid us when learning a language
- reduce our emotional state by improving our health and wellbeing
- increase confidence and self-esteem
- improve literacy and numeracy
- provide important life and social skills
- develop our creativity and self-expression and
- help our brains to be healthier.
This activity is Music.
“Before a child talks, they sing… Art is fundamental to Human expression.” – Phylicia Rashad
Our vision
Our vision in Music at Penyrheol is for all pupils to create, perform, understand and respond to Music from all genres, traditions and cultures. Pupils are engaged and inspired to develop a life-long love of Music. Increasing their self- confidence, creativity and imagination and providing opportunities for self-expression and a sense of personal achievement. Our pupils are self-motivated to become independent learners and good listeners, work collaboratively with others and should always try their best.
A Successful Musician can:
- Perform on an instrument, or use their voice, with accuracy, technical control and fluency.
- Communicate effectively through the music performance of a variety of styles and genres.
- Set themselves high standards and enjoy the challenges learning Music can bring.
- Lead and play different roles in musical ensembles effectively and responsibly.
- Think creatively.
- Communicate their own ideas and emotions through writing their own piece of Music. Using Music Technology to bring the ideas to life
- Build their mental and emotional well-being by developing confidence, resilience and empathy.
- Form positive relationships within the classroom, based on mutual respect.
- Recognise the different musical elements within a piece of Music, making critical judgements and recognising distinguishing features and characteristics of a variety of styles of Music.
Our values:
We…
- Provide opportunities – All pupils can access to the benefits of Music, we are inclusive
- Strive for Excellence – high musical achievements with continuous improvement in all areas
- Work Hard– Focus, discipline and resilience are required in everything we do
- Nurture Creatively– problem solving spark critical thinking
- Seek Enjoyment– we see this one of the hallmarks of our success
Big questions in
Music
What will your journey in
Music
look like?
What will your ‘journey’ in Music look like?
At Penyrheol, we have written your curriculum carefully so that you can make steady and secure progress in your Music making.
In Year 7, 8 and 9 you will learn about the three main areas of Music- performing, composing and appraising.
You will learn…
Performing
- How to play the keyboard, ukulele, tuned percussion, guitar (acoustic, bass and electric) and sing a range of styles with accuracy, good technique and control.
- Play an individual part in a paired/ group piece, developing ensemble skills and communicate with other players.
- How to practise effectively, planning, evaluating and refining your pieces, aiming for the best possible outcomes to the tasks.
- Set yourselves high standards and enjoy the challenge of performing something that you couldn’t previously play.
- To communicate effectively through your Music, thinking about the colour of the Music and how you want to deliver that to your audience.
- To lead and play different roles within a musical ensemble to effectively perform a variety of Music.
Composing
- Learn to arrange and eventually compose your own Music, communicating your own ideas and emotions through the Music.
- To develop and refine your musical ideas and evaluate your work in order to improve it.
- To use Music Technology to bring your musical ideas to life.
Appraising
- To recognise the different musical elements in a variety of styles of Music.
- To think about the impact of Music, making critical judgements about why you like or dislike it and what makes it effective.
- To recognise the distinguishing features and characteristics of a variety of Music.
The Knowledge and skills that you will learn in Years 7, 8 and 9 will help you in G.C.S.E Music. At G.C.S.E you will develop all the above areas of performance, composing and appraising, but now with a focus on your strongest instrument. You will get the opportunity to perform a solo of your choice, in any style of Music that you enjoy, such as Musical Theatre, Pop, Metal etc as well as performing within a group of other pupils. This is where we experiment putting bands together, so you will get to performing with likeminded pupils, who enjoy the same instruments and style of Music that you do. You will have more freedom in composition, where you will write Music in the genre of your choice, such as film Music, Rap, Pop etc.
What will the study of
Music
encourage you to think about / do?
Whilst learning Music at Penyrheol you will think and reflect about many different aspects of Music- What do I think about the Music? Why do I think this/ why does it make you feel like this? What makes an effective piece of Music? Why is it effective?
You will be encouraged to be creative and to experiment with different things, that might be outside of your comfort zone.
As well as reflecting on the work of others, you will also become self-critical and resilient. You will be encouraged to think about your strengths and ways that you can continue to progress and improve your work.
What opportunities for learning does the
Music
curriculum provide?
Studying Music at Penyrheol offers a broad range of opportunities that you will develop throughout your secondary education.
Within the Music classroom you will have the opportunity to learn to perform on a range of classroom instruments, such as keyboard, guitar, tuned percussion, ukulele and singing. Throughout Years 7, 8 and 9 you will learn to perform the keyboard, initially with one hand before progressing to using both hands. You will learn to perform a range of styles of Music on the keyboard, from Classical, to Blues to Rock and Pop.
On the guitar, you will initially learn how to play a simple melody, before experimenting with electric and bass guitar and developing bands within the class.
You will learn how to perform chords on the Ukulele and how these can be used to accompany a melody. The chords will get progressively harder throughout Key Stage 3, and you will also get the opportunity to experiment with different strumming patterns.
You also have the opportunity to learn how to read and understand sheet music, as well as using a range of Music technology, such as tutorial videos and Synthesia videos to assist your learning.
At Penyrheol we will look at different composers and how they have written a piece of Music. This will then help you develop your own understanding of how to write Music. You will initially use your keyboard skills to plan your own ideas, before developing these using the GarageBand app on the department iPads.
Within Music you will have the opportunity to learn about different styles of Music and the different characteristics of these styles. For example, when we study Rock Music, we will look at the typical instruments that you would hear in a Rock Band and the role of these instruments within the group.
You will also have the opportunity to undertake a variety of roles whilst in your Music lessons, such as being a leader of your group and developing a wide range of leadership skills, such as time keeping and communication.
In your Music lessons, you will learn about the role and place of Music in the world- how music can affect us and why it can have such an impact on all of us. You will learn about different cultures within Music and the part that Music plays within its traditions. You will learn what it really means to be a citizen of the World, reflecting on the importance of Music within different societies and the role that Music can play.
What skills will you learn in your study of
Music
?
By learning Music at Penyrheol you will learn essential life skills. These include:
Creativity
Playing Music is the best way to express yourself. The way that you interpret the music is unique to you. Making Music (performing or composing) helps to make you in to an individual and creative thinker.
Communication and collaboration
Music is a brilliant way to communicate with others. Not only do you learn to communicate about Music, but you will also learn to communicate through your Music and tell your story. You will also meet lots of different people when you take part in your musical journey through school, whether this is through different opportunities within the classroom, or in extracurricular Music clubs. These are things that will be helpful in making relationships outside of the Music classroom, in other areas of school or when you start a job.
Coping and stress management
Musicians have discovered that practicing Music helps them to deal with stress and other difficult situations. Play, listening or creating your own music can be therapeutic. It can be a helpful way to help you balance the different challenges you will face as you make your way through comprehensive school (and beyond.)
Patience and perseverance
You will need to practise at Music to see the best results. Much time in lessons is rehearsal or practise time, where you will work slowly through a task to see produce your best outcome to the task. This type of practise requires you to have patience and preserver, even though sometimes it might feel easier to give up. Learning an instrument can take time and it takes a special skill to stick at it and work to your best. The perseverance you will learn through Music will help you in many other tasks in life. You will learn that working towards your best will be incredibly rewarding.
Time management
You will learn to use your time effectively within the Music classroom- learning a new instrument, or a new piece, or writing your own music can take time and you will need to learn how to best use your practice time to do your best. This will help you when you’re doing your coursework or revising for exams when you reach Key Stage 4 at Penyrheol. Time management is also a skill that will help you when you leave school.
Co-ordination
When you learn how to play an instrument you will improve your hand-eye coordination, just like when you play a sport. This can help your motor skills
Self-confidence
By taking part in Music lessons, you can develop a sense of pride and confidence about your work. You will learn to perform regularly in front of your peers, showcasing what you have learnt over a range of lessons. This might seem daunting at first, but you develop the self-belief and self-confidence to participate in class performances. It doesn’t matter if you are a complete beginner at Music to see this self-confidence come into effect!
How can you deepen your knowledge and understanding of
Music
?
How can you deepen your knowledge and understanding of Music?
The Music Department at Penyrheol has a thriving extracurricular timetable that gives you the opportunity to develop your musicianship outside of the Music classroom. At Penyrheol we encourage you to join in and become involved our exciting extracurricular programme to further build on your Musical knowledge and skills. We are lucky to offer a range of music lessons with qualified, specialised musicians. These lessons run within the school day, on a rota timetable and are for all abilities– you don’t need to have any previous knowledge to start lessons, or even have the instrument at home.
The lessons offered at Penyrheol are:
Woodwind
Brass
Strings
Guitar (electric, bass and acoustic)
Ukulele
Singing
Piano and Keyboard
Drums
We also provide group activities during registration time. These are run by the three music teachers at Penyrheol and are for any pupil, of any ability. We have tried to arrange a group for every type of pupil that we have at Penyrheol. These include:
Junior Choir (for Years 7 & 8 pupils only)
Senior Choir (Year 9+)
Chamber Choir
Boys Ensemble
Rock Group
Guitar Group
Keyboard Ensemble
Ukulele Club and
Orchestra
Extracurricular groups are very popular at Penyrheol, with over 100 pupils from all different year groups regularly taking part in concerts, showcases and community projects to demonstrate the talent that we have at Penyrheol. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t been involved in any extracurricular previously, we encourage you to ‘have a go’!
Every year the Music Department works alongside the Drama Department on the School Production. This always takes the form of a Musical, where you can showcase your singing, acting and dancing skills. There is also an opportunity for you to learn about set design, stage management, sound and lighting- there is something for everyone! Again, no experience is needed, we just expect you to be committed and to have lots of fun! Rehearsals take place after school and are run by teachers from the Music and Drama Departments. The production will provide you with a chance to mix with pupils from different year groups and make friendships for life. Previous shows include Grease, The Addams Family, Hairspray and The Little Mermaid.
As well as venturing out to the community to do our own performances, at Penyrheol we also run a range of trips throughout the year to see live performances of West End Musicals, National Orchestras and local amateur dramatics companies, to further enhance your overall experience of Music. Seeing an Orchestra live, or a West End Musical live on stage, is so much more powerful and impressive than it is to see it over a screen!
The Music Department also runs an open-door policy, where pupils can use the Department at break/ lunch times to practise and use the equipment. Google Classroom and our Department YouTube page also have resources available for you to access outside the music classroom.
If you do wish to continue your Music Education outside of school, we are lucky that within our local area, there are many societies and clubs that you can join, where you can continue to develop your passion for Music, with likeminded young people from other Comprehensive Schools. These include Musicality, Loughor Town Band, Harry’s Youth Theatre, Stagecoach Swansea, Helen O’Grady Drama Academy, West Glamorgan Youth Orchestra, Fiddlesticks String Orchestra, The Rock Project Swansea, to name but a few.
How does your study of
Music
support your study in other subjects?
There are natural links in Music to the other Arts subjects. You will hear similar terminology and key words and once a year you will do a joint unit in Music, Art and Drama. You will find that the skills that you need to help you do well in Music, will also help you in Art and Drama. However, by learning Music, you will automatically be improving skills in a range of the subjects you will learn at Penyrheol, that you might not even realise are connected to Music. You will develop your language and reasoning (English), your hand eye co-ordination (P.E.), your literacy and numeracy skills (English and Maths) and your digital technology skills when using Music Technology.
Within your Music lessons we will also learn about Music from different cultures (Geography) different eras (History) as well as discovering a range of styles linked with Music from Wales (Welsh.)
How can
Music
support you in the future?
The Music Department has a history of fantastic G.C.S.E results, which has seen many continue their Music journey at A level, Degree and beyond. Music can open so many exciting opportunities in your future career. Being a performer, composer or teacher are only three options. Others include:
DJ
music producer
music law
music therapist
private music tutor
sound designer
sound engineer
sound technician- broadcasting/ film/ video
arts administrator
events manager
community arts worker
radio producer
theatre stage manager
“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” – Ella Fitzgerald