Music

Subject Team

Mr Patterson (Head of Department)

Subject Overview

The aim of the TJHS Music Department shared with all pupils at the beginning of Year 8 is:

“To engage all pupils in purposeful and enjoyable musical learning.”

This aim seeks to develop pupils who are engaged and involved in the learning, regardless of ability or experience, in tasks that will develop soft skills in them (including but not limited to the Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities) and provide a foundation for those who continue with Music to GCSE level in a way that is fun and done through playing music (Performing), making music (Composing and Improvising) and Listening to music.

What You Will Learn

We begin by making sure everyone has the basic ‘tools for the job’ by examining the Elements of Music and the subject-specific language used to describe them. Then we learn rhythm and musical notation and then discover the instruments and their sound. The remainder of the Music course is topic-based; the current topics are Classical Music, Blues and Jazz and then Song writing (Pop). Pupils are able to engage with the topics at differing levels depending on their previous experience and preference.

Year 8

Introductions
The Elements of Music
Rhythm and Pitch (Pulse, Metre, Tempo, Notation, Keyboard)

Year 9

Timbre (Instruments and Voices)
Antiquity to Modernity (History of Classical Music)
Folk and World Music

Year 10

Blues and Jazz (12 bar blues structure and Improvising)
Songwriting (Pop and Rap)

Pupils in the Junior Learning Support Centre will also study these units apart from the History of Classical Music unit on a yearly rotation in a way which is tailored to their skillset.