Music flourishes as an
academic subject at A, AS and GCSE levels, as well as
being an option for IB, and the Department is proud of
the performance of its pupils in public examinations.
Taught in relatively small groups by the full-time
members of the Department, pupils enjoy a huge amount of
academic support; the Department is flexible enough to
ensure that the pupils learn at their own pace and it is
committed enough to ensure that areas beyond the
immediate demands of the syllabuses are covered when
necessary. The school’s general music programme
reinforces and informs different areas of the courses,
and students gain valuable experience from performing
and listening to concerts of all kinds, always
encouraged to listen widely and read beyond the
syllabuses. The Department has considerable success in
preparing students for Oxbridge organ and choral
scholarships, and for music college and conservatoire
entry.
Shells
The Shells have weekly
sessions in Music, either within a classroom forum, or
within more practically based activity sessions. The aim
of this course is to learn about very varied styles of
genres, listening to music, planning group compositions,
and performing within the classroom. Topics range from
Jazz Improvisation to African Drumming, from The History
of Classical Music to Rock and Pop Song Writing. The
weekly sessions give all Shells a chance to experience
music of all kinds, and get some kind of idea of the
importance of context and culture upon every form of
music, and the course gives a perfect preparation for
GCSE.
GCSE
The GCSE course
follows a series of 12 set works, grouped into four very
different categories of music:
1.
Western
Classical Music 1600-1899 (including works by Handel,
Mozart and Chopin)
2.
Music in
the 20th century (including works by
Schoenberg, Bernstein, Reich)
3.
Pop music
in context (including tracks by Miles Davis, Jeff
Buckley, Moby)
4.
World
music (including recordings from Capercaillie, various
Indian improvisers, Koko)
For each of the
topics, we teach students to analyse music and
understand how composers build music. No previous
knowledge is required: just a set of working ears, ready
to be open to listen to whatever music might come their
way!
Students also perform
or sequence/record on music tech equipment, and compose
their own music in one of the four styles. This
coursework is taught in small tutor groups to ensure
that students’ potential can be fulfilled.
The GCSE course
booklet can be found
on this
link.
A-level
The A-level course
encourages students to look at music in more depth,
taking major set works and placing them into historical,
social and musical context. The set works for 2008-2011
are Mozart
Symphony no 41 and Vaughan Williams
Symphony no 5,
and the general topic studied looks at the development
of choral music in the Baroque period, and in modern
times.
Students also perform
material in concerts throughout the year – 5-8 minutes
at AS (standard required: around grade 5) and 15 minutes
at A2 (standard: grade 7). This performing coursework
can take place at any time, and we record anything that
students do in the various concerts taking place around
the school. There are also music technology options for
those non-performers. The last part of the course then
lets students choose to put together harmony or
composition portfolios, learning to harmonise melodies
in the style of Bach and Handel, or to compose original
music within any style or genre.
The A-level course
booklet can be found
on this
link
IB
Music can be taken as
a Group 6 Option within the IB. Here, students are
taught in small sets, to cover a wide range of music,
and to be able to analyse any clip from classical music
1400-the present day, as well as some jazz, pop, rock
and world music, following neatly on from the GCSE
course.
There is also work on
set works, covering historical and contextual features
of two major pieces of music: Mozart
Symphony no 41
and Copland El
Salon Mexico.
Performance-wise,
students are expected to put together 20 minutes of
music as a soloist during the two years. (Standard
required: about grade 6). In addition to this, Higher
level candidates need to put forward various harmony and
composition work.
The IB music booklet
can be found
on this
link
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