KS3 Music Teaching Resources

The core purpose of this unit is to enable all students to recognise that they are musicians, regardless of their starting point. Through hands-on singing and playing, listening and analysing, students develop their musical understanding of what it means to hear, think and respond like a musician. Resources include teaching materials, student exercises, 'do now' tasks and supporting teacher notes.

Focus: Melodic shape, phrase structure, and how melodies relate to scales/modes and the tonic. Hands-on exercises incorporate aspects of performing, improvising, composing and analytical listening. Resources include teaching materials, student exercises, progress and assessment tools, 'do now' tasks and supporting teacher notes.

Focus: Connecting melody with simple harmonic frameworks and the role of the bass line. There’s also a rhythmic focus on the syncopated character of Calypso melodies, the skank rhythms of Ska, and bass lines of Reggae. Hands-on exercises in performing, improvising, composing and analytical listening. Resources include teaching materials, student exercises, progress and assessment tools, 'do now' tasks and supporting teacher notes.

Focus: Building on the foundations of melodic and harmonic knowledge established in year 7, this unit explores balanced phrasing and its relationship with functional harmony. Alongside performing, and analytical listening, students' musical understanding is developed through improvising and composing, using both set 'recipe' tasks and creative discovery. Resources include teaching materials, student exercises, progress and assessment tools, 'do now' tasks and supporting teacher notes.

Focus: Developing students’ confidence and skill when improvising as part of an ensemble, building on their existing harmonic understanding using extension chords, and the handling of expressive dissonance. It’s also about capturing the rhythmic swagger of shuffle rhythms and the freedom of the swung beat. Resources include teaching materials, student exercises, progress and assessment tools, 'do now' tasks and supporting teacher notes.

Focus: Developing students' understanding of the versatility of functional harmony, making use of I, IV, V and VI in chordal ostinati. Hands-on exercises in performing, improvising, composing and analytical listening. Resources include teaching materials, student exercises, progress and assessment tools, 'do now' tasks and supporting teacher notes.

Focus: Developing students' understanding of texture, in particular - homophony, canon and polyphony. Improvising, arranging and rehearsing exercises, focusing on the manipulation of compositional devices, and the development and deployment of short melodic motifs over chordal and bass ostinati. Resources include teaching materials, student exercises, progress and assessment tools, 'do now' tasks and supporting teacher notes.

Focus: Developing students’ understanding of textural layering, the manipulation and reworking of repeating patterns, the art of phasing, and contrapuntal interlocking techniques. Hands-on exercises incorporate aspects of performing, improvising, composing, arranging and analytical listening. Resources include teaching materials, student exercises, progress and assessment tools, 'do now' tasks and supporting teacher notes.

Focus: Motivic development, the craft of writing countermelodies, and the handling of elaboration, fragmentation, augmentation and diminution. It's also an exploration of how texture can be used to create contrast through the 'build - tension - release' techniques found in a range of musical traditions. Resources include teaching materials, student exercises, progress and assessment tools, 'do now' tasks and supporting teacher notes.

Listening resource suitable for the early stages of learning about the symphony orchestra, featuring key language, orchestral families, standard orchestral layouts, role of the conductor, roles of the ensemble performer, deployment of forces in context. Could be used as a whole lesson, integrated into existing teaching materials, as a follow-up homework, in 'do now' tasks, or before a trip to hear a live orchestra for the first time.

Following on from 'Tutti', this resource focuses on the string section, exploring playing techniques, articulation and string section layouts within the orchestra. Could be used as a stand-alone lesson, integrated into existing teaching materials, as a follow-up homework, or in 'do now' tasks. Also handy for GCSE revision of instrument timbres, playing techniques and articulation.

Following on from 'Tutti', this resource explores individual timbres including the use of mutes, playing techniques, and the varying roles brass instruments play in an orchestra. Could be used as a stand-alone lesson, integrated into existing teaching materials, as a follow-up homework, or in 'do now' tasks. Also handy for GCSE revision of instrument timbres, playing techniques and articulation.

Following on from 'Tutti', this resource focuses on the woodwind section, exploring playing techniques and articulation, practising the recognition of reedless, single and double reed timbres. Could be used as a stand-alone lesson, integrated into existing teaching materials, as a follow-up homework, or in 'do now' tasks. Also handy for GCSE revision of instrument timbres, playing techniques and articulation.

Following on from 'Tutti', this resource focuses on tuned and untuned percussion, exploring individual timbres, playing techniques and examples of how percussion is used in large scale orchestral works. Could be used as a stand-alone lesson, integrated into existing teaching materials, as a follow-up homework, or in 'do now' tasks. Also handy for GCSE revision of instrument timbres, playing techniques and articulation.

Six week integrated scheme that focuses on compositional devices found in works by Vaughan Williams, culminating in the creation of an original composition. Lessons are shaped around analytical listening followed by hands-on explorations of a particular device through improvisation, composing and arranging. Each lesson has a connecting homework task, providing opportunities for wider listening and research.