Music

Music education at St Bart’s is designed to be accessible and available to students of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. The curriculum has been devised to take students on a journey from their first encounters of playing a musical instrument, to achieving outstanding levels of musicianship if they so choose.

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St Bart’s school hall features tiered seating and full sound and light rigging controlled by our tech gallery. We also have 3 music teaching classrooms, 2 with Mac suites, a sixth form study room, a recording studio and 9 practice rooms.

The Music Department provides many opportunities to rehearse weekly, including Orchestra Days, where over one hundred students will perform as part of the combined orchestra, or within smaller ensembles, as part of mixed choirs and as soloists. The Department also has established opportunities to perform in larger scale events, such as House Music, the School Production Show Band, Spring Concerts, and the annual Carol Service at St Nicolas’ church. St Bart’s students are also routinely asked to perform within wider community projects, such as The County Show, Newbury Spring Festival and even on the BBC.

The Music Tour is a particular highlight and in Summer 2023 teachers and students, as well as instruments and equipment, travelled to Italy and performed in Collodi, in Montecatini Terme (where many great Italian composers have written music) and Luca in the Church of San Paolino, as well as finding time to visit Florence, Siena, Pisa and the Montecatini caves.

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/stbartsmusic/

Year 7-9

In Years 7-9 the Music Curriculum focuses upon the three distinct disciplines: performing, composing and appraising as essential musicianship tools.

Year 7 Curriculum

In Year 7, students are taught in mixed ability tutor groups, in weekly one hour lessons, aimed to provide the whole school with a broad musical experience through wider listening activities and practical tasks in a variety of musical traditions.

Topics

Musical Building Blocks, Rhythm and Pitch, Conventional Music Notation, Introductory Performance Skills, Introductory Composition Skills
World Music Traditions, including Gamelan (pentatonic scales focus) Indian Music (expanding notation, textures and rhythm) and Chinese/Japanese Soundworlds
Orchestral Instruments and how they are used in Programmatic Music, including differing instrumental techniques, instrument combinations and how such instruments are used in different genres
Video Game Music, linking current music industries to the skills acquired across the curriculum. Students learn how to use music technology to create their own video game scores.

Year 8 Curriculum

By the end of Year 8, students will have experienced a range of music styles from traditional Classical repertoire, to more modern concepts of Electronic Dance Music, and in order to become well-rounded and broad minded musicians, the taught material will also include within each topic role models for female musicians, British artists, LGBT+ and BAME musicians as part of the learning process.

Topics

Latin Music (syncopation, improvisation, samba, tango/habanera, call and response, wider classical music references)
Blues and Rock and Roll (chord progressions, blues scale, improvisation, syncopation/swing style, walking bassline, bass clef reading)
Electronic Dance Music (club dance, techno, hip-hop, house, pop music styles, music software, music technology)
The Power of Three in Music (the waltz, ternary form, trio, triple time construction)
Expanding Form (the minuet/the symphony, rondo form, score reading and conducting skills)
New Directions in Music (minimalism, aleatoric approaches, serialism, nationalism and impressionism)

Year 9 Curriculum

In Year 9. lessons become a pathway option, and aim to further enhance the specialist subject terminology acquired by students to articulate their understanding of different music techniques, and to develop more critical analytical skills involving an increased use of conventional forms of notation.

Performance skills should become more independent at this stage, and students are encouraged to source their own music where appropriate in order to develop leadership qualities as more independent musicians.

Topics

African Music (syncopation, call and response, master drummer, african instruments, wider music links, fusion with pop music instrumentation)
Baroque Music Focus with Theme and Variations (ground bass, dub-step, instruments/vocal, composers, melodic/rhythmic variations, computer software development, SATB writing)
Film Music Project (silent movie origins, movie music through the decades, score analysis of larger orchestral works, leitmotif, contrasting genres, diegetic/non-diegetic)
Popular Music History (pop music styles from 1950’s onwards, chord progressions, arrangement techniques, music technology, syncopation, improvisation, song form)
Musicals (musicals history, genres, characterisation, links to operatic music, overture, dance music, solo, chorus)

GCSE (Year 10-11)

Examination Board: EDEXCEL

Course Description

The GCSE Music course is an exciting and dynamic exploration of music from the 18th Century to the modern day. The course has been designed to cover a wide range of music and to develop students’ analytical thinking skills, performance technique and ability to compose original music using up-to-date music software. As part of the course, students will be encouraged to develop a deeper understanding of how music is constructed and to foster their own individual sense of style and creativity.

Assessment

GCSE Music is divided into three distinct areas of assessment and are weighted as follows:

Performing (30%): Students should record one solo and one ensemble performance on their chosen instrument, lasting approximately four minutes in total. Students do not have to perform in a large concert unless they wish to, and they may record their performances as many times as they are able to. Students need to be able to play or sing to at least a basic level to fully access the GCSE music course, therefore it is important they take the opportunity within Year 9 (or earlier) to begin learning an instrument/singing if they do not already do so.

Composing (30%): Students complete two compositions lasting approximately three minutes in total. One of the pieces will be to a brief, (or idea) set by Edexcel, and the other will be to a topic of the students own choosing.

Appraising (40%): Students will study eight set works in preparation for a listening and appraising examination, which will last for 1 hour and 30 minutes. They must demonstrate an understanding of the stylistic features of the studied music and grasp the use of musical vocabulary to justify their responses.

Revision Materials

Year 11 Music Revision Video

Knowledge Organiser Revision Booklet. All students have a printed booklet with all of the set work summary information (spare copies available from the dept to borrow/repurchase if needed).

The music listening revision materials have been shared via the GCSE Music Google Drive. This has all of the practice questions and past papers in one place to help students to revise at home. Just choose one question at a time as this can be a little overwhelming otherwise.

Please go to RMUnify music tile for links to various revision materials and set work listening links.

Music Department (google.com) Go to the bottom of the relevant Key Stage page in particular for links to BBC Bitesize, Edexcel and the set work tracks on YouTube.

The Rhinegold GCSE Music revision guide is also obtainable from the Library to borrow.

Sixth Form (Year 12-13)

Examination Board: EDEXCEL

Course Description

A Level Music is about exploring musical creativity whilst studying methods, perfecting performance techniques and enhancing general musicianship. Music is a widely respected discipline and offers students an opportunity to broaden their musical experience, develop imagination and foster interests. The course enables students to build on an understanding of musical elements, style, sense of continuity, interpretation and expression.

In A Level Music, students focus on three key areas. They will complete a composition portfolio of two pieces (one free composition and one to a set brief) that will incorporate an understanding of four-part harmony, the manipulation of musical ideas and the use of musical devices.

The second area comprises a submission of a performance portfolio of between eight to ten minutes on their chosen instrument. This may take the form of solo work(s) or ensemble performances and must be recorded as one continuous performance in front of a small or large audience.

In the third area of study students will have the opportunity to investigate and analyse music from a broad historical range. This includes appraising contrasting genres, styles and traditions of music, and developing understanding of musical contexts and a coherent awareness of musical chronology.

Assessment

A Level Music is externally assessed/moderated and weighted according to the different areas submitted. Performing (30%), composing (30%) and the written examination paper (40%). This is a linear course.

Entry Requirements

GCSE Music is not a requirement, but where it has been studied, a Grade 5 is required. It is essential to be able to play a musical instrument or sing for the performing aspect of the course. Additional music exams are also beneficial but not essential. Please speak to a member of the music staff if you are unsure about any of these areas.

You might also be interested in A Level Music Technology

St Barts Music Subject Video

Where might it lead?

Music can help open doors to careers in:

Accompanist
Acoustic Consultant
Broadcast Engineer
Choreographer
Composer
Conductor
Instrument Technician
Music Journalist
Music Producer
Music Therapist
Musician
Producer
Songwriter
Sound Designer
Sound Engineer
Sound Technician – broadcasting/film/video
Talent Agent
Teacher
Tour Manager
Tutor

Student Destinations

Miriam Cooper

2024 Offer from Guildhall School of Music and Drama – Performance

St Bartholomew’s School Andover Road, Newbury, Berkshire. RG14 6JP

Telephone: 01635 521255 | Email: office@stbarts.co.uk | Full Staff Contact List
Y7-Y11 Attendance: 01635 576372 | Y12/13 Attendance: 01635 576366