Music

Our Pre-Prep department has a specialist Music Teacher for both curricular lessons and extra-curricular clubs such as Recorder Club and Banana Split Choir. Heavy emphasis in these early years is placed on learning the fundamental musical concepts of pitch, dynamics, rhythm and tempo, focusing on enjoyment of, and participation in, music as a group activity. 

• Year 3 spend the first two terms learning the violin as a class, to give all boys the opportunity to experience the physicality of creating sound with an instrument. They then focus on basic music notation and how to sing at sight. We encourage good listening skills and discuss how to be a good audience member and support our peers when sharing work. The boys learn to use their voices, singing with expression and following performance directions on a score.
• Year 4 learn the ukelele as a class for the first term and then move on to develop their skills with rhythm and pitch. This is taught through a combination of theory and practical lessons such as singing, drumming and keyboard work.  The summer term involves singing rehearsals in preparation for the Year 4 production.

• Year 5 focus initially on programme music – how music is used to tell a story.  Using the musical elements that they have discovered through their listening work, the boys  compose their own musical stories in small groups.  In the spring term, the boys listen to Blues music, learning to play the 12 bar blues and then improvise over the top using their voices and the keyboards.  The summer term is concerned with revisiting programme music and culminates with a classroom orchestra performance. 

• Year 6 learn about modern classical music genres such as minimalism and perform some pieces by minimalist composers.  The boys consider the ‘colour’ of music and how different textures and timbres create a musical landscape.  Lessons in the autumn term are taken up with rehearsals for the Year 6 production.  The boys then go on to study Tonality – major and minor scales, using these to compose their own pieces of music.  We finish Year 6 with a classroom orchestra where everyone plays to their strengths musically, to create a performance. 

• Year 7 develop their rhythmic skills with a unit on African drumming, focusing on creating polyphonic textures and working as an ensemble.  The spring term is usually taken up with rehearsals for the senior production and in the summer, we study music from the Romantic period, considering dramatic effect and its influence on modern music. 

• Year 8 focus on pop song writing, considering the ‘hook' and the ‘riff’ initially and composing their own.  They then study structure and begin to flesh out the whole song, transferring their ideas onto Garage Band and making a recording of the finished song.  During the spring term, the boys rehearse for their senior production during lesson times, improving their singing, listening and ensemble skills.