This is a 6-week project on Hip-Hop where the main focus is Ground Bass. I would normally teach Hip-Hop music on FL Studio, this is a project designed for distance learning and is a composition task to be completed on BandLab, which these students have not done before so it also includes a ‘how to’ for what they need to do. There is a quiz included and one main task, a submission on BandLab.

This scheme of work is currently being taught to year 9 students although I have taught it with year 8 at a different school. The scheme of work aims to explore different genres of music including different musical devices before the main project which involves the sound being removed from four different clips (of each genre) and asking students in groups to come up with the music to accompany it. The fifth and sixth lessons are focused on the main project. The embedded videos link to my private YouTube channel and are not able to be found without the link. Should the embedding not work, I have also attached links within the stars.

This is the set of resources I used for teaching the orchestral music of Aaron Copland. This includes an end of topic listening test n.b this is only for Section A of the exam, not section B.

This is the powerpoint I used to teach my students some of the key vocabulary of film music. The main bulk of the lesson was given over to a practical workshop where they were given a silent clip and asked to create the music for it in groups. The key aspect which I have highlighted to students is listening which is why I link students to the department spotify which has a wide range of playlists at their disposal.

I created this scheme of work as a way in to help year 7 students interpret written music before introducing written notation. The scheme of work includes as much practical activity as possible, as a whole class, in pairs and in small groups.

This is the powerpoint and worksheets I have used to teach my students about the Coronation Anthems and Oratorios of Handel. I also used this topic to teach them about the circle of fifths, modulations, structure, cadences, voices etc. There is therefore quite alot in addition to just the Handel stuff. There are listening examples either embedded or linked in the PowerPoint (in the star icons) and a listening test with answers for the end of the unit.

This is the powerpoint and worksheets I have used to teach my students about the orchestra in the classical era and the orchestral music of Mozart and Beethoven. There are listening examples either embedded or linked in the PowerPoint and a listening test with answers for the end of the unit.

I wrote this scheme of work for year 7 to introduce them to reading music in a fun way. Initially the students learn to read the treble and bass clef and learn to play a simplified version of Imagine by John Lennon. Later on in the project, students specialised in an instrument or voice and learnt to play ‘The Sky from Jigsaw Jam’ by Music for Youth. The culmination of the project was a whole year performance of the sky.

I wrote this lesson plan to fit with the new AQA’s GCSE specification. Fusion music fits within AOS3, traditional music. This covers reggae and African fusion, as advised by the exam board. Following running through the key musical features, students were required to take a simple, 4 chord pop song, and fuse it with one of the two styles that we had discussed. There is a short test at the end to develop dictation and enhance understanding of exam style questions. My teaching focus here is key musical features and how the music sounds, not key facts about the sub genres. Listening examples have been embedded.

This is a three lesson PowerPoint on Baroque music suitable for the Eduqas music GCSE course. It covers the key features, instruments and many of the musical devices required for this AOS. It does not include anything on forms as we cover that in our Classical Era work. There is also a worksheet about instruments of the orchestra. Many of the sound links are embedded through the star symbols.

This is the powerpoint I’ve used to teach my students about the Requiems of the late Romantic era. The lessons involve listening, aural analysis and a practical task.

This is the PowerPoint I used to teach my students about the British music of Tavener, Britten, Maxwell-Davies and Arnold. It includes key vocab, listening and a practical activity.

I wrote this powerpoint to fit with the new AQA’s new GCSE specification. Broadway Musicals 1950s-1990s fits within Area of Study 2. My teaching focus here is key musical features and how the music sounds, not key facts about the sub genres. Listening examples have been hyperlinked within the green stars. A listening task was used at the end of the lesson so that students could apply their new knowledge.The key aspect which I have highlighted to students is listening which is why I link students to the department spotify which has a wide range of playlists at their disposal.

I wrote this lesson plan to fit with the new AQA’s new GCSE specification. Contemporary folk fits within AOS3, traditional music. To accompany this presentation, students worked through a focused listening sheet to highlight key features. There is a short test at the end to develop critical listening skills and enhance understanding of exam style questions. My teaching focus here is key musical features and how the music sounds, not key facts about the sub genres. Listening examples have been embedded within the star icon.

This work was designed to teach students about Rock music of the 1960s and 1970s. This PowerPoint was used over 3 lessons to initially teach students about standard rock music of the era, the key sub-genres and a lesson about the Beatles. This work also features 2 homework’s which proved very useful with the students.

This is an assessment for AOS5: Popular Music. It includes each topic within the AOS and has been uploaded as both a Word and PDF document alongside the answers and a listening track with announcements which works comfortably within a full lesson.

This is all the teaching materials I use to teach Section C: Contextual Understanding of the A-Level exam. I focus on AOS4 for this portion of the exam specifically, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Stephen Sondheim. This resource comes with the analysis of three pieces of music by each composer: Sondheim: Ballad of Sweeney Todd and Worst Pies in London from Sweeney Todd and Giants in the Sky from Into the Woods. (Giants in the Sky is not annotated as this is something that I get students to do independently with guidance, the score is there though). Schönberg: One Day More and Master of the House from Les Miserables and I’d Give My Life for You from Miss Saigon. In addition to this analysis you will also get some example essays (one only focussed on Sondheim as this is what I focus on in year 12). The synopsis for the shows are also included.

I have created this scheme of work as a whole term scheme for year 9 students who have already completed their options. It gives them some flexibility and choice over the music that they engage with and requires the department to have keyboards and sibelius/cubase. Included in this is: a topic outline via a powerpoint (this is designed for minimal use during lesson as most of the time will be spent ‘doing’). Some free sheet music but also some sibelius (7) files and cubase files both composition starter materials and arrangements of pieces of music for students to then arrange.