Music at key stage 3 (Year 7)

Unit 5: Musical cliches (exploring the way music is used)

About this unit

This unit develops pupils' ability to recognise, analyse and use a range of musical cliches used in different musical genres.

Pupils learn how composers use musical cliches and conventions. They listen to and analyse a variety of music and identify cliches used in film and television, conventions used by composers and instrumental techniques that have become cliches through frequent use. They improvise, compose and perform their own music using and challenging musical cliches and conventions.

This unit is expected to take 5-14 hours.

Sections in this unit

This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.


	1. Introduction: what is a musical cliche?
	2. Exploration: how do composers use musical cliches and conventions? (1)
	3. Exploration: how do composers use musical cliches and conventions? (2)
	4. Exploration: how do composers use musical cliches and conventions? (3)
	5. Exploration: how do composers use musical cliches and conventions? (4)
	6. Application: composing music that uses and challenges cliches and conventions