Department Leader: Gillian Dunphy
The Nuneaton Academy Music Curriculum enables pupils to:
- develop their musical skills through performing, creating and producing music
- deepen their knowledge and understanding of music and how it is created
- explore a range of musical styles from different times and places, including their musical features and cultural contexts
- learn the behaviours, attitudes and professional skills used by successful musicians
Pupils develop their confidence and skills as performers, developing their technical skills, timing, expression and effective rehearsal skills, and learning how to build an effective musical performance. As producers they explore a range of software for creating and manipulating music electronically. Pupils improvise and compose their own music, learning to make effective creative choices to express themselves through their own music.
When performing or composing, pupils explore the main instrument families used in popular music – guitars, keyboards, singing and drum kit / untuned percussion, and also develop their music production skills, using computers to create music electronically. During Year 7, all pupils have the opportunity to explore each of these areas of music making. As they move through Years 8 and 9, they have increasing opportunity to focus their learning on their preferred instruments. In Year 10 and 11, pupils who opt to study music further will take part in focussed development of their chosen instrument or singing as well as music production and composition skills.
Pupils’ understanding of music deepens throughout their time at the Nuneaton Academy. In Year 7, they will explore the musical elements – out of which all music is created. From Year 8, they will learn to recognise the musical features and cultural contexts of a range of musical styles from different times and places. Through Years 9, 10 and 11 pupils further their independence in applying this musical understanding to create ever more effective music.
In order to become successful musicians, pupils apply the Nuneaton Norms of Respect, Responsiveness and Resilience. They learn to rehearse effectively whilst collaborating respectfully with other musicians. They develop the self-discipline required for effective rehearsal, responding to instructions and feedback, both independently and with others. They develop their confidence and techniques to overcome difficulties and use resilience to achieve excellence in both their musical outcomes and their wider life.
