Pupils will continue to work on their two chosen instruments. They will alternate between these two instruments throughout the year in order to continuously develop their skills. Pupils will be encouraged to work up to National 4 or National 5 level in S3 in preparation for S4.

Pupils will consolidate their learning of music theory from S1 and S2 and become more confident in identifying musical symbols and information from a piece of written music. 

Pupils will build on the knowledge that they developed in S2 about popular styles of music. They will continue to learn about historical and social influences and learn to identify key concepts in the music. In S3, pupils will be introduced to more styles that were popularised in the 20th Century. 

Pupils will learn about different types of voices and learn to recognise them by ear. They will also learn to identify and describe key features of vocal music while continuing to consolidate concepts learned in other topics. Pupils will be introduced to exam style questions and will begin to become familiarised with a music exam format. 

Pupils will learn about the historical and social context of Blues and Jazz music. They will learn about the development of these styles and recognise how they have evolved and shaped a variety of other musical styles. Pupils will learn about key concepts in the music and understand the importance of these styles in musical history. 

In this topic, pupils will learn about traditional Scottish instruments, dances and styles. They will learn about the historical context of the music and learn to identify them by ear. This topic is featured in the National 5 syllabus and gives pupils a head start on S4 content! 

Pupils will learn about music from different countries across the world. They will explore the cultures and traditions of other countries and learn about a  variety of traditional instrumetns. This topic is featured in the National 5 syllabus and gives pupils a head start on S4 content! 

Pupils will write their own song using a pop song structure. They will experiment with chord patterns and instruments and provide lyrics either through using AI or writing their own. Pupils will not be asked to sing their own songs if they don't want to and can 'hire' a teacher or a friend to record their piece.