Welcome to the Music Room.  

Preparation for Working Life

Base 7 is where the music department lives! Sometimes it is the quietest room in the school, - when the students are working individually on keyboards. And sometimes it is the noisiest, - when we working on rhythm and drumming!
The room is set up in a similar way to a language laboratory. There are 15 keyboard sockets set on a low voltage system, and the keyboards are set on a work surface that runs along 2 walls in the room. Each keyboard is also plugged into a communication system that is linked to a central console, where I can listen to each student’s progress, or demonstrate to the whole group.

Creative music making

Students begin by learning about the various functions of the keyboard, and learn to play simple tunes, either Christmas carols, or other favourites. By the time they get to Y10 or Y11 they are able to improvise melodies with an added backing track, and they have a knowledge of chords. In Y10 and Y11 students are encouraged to gain external accreditation from the AQA authority.

But this isn’t all we do! Most students learn how to play tunes on an ocarina, and we have an ocarina band which plays at concerts in school…and we have been known to venture into other venues too!
Each year we rehearse and perform a Christmas musical, with help from other willing victims (sorry, I mean staff!!), which is a lot of work, but great fun.