Stretch and Challenge – Year 9

KS3-Year 9

 Join an extracurricular music group at school.  Explore the options for instrumental lessons and take an instrument.  Download the ABRSM’s Aural Trainer app for extra practice for this component of a practical music exam at any grade.  Form a covers band, rehearse a song and aim to perform in a Music lesson or in a Celebration Assembly. You could even audition for a place in the Autumn Gala.  Audition for the School Production  Create a glossary of key terms and definitions that you have learned about in music lessons so far this year (and the last 2 years), that you can add to as you learn more.  Begin a course of Music Theory, such as this one from the ABRSM.  Find resources (online or with help from a class or instrumental teacher) for a piece of music of an appropriate standard for you to arrange and play on your instrument by one of these composers from the Romantic era: Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak. You could arrange it for a solo instrument with accompaniment, for you to play with a friend or family member.  Create a quiz about key Italian terms and symbols used in Music. It should include a variety of question types (open questions, multiple choice, true or false, etc.) and cover content under headings such as Dynamics, Articulations, Tempo, Melodic Ornamentation, and Musical Character  Using a piece of presentation software, (such as Powerpoint, Keynote or Adobe Spark), create a presentation about the life and works of your favourite media composer (such as , , , , or Koji Kondo). You should include a brief summary of their musical education, their musical influences, audio examples of their work, and the reasons for their success. You might even plan to present for 5-10 minutes on the subject during a music lesson.  Recreate one of the pop songs you have studied during the Popular Music topic using sequencing software such as Soundation. Depending on your choice of song, this might include a bassline, chords, drum groove and vocals. It could also feature backing vocals. You may even choose to record the vocal yourself. Once you have done this, create a tutorial for the software you have used that would allow others to do the same.  Write your own 4-chord song, based on this template and perform it to friends and family. You could use notation software such as MuseScore, or create a lead sheet with lyrics annotated with chords.  Create, and share, a Spotify playlist that shows the developments in Popular Music between the 1950s and the present-day, including at least 2 songs from influential artists in each decade.  Go to a concert of unfamiliar music – while you are there, note down 5 questions (about the musical style, the people performing, the instruments you hear being played or anything else you can think of) and then research the answers for yourself.

Recommended listening  Symphony No. 9 (last movement) by Beethoven  Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture by Tchaikovsky  Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World’ (Largo) by Dvorak  Symphony No. 1 by Brahms  Film/computer game music by Ennio Morricone, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Thomas Newman, Michael Giacchino, or Koji Kondo  Popular music between the 1950s and present-day from the following genres: Rock ‘n’ Roll, Motown, Progressive (‘Prog’) Rock, Disco, Hip-Hop, Synthpop/Europop, Indie/Alternative Rock, Britpop, Pop from the 2000s