MUSIC
Aims The Music course encourages the study and appreciation of all forms of music, fostering students’ aesthetic development and creative skills as well as developing students’ critical responses to music. It will increase students’ knowledge and awareness of Western classical music and traditions of music from around the world.
Skills The course encourages students to use their musical experiences to create their own music and to develop their enjoyment of the performing situation. The course works alongside individual instrumental or vocal lessons, requiring students to perform regularly throughout the course both on their own and in groups. The group work involves small ensemble work( one to a part) and large ensemble work( in a larger group appropriate to the student’ s interests) and it is a requirement of the course that all students take part in the Choral Society. Being so involved develops students’ aural skills, reading skills and general musical perception. In addition to this, much time is spent teaching the students analysis skills so that they are able to listen to a piece of music critically and evaluate it in an informed and disciplined way, both orally and in writing.
Content Over the two years, students work on two contrasting compositions, one to a brief set by the exam board. This often springs from initial exercise work done in a class situation, but students are not constrained by this and are encouraged to explore their own creative instincts and interests. They also work on two prepared performances, one as a soloist and the other as a member of a small ensemble. In practice, they will cover more than two performances and select the best for final moderation. Much of this work is started in the classroom but quickly the students continue in their own time. As a result, much of the class time is spent on listening and analysis skills in which the students study in detail principally Western Classical Music and popular contemporary styles, including the study of two set works, one classical and one popular in style. This is done through four Areas of Study: 1. Musical Forms and Devices 2. Music for Ensemble 3. Film Music 4. Popular Music
Enrichment The music department provides an Aladdin’ s cave of musical opportunities ranging from solo performances to ensembles of more than one hundred participants, incorporating styles ranging from classical to contemporary music. It is expected that students who take the Music course will fully immerse themselves in this programme of opportunities and performance and in so doing, develop not only a genuine and deep love of music making but a confidence and resilience that will serve them in their present and later life beyond the music classroom.
46 THE MIDDLE SCHOOL | AT SEVENOAKS