Beaumont School Music Department

Here are the resources from today's lesson.  The Spotify playlist doesn't have exactly the same timing as indicated on the question sheet as they are different versions (in fact, you won't be able to answer questions 2 and 3 of extract 2), and the Swingle Singers' Libertango is only available on YouTube. The Spotify playlist is below, or alternatively you can click here to download it into your own account.  You can find the questions here too.

Expect to hear lots of jazz this week as we present our second 'of the week'; Dexter Gordon (1923-1990). One of the best tenor saxophone players in the history of jazz, Dexter Gordon epitomised the 'bop' sound on his instrument. He is perhaps best known for some classic albums on the Blue Note label from the 1960s, things like 'Our Man In Paris' and 'Go!' which really typify the sound of the label at that time. As well as the Blue Note recordings he worked with people like Lionel Hampton in the 1940s, and spent a lot of time making records in Europe in the later 60s and 70s. A really interesting character and a truly fantastic player, you can read a nice biography here , access the Spotify playlist here  or find it embedded below. Enjoy, Mr. Guinane

That time of year as come again when we say goodbye to Year 13.  Good luck for your exams, and we'll see Ben quite a lot until the Summer Concert is over.  As has now become tradition, the leavers get to paint on the wall in the Cupboard of Shame. There's a long story behind this one and you definitely had to be there, but if you can see the composers, then try and guess who they are...Year 13, make sure you return to write your names on your work of art!

Hi, Big Band tomorrow will be a brass sectional , please arrive promptly, or as soon as you can after any exams. Please bring mutes and music. See you there. DG

Some changes to the rehearsal schedule. Wednesday lunch Schmitz and Cadets in music block. Thursday after school full cast in Music Block.   The rehearsal on Monday 28th May has been cancelled . Please use this time to learn your lines and harmonies ready for a run of Act 2 on Thursday 31st. If you have lost your costume letter you must speak to Mrs Rowlands urgently. Here is The People versus Horton which will be helpful for tomorrow's rehearsal:

Here are your revision posters.  Rachel, please bring the others in tomorrow. Your timeline is to follow.

Please bring your instruments to Ms Doan's lesson this week. Thanks.

Starting from tomorrow, we will be introducing Beaumont Composer/Artist of the Week. When you come into the department foyer before and after school, at break times and lunchtimes, you will hear music by our chosen composer or artist.  Obviously if there are rehearsals on then we won't play the music but we think it's a nice to enter the Music Department to music and what better opportunity to broaden your listening experiences.  Music will be playing from Spotify so if there is anything you like, you can find out what the name of the piece is as it will be on the laptop screen.  We will also post up the playlist on here so you can download it for your own Spotify account. So, first up is Ms Doan's choice. I am going for a composer whose style I think can speak to all of you, whether it be instrumentally or chorally.  From his lush chamber music (I give you the Octet) to his glorious oratorio Elijah , I hope you will find something you enjoy and then go and ...

Once again, courtesy of Simon Rushby from Reigate Grammar School, here are two videos about the Berlioz:

Compare and contrast approaches to texture and tonality in the following three works: Sweelinck Corelli Berlioz Due: Tuesday 22nd March 2012

Spotify is a wonderful thing. This week I stumbled across the album 'What is Jazz' by Leonard Bernstein. It begins with two fascinating lectures on jazz, given by Bernstein, followed by some music that falls somewhere between 'Classical' music and 'Jazz' (the elusive 'Third Stream' for the true geeks). You can find a Spotify playlist of the album here , or embedded in the player below. Highly recommended, enjoy. Mr. Guinane  

Dear all, Radio 4 presenter and journalist Tom Service has begun a weekly series in The Guardian exploring some of the most influential and interesting composers of the last 100 years (he is attempting one a week, for fifty two weeks). As you may know I listen to a lot of this stuff, so really recommend you have a look at some articles, and check out some composers. I am convinced there will be something, or someone, in the world of 'contemporary' music you will like! I am currently listening to Harrison Birtwistle , the subject of this week's article. I recommend beginning with this article, 'The Five Myths about Contemporary Classical Music' , which tries to outline some of the reasons people are dismissive of, and struggle with, 'new' classical music. The series can be found here . Be brave, and enjoy! Mr. Guinane

There is NO ORCHESTRA tomorrow. Apologies for the late notice. Ms Doan and Mr Guinane are off-site lesson 7 and won't be back in time. Please spread the word and RT.

Big Band will be on tomorrow lunch, look forward to seeing you all there. Trumpets, if you have them, bring some mutes please. Thanks, Mr. Guinane

Former music student, Claire Davies is musical director for a production of FAME! this Summer at Sandringham School. It's a community project for people between 12 and 25 years old.  They are looking for some strong singers to be in the chorus and we have been approached to see if anyone in the Choir or Vocal Ensemble are interested.   The rehearsals are at Sandringham School on Wednesday and    Thursday evenings from 4 ?til 8 and the shows are on the 5th, 6th and    7th of July (with a matinee performance also on the 7th).  If you are interested please email Claire on  jh08cjd@leeds.ac.uk saying that you are from Beaumont Choir or Vocal Ensemble.  Should be good fun!

Here is a link to the EdExcel notes for your set works. Nothing you don't know already!  However, it's not about memorising, it's about familiarising yourself with them aurally and then identifying the key features.  These documents should be used for checking info, not from which you learn.  You have what you need. Corelli Beethoven Schumann Berlioz Stravinsky Weelkes Haydn Perkins Beatles Enjoy and email or tweet with any questions. Miss Doan

Year 13, this is just a reminder that you will have a lesson tomorrow, same time, same place, despite CED. Please arrive promptly, we will be doing timed essays (oh yes), so being late will render the activity significantly less valuable. Many thanks, Mr. Guinane

Over the coming days and weeks, Beaumont Music will tweet YouTube links for revision and if possible a question for you to answer too!  You can answer in a tweet if you wish, or just go off and have a think about it for yourselves.  You don't need to Twitter to make the most of it. Click on the links below to take you to the pages.  Search the relevant hashtag if you are actually on Twitter! #yr11revision #yr12revision  (this will involve tweeting similar works to your set works to see if you can relate them to your set works) #yr13revision

As usual, we would like Year 11s, 12s and 13s to be involved in the Summer Concert (Wednesday 11th July) , and this has been the expectation for a number of years now.  Here is what we expect you to attend during study leave: Vocal Ensemble (this is especially high priority given what we have in the way of concerts) Big Band Orchestra If you are unable to attend, please let us know in advance by popping by, email or tweet us. We would love to see you at Concert Band and Choir but you should see how you are doing and come when you can.   Good luck with all of your exams! Ms Doan and Mr Guinane

Compare and contrast approaches to tonality and harmony in the following three works: Sweelinck: Pavana Lachrimae Mozart: 1st movement, Piano Sonata K333 Ram Narayan (India) — Rag Bhairav Due: Tuesday 15th May 2012

Click here for some suggestions for wider listening. The relevant playlist is below, to which Mr Guinane wil also add some suggestion listening for his set works. This list is by no means exhaustive and you should use it as a spring board for other listening.  The whole musical canon is your oyster! Below is the playlist. You can click on the link here to open it in your Spotify too:

Now you don't need spotify- you can play tracks directly from the blog. Love it. However, if you want it in your own Spotify, click here to get the link to the playlist as usual.

Hi, Here are more essay titles for you: Describe the stylistic features of My mother bids me bind my hair by Haydn which show that this music was composed in the Classical era (10). Compare and contrast the structure and tonality of Sing we at pleasure by Weelkes and A Day in the Life by the Beatles (18). Compare and contrast the melody and harmony of Harold in Italy: movement III by Berlioz and Septet in E flat Op. 20 movement I by Beethoven (18). Here is the playlist of your set works (only the ones which are available on Spotify):

As promised, here is today's work.  The documents will be put up around the cupboard of shame so you can add to them there if you need.  A couple of them are a bit light on information (e.g. A day in the life ) so you will need to do something about this.  It goes without saying, that all of these features now need examples to illustrate them.  That's part of your revision, of course.  And remember, locate examples by structure, not just by bar number.  Explaining where it is in relation to the structure demonstrates much better understanding than memorising a bar number.  Essay title will be posted tomorrow.

The first sectional rehearsal in the history of Concert Band (since 2006, anyway...): Flutes, oboes, clarinets = HALL (Sarah and Chloe, please lead) Saxes, horns and trombones = Room 31 (Ben, please lead) Trumpets = Room 30 (Miss Doan to lead) Basses, Bassoons  = Practice Room (Becky please lead) Percussion = Drum room (Luke please lead) That's everyone isn't it? Please work on both pieces until 8.20am and tidy everything away when you have finished in your respective rooms.

As part of your revision and your quest for a greater understanding of the musical canon, you should be taking advantage of BBC Radio 3 Explore the Composer and Composer of the Week series.  They give an excellent insight into the life and works of a composer and you will get a better idea of how the work you are studying fits into the overall picture of the composer's life. There is not one for every composer as they do not keep all podcasts so you must stay on the ball! Click the composers to go to relevant website and podcasts/concerts: Beethoven Corelli Schumann

As promised, here is The Sorceror's Apprentice as it appeared on the Fantasia VHS.  It is simply fabulous so pleased watch it and of course, if you don't know it already, get to know the music.  Please go over your parts (ww especially), F minor is not easy and those accidentals are pretty difficult to read unless you have a closer look!

Year 12: Give an account of the features of Sing we at pleasure which make it typical of the music of the Renaissance period (10). Compare and contrast the melody, harmony and rhythm of the first movement Beethoven's Septet in E flat and the 3rd movement of Berlioz's Harold in Italy (18). Year 13: Compare and contrast approaches to melody, rhythm and metre in the following works: Shostakovich: String Quartet no. 8, Op. 110, first movement Cage: Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano, Sonatas I-III Corelli: Trio Sonata in D, Op. 3 no 2, fourth movement (36)

Here are 4 videos for AS and A2 students, courtesy of Simon Rushby, Director of Music at Reigate Grammar School, our new friends on Twitter.  There's nothing you don't already know but the videos pull everything together really nicely.  Enjoy, and thank you very much, Mr Rushby! A2: Gabrieli: In ecclesiis AS: Corelli: Trio Sonata in D AS: Beethoven: Septet in E flat (Part A) AS: Septet in E flat (Part B)

Hello Year 10, Please find below a link to the form you need to complete this lesson: Commentary Pro Forma Save it into your area please! If you wish to view the marking criteria, find it here: Commentary Criteria

Hello, Please find links to the Edexcel Notes for your set works: Cage Corelli Sweelinck Mozart Gabrieli Berlioz Auric Pheloung Ram Narayan Addy Stravinsky Shostakovich Enjoy. Mr. Guinane