Activity Resource 3: Musical vocabulary, appraising and higher-order thinking

The use of language is a specific requirement of the National Curriculum (2008) for music:

‘Pupils should be taught how to … communicate ideas and feelings about music using expressive language and musical vocabulary to justify their own opinions.’

The explicit reference to the use of a musical vocabulary is not a surprise, and will be understood by all music teachers. The description of when vocabulary needs to be used, however, and its location within the programme of study for ‘reviewing and evaluating’ indicates that it is only the starting point for language use in music. The ensuing challenge is to make sure that pupils can use musical vocabulary effectively to articulate their analysis and evaluation of music key features of appraising and higher-order thinking.

Increasing the challenge in the use of musical language therefore requires teachers to identify:

• what basic building blocks are in place for the use of a music-specific vocabulary;
• how these are developed and extended to include a wider use of language to support appraising activities.

Musical vocabulary

There are three different sorts of vocabulary used in music lessons, each of equal importance:

1. general/technical

   
   

   general words relating to the common features of elements, performance or composition (pitch, ensemble, inversion, etc.);

2. genre/technical

   
   

   genre-specific words relating to particular music (blues notes, raga, cadenza, etc.);

3. linguistic/expressive

   
   

   usually common descriptive words, but occasionally associated with particular styles or genres (soulful, exploratory, demonic, etc.).

To some extent, these three sorts of vocabulary can be seen as hierarchical: pupils will find it difficult to describe how blues notes work if they do not already have a vocabulary to describe pitch patterns, and scales in particular. The power of these devices to communicate can then be explained using an expressive vocabulary – though in some situations, of course, it is possible to describe the effect of the music first through expressive language, and then go back to find out what created it.

It is also pertinent to consider separately the issue of progression within expressive vocabulary itself. This can be seen in the following two areas.

1. The quality of expressive language used. Describing music in a major key as ‘happy’ and minor as ‘sad’ seriously underestimates the quality of language that Key Stage 3 pupils are expected to use across the curriculum. Pupils possess, and are challenged to use, a significant repertoire of descriptive words in other subjects.
2. The extent to which generic words for expression are used, or the way that, in more challenging work, they can be informed by a musical genre. For instance, pupils might be asked to describe music for an advert by using a vocabulary they would expect to hear in an advert: short phrases, exaggerated descriptions and lively words that capture the essence of an idea.

All this must be planned for. Pupils will not pick up the vocabulary they need just because it is identified in the planning – specific opportunities to use and develop these different sorts of vocabulary need to be built into lessons. For instance, starter activities using card sorts, laminated cards outlining structures for composing, and prompt cards on desks can all be used at the right time to encourage more sophisticated use of vocabulary. Document 5e  70kb is an example of a school’s ‘Vocabulary chart’ for a unit on the conventions of South American Dance music. It provides pupils with a set of vocabulary to use, and for clarity groups terms by colour against the genre/technical, linguistic/expressive and general/ technical categories. To some extent, there is overlap between the genre/technical and general/technical categories, but the genre/technical group helps to identify the essential conventions of the music being studied.

Task 10: Identifying use of a musical vocabulary (15 minutes)

Consider a lesson you are about to teach. What planned opportunities are there for pupils not just to learn but to use: general technical vocabulary? genre-specific technical vocabulary? expressive language? If any of these areas are currently missing, identify how pupils could be introduced to them, and taught how to use them in their work. Monitor the use that pupils make of this vocabulary, to ensure that it is accurate and appropriate to support their wider musical learning.