S1 Music Course
Unit 1: Intro to Level 2 Music (Aug-Dec)
In this Unit, Learners will have the opportunity to develop their Music Performance skills on a variety of instruments, developing core technical skills and abilities and applying their knowledge of musical notation in context. This course involves a 3 week rotation across 4 instruments, with opportunities for group performing at the end of each rotation.
The instruments we are focussing on are:
- Bass Guitar
- Drum Kit
- Keyboard
- Ukulele
Learners will also work on the basic foundations of Music Theory, working with basic rhythms and note values, alongside the pitches of the Treble Clef stave. Skills gained will be:
- Understanding note values
- Reading the Treble Clef stave
- Reading rhythm
- Understanding chord boxes
- Understanding tablature
- Understanding percussion notation
Key Meta Skills Learners will utilise in this Unit:
- Focusing
- Collaborating
- Curiosity
- Creativity
Unit 2: Intro to Level 3 Music (Jan-June)
Following on from Unit 1, Learners will select two of the following instruments on which to further develop their technical skills with more challenging materials aimed at Level 3:
- Acoustic Guitar
- Bass Guitar
- Drum Kit
- Keyboard
- Ukulele
- Tuned Percussion
- Any orchestral instrument on which they receive private tuition
Learners will also continue to develop their knolwdge of how to read, write and interpret Music Notation in a variety of contexts including some basic elements of Composition. Skills gained will be:
- Understanding further note values and pitches beyond the Treble Clef stave.
- Writing and creating basic rhythms and pitches
- Building short 4 bar melodies in 4/4 and 3/4 time signatures.
Key Meta Skills Learners will utilise in this Unit:
- Focusing
- Collaborating
- Curiosity
- Creativity
Unit 3: Instruments of the Orchestra (Apr-May)
In this Unit, Learners will explore the families of instruments found in the orchestra. They will learn key terminologies relating to how a variety of instruments function, and use their aural skills to identify instruments by their sound.
Skills and knowldge gained will be:
- Instrumental families
- Playing technique terminology
- Enhanced aural identification
- Written and verbal literacy
- Conducting and rhythm/pulse
Key Meta Skills learners will utilise in this Unit:
- Focusing
- Communicating
- Curiosity
- Critical Thinking
Unit 4: Intro to Music Technology (June)
In this Unit, Learners will gain experience of working with the Mixcraft DAW to create a short Podcast of their design. Learners will have ownership over creating a theme, script and jingle for their show.
Skills and knowldge gained will be:
- Digital Literacy
- Editing in a DAW workspace
- Recording audio with a microphone
- Setting up a safe signal path
- Exporting and importing audio
Key Meta Skills learners will utilise in this Unit:
- Collaborating
- Leading
- Creativity
- Initiative
Key Assessment Dates
You can find the details for all of our assessments on your class Teams page. Below is a rough list of when you should expect your assessments to be this year, and some revision resources to help you out.
- Performing will be assessed through ongoing class tracking and evaluation
- Theory Assessment 1 - Week Beginning 24th November 2025
- Composition 1 - Week Beginning 12th January 2026
- Theory Assessment 2 - Week Beginning 20th April 2026
- Instrument of the Orchestra - Week Beginning 1st June 2026
Homework Tasks
Here you can find copies of all our S1 homework tasks and a rough idea of when they will be issued/due.
If you can't access tasks here or via Satchel & Teams, please let your class teacher know and we can provide alternative formats.
S1 Teams
You should have been added to your S1 Team at the start of the year.
If you find you've lost access or haven't been added, you can request to be added to the relevant Team using the codes below via Glow.
1.1. - kl253rq
1.2 - mhtdujw
1.3 - ocpl80s
1.4 - d8kma9n
1.5 - ewhb8c9
1.6 - frwfzr2