Look at the composer’s notebook from this unit.

An important aspect of this example is that it contains a variety of musical starting points, enables a range of compositional techniques to be explored at specific expectations, and guides pupils towards expressive possibilities by the inclusion of text and poetic lines. This differentiates it from many units on Variations, which unless carefully designed can require pupils to explore limited compositional ideas with closed outcomes lacking a sense of aesthetic communication.

Identify the range of musical starting points (scales, melodic and rhythmic fragments, structural possibilities, chords, words that communicate meaning).

If these represent appropriate expectations for most Year 9 pupils, what would enable more-able pupils to explore similar processes at more advanced expectations?