KS3 Music Assessment Resources

Language for learning: Melodic movement: moving by step, moving by leap, ascending, descending, repeating, in relation to the tonic. Pitch: low, mid, high, octave. Notation: metre, note names/values, bar, beat, clef, stave, treble, key signature. Texture: melody and accompaniment, unison, solo, layering, octaves. Rhythm: pulse, repetition, even, uneven, tempo, time signature. Harmony and tonality: tonic. Timbre/forces: voice types, choir, band, orchestra, a cappella. Structure: verse, chorus, introduction, ending. Dynamics: loud, strong, quiet, soft.

Language for learning: Melodic movement: scalic, major, modal, moving by step, conjunct, moving by leap, triadic, disjunct, ascending, descending, repeating, in relation to the tonic and dominant. Pitch: low, mid, high. Notation: metre, note names, note values, bar, beat, line, part. Texture: melody and accompaniment, unison, octaves, solo, 2-part. Rhythm: pulse, repetitive, dotted, scotch snap, metre - both simple and compound. Harmony and tonality: major and modal (dorian), tonic, dominant, pedal, drone, I ‘one’, V ‘five’, key signature. Timbre/Forces: voices, pipes, fiddle, guitar, hurdy-gurdy, penny whistle, bodhran. Structure: strophic, refrain, chorus, phrase, AA’BA’, contrast, repetition.

Language for learning: Melodic movement: scalic, major, moving by step, conjunct, moving by leap, triadic, disjunct, ascending, descending, repeating, in relation to the tonic and dominant, root, third, fifth. Pitch: low, mid, high. Notation: metre, note names, note values, bar, beat, line, part. Texture: melody and accompaniment. Rhythm: pulse, repetitive, off-beat, syncopated, back-beat, skank. Harmony and tonality: major and minor triads. Timbre/Forces: voices, guitar, bass, drum kit, marimbula/mento box, horn section, backing singers. Structure: verse/chorus, intro, contrast, repetition, riff. DAW: real-time, step-time recording, sequencing, edit, loop, duplicate, quantise, locator.

Language for Learning: Melodic movement: scalic, moving by step, conjunct, moving by leap, triadic, disjunct, ascending, descending, repeating, modified, phrase, resolve. Pitch: low, mid, high. Notation: score, metre, note names, note values, bar, beat, line, part. Texture: melody and accompaniment, unison, octaves, solo, block chord, orchestral tutti. Rhythm: regular pulse, metre, down-beat, syncopated. Harmony and tonality: major and minor, chord, triad, cadence, consonance, dissonance, tonic, dominant, I ‘one’, V ‘five’, key signature. Timbre/Forces: orchestra, families of instruments, individual instrument names , strings bowed (arco and pizz.) choir, voice types: soprano, alto, tenor, bass. Structure: phrase, AA’BA’, contrast, repetition, balanced, question and answer. Dynamics: piano, forte, soft, strong, crescendo, diminuendo.

Language for Learning: Melodic movement: scalic, moving by step, conjunct, moving by leap, triadic, disjunct, chromatic, ascending, descending, repeating, phrase, improvisatory. Pitch: low, mid, high, note-bending, blue note. Notation: ‘seen v heard’ - written versus implied pitch and rhythm. Texture: melody and accompaniment, ‘call and response’, solo, unison. Rhythm: on-beat, off-beat, swung, triplet, syncopation, up-beat, down-beat, improvisatory, ‘playing in the cracks’, walking bass. Harmony and tonality: triad, chord extension, 7ths, functional harmony, primary triads, key, cadence, consonance, dissonance, tonic, sub-dominant. Timbre/Forces: voice styles and instruments associated with Blues and their techniques - note bending, scat, improvisation. Structure: 12 bar Blues, ‘the head’, 'the top', ‘stop chorus’, AAB phrase structure.

Language for Learning: Melodic movement: scalic, moving by step, conjunct, moving by leap, triadic, disjunct, chromatic, ascending, descending, repeating, phrase, improvisatory, is it a melody or just a broken chord? Pitch: low, mid, high, octave, in 3rds. Notation: stave notation, chord symbols, Roman numerals, slash/inversion chords. Texture: melody and accompaniment, melody, bass and chords, broken chords, octave doubling. Rhythm: on-beat, off-beat, syncopation, up-beat, down-beat, improvisatory. Harmony and tonality: triad, functional harmony, primary triads, key, cadence, consonance, dissonance, tonic, dominant, sub-dominant, I, IV, V, VI, pedal notes. Timbre/Forces: voice types and functions, rhythm section, horn section, strings. Structure: chordal ostinato, intro, verse, chorus.

Language for Learning: Melodic movement: scalic, moving by step, conjunct, moving by leap, triadic, disjunct, ascending, descending, repeating, modified, improvisatory, fixed, repetitive, sequence. Pitch: low, mid, high, tessitura, register. Notation: score, metre, note names, note values, bar, beat, line, part, voice, system. Texture: melody and accompaniment, homophony, homorhythm, unison, octaves, solo, block chord, broken chord, imitation, imitative counterpoint, layering, doubling. Rhythm: regular pulse, ostinato, on-beat, syncopated. Harmony and tonality: major and minor, chord, triad, inversion, cadence, consonance, dissonance. Timbre/Forces: orchestral strings, piano, harpsichord. Structure: ground bass, chordal ostinato, cyclic. Dynamics: loud, strong, forte, quiet, soft, piano. DAW: real-time/ step-time recording, sequencing, edit, quantise, balance, loop, duplicate, mix-down.

Language for Learning: Melodic movement: scalic, modal, moving by step, conjunct, moving by leap, triadic, disjunct, ascending, descending, repeating, modified, improvisatory, fixed, repetitive, slowly evolving. Pitch: low, mid, high, tessitura, register. Notation: score, metre, note names, note values. Texture: melody and accompaniment, unison, octaves, solo, counterpoint, canon, overlapping, phasing. Rhythm: regular pulse, repeating patterns, interlocking patterns, on-beat, syncopated, strict, metric clarity/obscurity/symmetry/asymmetry. Harmony and tonality: major, minor, diatonic, modal, pedal, inverted pedal, drone. Timbre/Forces: ‘like’ forces, live, looped, synthesized, sampled. Structure: ostinato, cyclic, loop, phrasing. Dynamics: loud, strong, forte, quiet, soft, piano, crescendo, diminuendo. DAW: real-time/ step-time recording, sequencing, editing, quantising, balancing, attack, decay, sustain, sample, loop, mix-down.

Language for Learning: Melodic movement: scalic, modal, moving by step, conjunct, moving by leap, triadic, disjunct, ascending, descending, repeating, modified, improvisatory, fixed, repetitive, motivic development. Pitch: low, mid, high, tessitura, register. Notation: piano roll, score, bpm, note names, note values. Texture: melody and accompaniment, unison, octaves, solo, layering, doubling, heterophony, tutti, countermelody. Rhythm: regular pulse, ostinato, on-beat, syncopated, 4-on-the-floor, augmentation, diminution. Harmony and tonality: major, minor, modal. Timbre/Forces: acoustic, live, looped, synthesized, sampled. Structure: ostinato, cyclic, based on gradual/dramatic change, motivic development, countermelody, elaboration, fragmentation. Dynamics: loud, strong, forte, quiet, soft, piano, crescendo, diminuendo, fade-in, fade out. DAW: real-time/ step-time recording, sequencing, editing, quantising, balancing, attack, decay, sustain, release, sample, loop, mix-down, panning, sweep.