Year
9
Title
Understanding the conventions of Musicals
Stage and
objective of
understanding
Identify and Relate
Context
(matched to stage of
understanding)
Conventions,
processes and
procedures
(matched to stage of
understanding)
Focus of practical
experience
Learning how music for a musical is designed to incorporate music, singing, dance
and acting in order to communicate a story, often with high emotions.
Learning how Musicals music has developed through time in its use of resources
and the types of themes used.
Learning that the key characteristics of Musicals music are memorable, popular
tunes that integrate into a story or theme, music to create emotions and to entertain.
Ensemble Performance (3 weeks) Composition (3 weeks)
Features of
musical elements
Texture
Development of
skills
Holding a particular part within a thick textured ensemble performance
Composing to convey an intended effect.
Expected
outcome of
understanding
(related to context
and conventions and
how it will be
demonstrated in
practical work)
Pupils will show their understanding of different genres of Musicals by comparing and
relating their differences to the time and place of their composition. They will begin to
identify how different conventions of instruments and themes can be used to create
different expressive outcomes. They will experiment with performing in different
combinations and with different resources than they are used to in order to convey
the music, and story, in a stylistic way.
(assessed as developing, secure or strong)
Element(s)
All pupils will understand that musicals tell a story through combined
Art forms.
Some pupils will be able to recognise information such as date and
place of composition of the musical through the resources used and
themes covered.
A few pupils will understand in detail the style and pupose of the music
for within the musical.
Skill(s)
All pupils will be able to sing or play individually one layer of the
texture.
Some pupils will be able to perform their layer of texture in time with all
the other parts.
A few pupils will be able to perform stylistically and with confidence
within the ensemble performance.
Expected
outcome of
knowledge and
skills
(for all, some,
a few pupils)
Sequence of learning
Essential activities
Learn how to rhythmically put simple
dance moves to a song.
Teach all pupils the simple moves to the hand jive.
Split the dance performance up to include all doing it, just girls,
just boys, possibly a solo improvised spot, etc
Once learned get pupils to perform it with the music.
Understand that musicals incorporate
different art forms to achieve an
intended effect.
Show a selection of clips from Musicals asking pupils to write
what the main art form is and what story the scene is trying to
show. E.g. Dance Fight in West Side Story; Singing Balcony
Scene in Evita; Acting Dungeon Scene in Phantom, Music Car
Race in Grease etc.
Understand what a musical is.
In groups of three or four get pupils to choose a spokesperson
and then write a statement of what their group thinks a musical
is. Send each spokesperson to go round to the next group to
explain what the group has decided. The rest of the group make
notes from each other spokesperson. When the spokesperson
comes back the rest of the group tell them the best ideas from
the other groups and a final group statement is made which is
fed back to the rest of the class.
Learn about the developments in
instrumental and thematic elements to
musicals from 1930s – onwards.
Pupils will have a listening exercise where they hear a number of
extracts from musicals in chronological order. For each extract
they are told the date and they must identify the instrumental
resources e.g. Orchestra, Piano, Band etc. and what they think is
the theme of the song or musical e,g, religion, fairy tales, love,
etc.
Understand the main textural features
to a song from a musical and learn the
different roles musicians and
performers have within a musical song.
Listen to Summer Loving from Grease and identify all of the
musical performers that are needed to perform the piece. Drums,
Bass Guitar, Guitar / Keyboard, Solo Male, Solo Female, Male
chorus, Female Chorus.
Learn how to perform different parts of
an ensemble piece individually.
Explain to the pupils the role of a Musical Director is to choose
who sings and plays what and that the teacher is going to be the
musical director to put on a stylistic performance of the song.
Give out music to instrumentalists and rehearse singing groups.
Once the singers have sorted the notes they will be asked to sort
out simple dance moves.
Be able to perform an ensemble piece.
When all groups have had their parts and mastered them the
bass, chords and melody parts will be put together with actions.
Understand how to choose appropriate
elements of music to fit with a scene
from a musical.
Play the car race scene from Grease without the volume. Give
the pupils the length of the clip and discuss what the pupils will
need to take into account when preparing to make up a tune to fit
with this music. When performed it will be performed with the clip
playing.