Music

Strategic Lead for Performance: Mr M. Osborne

Music develops the students’ social, creative and artistic skills and forms a foundation for a fulfilling and interesting life. For some it is the beginning of a specialised career and for others it enriches their life as a leisure activity.

Click here to see how British Moral Values are taught in Music.

What do we offer?

Each student has one hour long music lesson each week. Lessons are entirely practical and involve performing, composing and listening to music. In each lesson we sing, create music in groups or using music technology and listen to and evaluate each other's work. Students have the opportunity to develop a broad mix of skills during their time at Scissett. In November 2018 the department was awarded Music Mark, which is an award in recognition of our commitment to providing high quality music education for all children and young people. This accolade has re-awarded in each year since.

How is the department resourced?

A specialist music classroom equipped with

15 iMac computers, which the students use for composition and music production tasks.
Keyboards and pianos
Electronic drum kits
Electric, acoustic and bass guitars
A class set of ukuleles
A class set of African djembe drums
Lots of classroom percussion instruments (xylophones, glockenspiels, various drums, class sets of handheld percussion instruments etc.)

We have 4 well equipped music practice rooms that are used as rehearsal spaces during lessons and 2 further music teaching rooms used to teach instrumental lessons to individuals or small groups.

What do we study?

Year 6

What Is Music?	Introduction to the elements of music Focus on singing technique A ukulele transition unit based around the song Best Day of My Life by American Authors
Keyboard Kick-Off	Introduction and development of keyboard skills Using the 5-finger keyboard technique to learn a variety of keyboard melodies Beginning to understand and develop how read notated music from the stave
I Got Rhythm	Introduction to djembe drumming techniques Reading rhythmic notation Creating drumming compositions that include call and response, cross rhythms and other musical features
Composing For Film	Using music technology to create a composition to accompany a scene from The Lion King Introduction to basic music technology skills including automation and recording parts using a MIDI keyboard Exploring the use of leitmotifs in film music
Mash It Up	Developing chord playing skills on the keyboard and ukulele by performing a variety of 4-chord songs Learning about major and minor tonalities Creating a mash-up of 4 chord songs and performing as part of a group

Year 7

Instruments of The Orchestra	Developing knowledge and a deeper understanding of the instruments in the four families of the orchestra Revisiting and developing notation reading skills and keyboard technique
Blues	A mixture of performance and composition tasks using the 12 bar blues chord sequence and walking bass lines Introduction to improvisation using the blues scale Developing keyboard and ukulele skills putting together a group arrangement
Minimalism	Exploring the style and the key features of minimalism Creating cell-based minimalist compositions that use phasing, melodic transformation, and other key features of the style
Rock Band 1	Developing skills on the electric guitar, bass guitar, drum kit and keyboard Learning how to read from tab notation Performing Wild Thing by The Troggs as part of a rock band Develop an understanding of popular music from 1950’s – 1970’s with a particular focus on Elvis Presley and The Beatles
Samba	An introduction to Latin American music including the instruments commonly heard in a Samba band Learning a variety of Samba rhythms and performing these in class and smaller group performances

Year 8

The Waltz	Exploring the history of the waltz including key composers Extended composition of a Waltz that demonstrates an understanding of the key features of the style
Rock Band Part 2	Further developing skills introduced in Rock Band 1, including instrumental skills on the electric guitar, bass guitar, drum kit and keyboard. Presenting a performance of an ‘own choice’ rock band piece Develop an understanding of popular music from 1980’s to the present day with a particular focus on Queen and Oasis and the Britpop movement
Advanced Piano	Further developing piano technique including recapping all aspects of reading from notation, including five finger technique. Revisiting previously studied styles of music to consolidate knowledge.
Remixing	Using music technology to create an authentic remix of a song. this involves taking a current pop song, isolating the vocal stems and then building the song back up using advanced music technology skills

Music staff and instrument lessons

We have one full time music class teacher, Mr M Osborne and 12 peripatetic staff from Musica Kirklees who offer lessons on the following:

Tutor	Instrument
Mrs L. Pearson	Piano and Keyboard
Mrs T. Mansfield	Woodwind
Mrs L. Kingham	Woodwind
Miss L. Stafford	Flute
Mr A. Kingham	Brass
Mrs C. Clegg	Drum Kit and Percussion
Mr M. Crone	Electric and Bass Guitar
Miss H. Roulson	Classical Guitar
Miss K. Chappell	Upper Strings
Mrs J. Worboys-Hodgson	Lower Strings
Mr S. Bradnum	Voice (Pop and Musical Theatre)
Mrs T. Waller	Voice (Classical)

Around a hundred students have weekly lessons from Musica Kirklees and many more have private lessons. Students interested in starting instrument lessons should see Mr Osborne for details and an application form.

Music Clubs

Day and Time	Club	Description
Monday 12:25 - 12:55	Garageband Club	A chance to develop creative composition skills. We do multimedia projects or compositions to a set brief. (Year 7 and 8 only)
Tuesday 12:25 - 12:5	Pop Choir	For all students who love to sing. We perform a range of pop and musical theatre and perform in concerts in school and in the local community.
Wednesday 12:25 - 12:55	Wind Band	For all woodwind and brass players. Beginner upwards. The Wind Band perform at concerts in and out of school, including touring our feeder First Schools.
Thursday 12:25 - 12:55	Rock Band	For students to unleash the rock star within. Open to all students who want to learn the electric guitar, bass guitar and drums and form bands. (Year 7 & 8 only)
Friday 12:25 - 12:55	String Ensemble	For Violins, Violas, Cellos and Double basses. Beginner upwards. The String Ensemble perform at concerts in and out of school, including touring our feeder First Schools.

Pupils are also encouraged to set up their own groups and use the practice rooms at break and lunchtime. A booking system is in operation.

Enrichment Opportunities

There are a number of in-house concerts each year, which feature all of the school’s ensembles and a variety of solo acts. As well as our two main concerts, at Christmas and in the spring, our students have lots of opportunities to perform at events in school and in the community. Be sure to check the school’s social media pages to keep updated with all that is going on.

Every Christmas we arrange for Musica Kirklees’ Staff Orchestra and Staff Rock Band to come and entertain students. These concerts are great fun, with the ensembles playing diverse repertoire and introducing our students to the instruments on show.

The Performance department organise an annual whole-school trip for all students to watch a pantomime. In the Spring term our Wind Band and String Ensemble undertake tours of a selection of our feeder schools. There are many other opportunities for students to perform in the community throughout the year, at local festivals and events, for example.

Musical Productions

Musicals have become a big highlight of the school year at Scissett Middle School. After performing Aladdin in 2019, The Lion King in 2020 and Matilda Jr in 2022, 2023's production was Mary Poppins Jr.

Cast rehearsals are twice weekly after school, beginning in the first half term but there are a number of roles available to students including sound and lighting technicians, hair and make-up assistants and stage managers. These productions always include a trip to London to watch the show in the West End to inspire our students as they are preparing.