HIGHER MUSIC
Learning in Higher Music
The young people in S5-6 will be given the option to study Music at Higher level and gain a national qualification. It is advisable that the young people have managed to attain a National 5 qualification in Music before opting to study Music at Higher level. However as always, exceptions can occasionally be made. The needs of every young person will be taken into account, and we will work with them to achieve their potential in Music.
In the majority of cases, young people will continue with the two instruments from the list below which they have been learning in National 5, although on occasions they may be advised by their Music teacher to change an instrument. This will always be in the best interest of the individual candidate and will only be changed if it is felt that this will improve their chances of attainment.
KEYBOARD
GUITAR
BASS GUITAR
DRUMKIT
TUNED PERCUSSION (XYLOPHONE AND GLOCKENSPIEL)
UKULELE
VOICE
WOODWIND/BRASS (if attending wind band or receiving tuition)
PIANO (if receiving tuition)
*Please note that the young people are entitled to free music tuition on one of their chosen instruments through the Aberdeen City Council Music service. We have been working on a pilot scheme where some of the Music instructors are in the department at the same time as certificate Music classes. This has enabled them to work alongside the class teacher with the young people during their Music class to support their learning. We hope to continue this in the next session where possible although it may be likely that some pupils on keyboard, woodwind and brass will need to attend lessons at a separate time. This will be on a rota system to minimise disruption to other classes.
The young people will be given individual performance tracking sheets in which their progress with their learning can be monitored. This will encourage them to continually focus on improvement and to complete full pieces to a high standard by developing effective practice routines. A performing prelim will take place in November/December where candidates will be required to perform one full piece on each instrument in front of a Music teacher. This performance will be video recorded and used to form discussion on improvement for the final exam with the candidate.
The young people will build on their prior learning and continue to develop their understanding of music by learning about more complex features of different styles of music through listening, discussion and composition tasks.
The topics studied in Higher Music focus on periods of music. These are:
MODERN MUSIC
ROMANTIC MUSIC
CLASSICAL MUSIC
BAROQUE MUSIC
EARLY MUSIC
HIGHER MUSIC ASSESSMENT
PERFORMING MUSIC - 50% of Final Grade
A programme of contrasting pieces on 2 instruments or 1 instrument and voice at a minimum of ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal School of Music) Grade 4 level, lasting 12 minutes in total must be performed in front of an external examiner. This takes place in February/March every year and will be assessed by the external examiner.
UNDERSTANDING MUSIC - 35% of Final Grade
All candidates will sit an Understanding Music listening paper during the annual SQA exam diet. This paper will contain a variety of multiple choice, open ended, analytical and literacy questions about the music concepts from the National 3 - Higher concept lists. This will be marked externally.
COMPOSING MUSIC ASSIGNMENT - 15% of FInal Grade
Candidates will compose a short piece of original music and write a review stating their main decisions and developments.
Homework in Higher Music
All Higher classes will be allocated to a Google Classroom class which can be accessed online. Homework will mainly be issued on these classrooms and will include a variety of tasks involving researching and revising musical concepts and styles, listening to specific examples of music and concepts and musical literacy tasks. There will also be a weekly concept test which the young people should revise for.
Some of these tasks can be completed on smartphones if they have internet access. If any of the young people do not have access to a computer or internet, they are more than welcome to use the computers in the department at lunch times or after school to complete homework tasks.
How you can help
You can help the young people to make the most of their learning in Music by encouraging them to regularly check in with their Google Classroom to see if they have any homework due in, and making sure that they submit it on time. A free app for Google Classroom can be downloaded onto most smartphones so you can ask the young people to get this and set it up to receive notifications. This way reminders of homework tasks can be sent out. You can also remind them to ask their Music teacher if they have any problems with or questions about homework or work in class.
Young people should try to engage with music by listening to it and trying to pick out the different instruments they can hear which they can then discuss with you. If they have access to instruments outside school you can ask them to let you hear what they have been learning and encourage them to establish a practice routine. We would advise 4 practice sessions of around 15 -30 minutes per week where possible.
There are also many music apps now available where young people can work out tunes and create their own music too, so you can encourage them to have fun with these and enjoy music. Finally, please have a look through the materials attached to this page so you can see what the young people will be learning in Music.
