One of the attractive features of the OCR A level syllabus is the thoroughly enjoyable repertoire covered by this particular Area of Study. However, while the songs themselves have instant appeal, it...
Jane Werry Teaching Materials
Aside from two years in Mantua (1718-20) and his final months in Vienna, Antonio Vivaldi spent his life in Venice, from where his reputation and fame emanated. Venice had a unique atmosphere that had...
Hanh Doan Teaching Materials
On Wenlock Edge is a song cycle by Ralph Vaughan Williams that sets some of AE Housman's poems from his collection A Shropshire Lad. Published in 1896, the 63 poems in A Shropshire Lad reflect a...
Hanh Doan Teaching Materials
In this resource we will look at music by the artists and composers prescribed by AQA in Area of Study 6: Contemporary Traditional Music. The focus will be on providing background on these artists and...
Simon Rushby Teaching Materials
The first movement of the Eroica is of epic length, built on a nexus of closely related themes, with rebellious touches that merit inspection in every paragraph. This resource is about how to navigate...
Jonathan James Teaching Materials
All the GCSE boards stipulate that one of the two submitted compositions must be composed to a brief set by the board. The good thing about this is that choosing from a range of options is almost...
Jane Werry Teaching Materials
In the previous resource on Edexcel's film music Area of Study (Music Teacher, November 2017), we looked in detail at music from the film Psycho. In this second resource, we're going to consider the...
James Manwaring Teaching Materials
Sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar's fifth album, Breathing Under Water, was recorded in numerous locations over the course of ten months, and released in August 2007.
Simon Rushby Teaching Materials
The Beatles’ seventh album Revolver was released in August 1966. Following Rubber Soul and preceding Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (discussed in its own Music Teacher resource, February 2017),...
Simon Rushby Teaching Materials
This resource will not only give some Christmas-themed lesson ideas, but also suggest some one-off lessons that you might like to try. It might be that you’re at the end of a scheme of work, or just...
James Manwaring Teaching Materials
For each of the main pieces covered by this resource, there will be information about its context, background and programme (story). Details regarding each of the musical areas likely to come up in...
Jane Werry Teaching Materials
In this resource I want to go beyond just raising awareness. I want to help teachers and students get ‘under the bonnet’ by looking at some of the rich and diverse composing approaches and strategies...
David Ashworth Teaching Materials