This is the first in a three-part resource that uses the development of the symphony as a guide for charting the evolution of large-ensemble instrumental writing in Western classical music. As such,...
Jonathan James Secondary education
What is music? What is composition? What is a ‘new direction’ in music? Who is John Cage?
These are the topics I'll cover in this resource on John Cage's Three Dances for two prepared pianos, one of...
There are many advantages to exploring graphic notation in the classroom:
It's a fact that most of our young students will only have a limited experience of working with and understanding standard...
The short answer is that it gives a lot of bang for your buck: you can explore many musical concepts through a unit on variations in a relatively short space of time. These include meaty compositional...
Jane Werry Secondary education
Following an earlier resource on gaming music (AQA AoS2: Computer gaming music, Music Teacher, November 2018), here I'm going to consider ways of teaching computer game music using composition. This...
James Manwaring Secondary education
From time to time, our rehearsals can have a little too much of the ‘harrowing’, or even of the ‘hearse’ to them. This resource is about revitalising our approach within a school context. It looks at...
Jonathan James Secondary education
The elements of music. DR P SMITH or MAD T SHIRT; posters on the walls of your classroom; a handy checklist for writing a model answer to a GCSE question; or a guide to development in an A level...
Anna Gower Secondary education
This resource looks at AQA's Area of Study 2, specifically computer gaming music since 1990. It will help with the study of computer gaming music, but will also consider some of the ways in which we...
James Manwaring Secondary education
This resource aims to provide resources and strategies for how to approach the area of study with your classes. These will include ideas for where to start with tackling the context of Classical...
Jane Werry Secondary education
In the first part of this resource (Music Teacher, August 2018) we looked at music by three of the five composers named by AQA in Area of Study 3: Music for Media – Bernard Herrmann, Hans Zimmer and...
Simon Rushby Secondary education
Although free schools and academies have been released from their obligation to adhere to the KS3 programme of study, it does nevertheless provide a useful starting point in suggesting what students...
Anna Gower Secondary education
In this resource, we will look at music by three of the five composers named by AQA in AoS3: Music for Media. For each composer, I provide an in-depth examination of an example of their music, a...
Simon Rushby Secondary education