This composing workbook is primarily aimed at those taking GCSE that are struggling with the composition tasks. This workbook gives the student a chance to try out some different approaches and develop their understanding of how to start a composition. The booklet focuses on improving understanding of harmony and guides the student through how to create pieces with a solid harmonic structure. It is written so that the whole process is covered, step-by-step. The students could use this resource alone, or with teacher support. It is not intended that the student will complete the composition workbook and end up with a fully completed and hand-in ready composition. This workbook focuses on getting the student started and developing the necessary tools to develop ideas further.

This contains a Power Point and accompanying worksheets to teach year 9 about serial music. It covers constructing a note row from the 12 semitones and crating a Prime Row. This is then put to the rhythm of the tune Happy Birthday. Pupils then learn about using this row in retrograde form. The worksheets help the pupils construct their own versions of Happy Birthday using the Prime rows that they have created. Pupils then create two note chords using the retrograde row and put this with their prime row version of Happy Birthday. This gives pupils a complete piece to play that uses verticalisation techniques in a simple way. This work can then be developed so that chords with 3 or 4 notes are created with the retrograde row or the melody and chords could be made up just using a single note row.

A good resource for KS3 that can be used on-line or as cover work. Pupils can fill the worksheet in or they can use it as a starting point for more indepth research. Could be used as a starting point for GCSE.

This worksheet helps students to play 3 different Raga patterns with drone notes. They are then guided through a composition/improvisation task. They are able to choose one of the Raga patterns and develop a composition within a given structure. They are given the characteristic phrase to use and guided as to when to use it to develop coherent musical ideas. Note names are given and a diagram of the keyboard is given to help students find sharps and flats. Students will need to have space to write their ideas down as this is intended to be a handout that can be re-used by multiple students. A .pdf and .docx file have been provided to download.

This is a PowerPoint that goes through how to read music from the very beginning. Terms are explained carefully and there are lots of examples. This would be very useful when starting to teach pupils how to read music and explains how to read 5 notes. (Middle C up to the note G) There is a notated example at the end of the PowerPoint showing Hot Cross Buns. This is an opportunity to test understanding and ask students questions about the music.

A worksheet to guide pupils through the process of creating lyrics for a character within a musical. There is a focus on creating just the lyrics for the chorus and up to 3 verses. Help and guidance is given in terms of creating a story or journey for the character. This worksheet will work well as an introduction into writing lyrics and looking at song structure.

The 12-Bar Blues in the keys of C, G and D for guitar, ukulele and keyboards. All the chords shown are standard chords apart from keyboard where the 7th for each chord has been added. The 7th of the chord is shown in green rather than red. The keyboard sheet has two different versions, one of them shows root position chords and the other provides inversions to make the chords easier to play.

Very easy maths sheet for beginner groups with notation of rhythm

Film Music topic, primarily aimed at use with year 9, but suitable for use with any year group. This is a blank template that allows pupils to draw the scene, add information about instruments, important rhythmic patterns and chord progressions. There is space to add the page number to the document so that additional scenes can be added as required.

A very short test that requires students to name the note on the keyboard. Really useful for checking that all students have understood how to find each of the notes. Just twelve questions and can be completed in just a few minutes to double check that there are no misunderstandings.

Fully timed PowerPoint that allows students to double check there understanding of the notes in the spaces for treble clef. The PowerPoint consists of just four questions, and the questions are automatically timed so that there are just 10 seconds to answer each one. There is a running countdown from 5 to 1 for each question. This is part of my treble clef and keyboard resource on TES that has a timed PowerPoint test for note from middle C up to G, the Notes on the Lines, the Notes in the Spaces and naming the keyboard note.

Two PowerPoints that guide the students through reading notes in the treble clef. The first Powerpoint goes through reading the five notes from middle C up to the note G step-by-step. The second Powerpoint goes through how to identify the notes on the lines and in the spaces of the treble clef. It details instruments that use the treble clef and shows pictures of them. There is also a Name the Note sheet to check for understanding.

This resource contains 4 PowerPoints. They cover short assessments allowing you to assess the understanding of keyboard layout, the treble clef notes from middle C up to G, the treble clef notes in the spaces and on the lines. These are quick and easy assessments that give a clear snapshot of any misunderstandings or confusion. All four PowerPoints are timed so that there are just ten seconds to answer each question. Included in this resource is a copy of a Find the Keyboard Note quiz as a pdf to print and use to reinforce current understanding.

A lead sheet for Knocking on Heaven’s Door. This single side of A4 includes words, chord progression, notes for bassline, guitar shapes, keyboard shapes, drum pattern and song structure. Ideal to print and go! The second sheet is exactly the same but has chords for Ukulele instead of guitar.

Three worksheets for pupils to complete adding up note values. The first sheet is simple with easy note values and calculations. The second sheet uses doted rhythms and semi-quavers. The third sheet uses dotted notes, rhythms and dotted rhythms.

This resource includes 4 worksheets to help introduce pupils to the guitar and can be used within a scheme of work on the guitar. The first worksheet shows the guitar labeled and provides a blank version for pupils to fill in The second worksheet gives details on how to read a guitar frame for chords The third sheet gives 2 pages showing an easy version of the G chord and then E minor, and on the second page the easy version of the G chord, Em and D. The last worksheet shows the four-chord trick in the key of G on guitar frames. Finger numbers in the left hand are provided as a guide

Here are some worksheets to use with pupils that explain the parts of the Ukulele and shows how to read a chord frame. There are then a few worksheets going through simple chords in the key of C and then in the key of G. This leads into the four-chord trick and the worksheets provide this in the key of C and the key of G. The reason for this is that learning the chords in C is easier, but if the chords are learned in G it means that this resource can be used with the guitar resources I have created.

This is an activity sheet about the Musical, the types of song and developing listening skills. Pupils may work through this independently as cover work, or this could be used as part of a scheme of work to introduce the idea of the different types of song and song structure in a musical.

These four worksheets show th four chord trick for Guitar, Ukulele and Keyboard in the keys of C, G and D. The ukulele chords are quite tricky in the key of D, but I have added them so that the chords are the same for keyboard, guitar and ukulele. The keyboard comes with two different versions. On the first one, the chords are shown in root position. The second page shows the chords using different inversions so that they are easier to play.

A simple sheet showing all of the keyboard keys (including enharmonics for the black keys). Easy to print and laminate to give to pupils to save writing all over the keyboards!