IMPACT KS3 Curriculum
IMPACT is an ensemble-based curriculum for mixed-ability, mixed-instrument classes. Students begin with a shared pulse and Common Tone, then develop instrumental and vocal skills through connected repertoire. Singing can support the instrumental programme; the Melody Book offers material for this purpose, while teachers may add other songs.
Each piece and its worksheet connect performing and singing with listening, notation, theory, composition, creativity, musical understanding and, where relevant, historical and cultural context. These areas are learned through the music students make together, not as isolated tasks.
The numbered units describe a progression of skills rather than fixed year levels. They offer a pathway for a new KS3 cohort, but students can take on different musical roles, progress at different rates and revisit foundations when needed. Teachers adapt the repertoire and pace to their students and curriculum.
HOW IMPACT WORKS
The IMPACT curriculum is built around a continuous progression of instrumental skills through Levels A–M. As students expand their tonal range, develop instrumental technique and gain musical independence, they progress through the IMPACT pieces, which connect practical music-making with five main learning areas: Performance, Creating & Composing, Listening & Understanding, History & Style, and Theory.The diagram illustrates how these five areas are divided into individual learning strands, each following a logical and continuous progression from Level A to M. Although the strands have their own learning objectives, they remain closely connected through the shared repertoire. Students develop their musical knowledge and understanding through performing, listening, creating and exploring music together, while assessment provides feedback and guides their next steps.
CURRICULUM PROGRESSION — LEVELS A–M
The IMPACT curriculum develops instrumental skills and musical understanding through 13 progressive levels. Students gradually expand their tonal range, instrumental technique and musical independence while exploring new musical concepts through shared repertoire. Each level builds on previous learning and connects performance, creating and composing, listening and understanding, history and style, and theory.
LEVEL A — FIRST SOUNDS
Pieces 1–3
Students establish controlled sound production, basic instrumental technique and a steady 4/4 pulse. Beginning with the shared note G, they develop ensemble awareness while exploring sound and silence, basic notation and repetition, and experiencing C-major harmonic accompaniment.
LEVEL B — TWO NOTES & PITCH DIRECTION
Pieces 4–5
Students expand their melodic range to F–G, exploring higher and lower pitch, the major second, repetition, sequence and call-and-response. They develop dynamic control and introduce F-major harmony while strengthening ensemble coordination.
LEVEL C — STEPWISE MELODY
Pieces 6–7
Students extend their melodic range to E–F–G, developing accurate stepwise movement and recognising ascending and descending patterns. They explore tones and semitones, repetition and variation (A–A′), and how C-major and F-major chords support the melody.
Explore Level C →
LEVEL D — PULSE & DURATION CONTROL
Pieces 8–9
Students extend their melodic range to D–E–F–G, developing control of sustained notes, rests and steady pulse. They explore four-bar phrases, major and minor contrasts, open and closed musical endings, and G-major, C-major and F-major harmony.
Explore Level D →
LEVEL E — FIVE-NOTE FLUENCY
Pieces 10–16
Students complete the five-note range C–D–E–F–G, developing greater instrumental fluency and confidence in reading notation. They explore tones and semitones, melodic intervals, tonic and dominant harmony, motifs, sequences, parallel phrases and the difference between monophonic and homophonic textures.
Explore Level E →
LEVEL F — RHYTHM & ENSEMBLE INDEPENDENCE
Pieces 17–23
Students extend their melodic range to the full C-major scale and develop rhythmic independence through quavers (eighth notes), rests and repeated patterns. They explore ostinati, triads, I–IV–V harmony, chord tones, passing notes, cadences, improvisation and more developed musical structures.
Explore Level F →
LEVEL G — INDEPENDENT MELODIC PLAYING
Pieces 24–29
Students develop greater independence in melodic performance and ensemble playing, exploring two-part textures, counterpoint, accents and legato articulation. They investigate major and minor contrasts, strophic form and rhythmic relationships while applying their growing musical understanding to short eight-bar compositions.
Explore Level G →
LEVEL H — EXPANDED RANGE, CADENCES & VARIATION
Pieces 30–35
Students extend their melodic range and develop greater control of phrasing, articulation and expression. They explore 2/4 metre, perfect, plagal and imperfect cadences, ii–V–I harmony, melodic ornamentation, theme and variation, and increasingly developed musical forms.
Explore Level H →
LEVEL I — EXTENDED READING & MUSICAL INDEPENDENCE
Pieces 36–43
Students expand their reading skills through lower notes, anacrusis (pickup notes), repeat signs and first and second endings. They explore 3/4 metre, swing rhythm, expressive tempo changes, A minor, diminished triads, slash chords and more varied musical structures, developing greater independence in interpretation and performance.
Explore Level I →
LEVEL J — F MAJOR, D MINOR & EXPRESSION
Pieces 44–56
Students extend their tonal and harmonic understanding through F major and D minor, introducing B-flat and a wider melodic range. They explore dotted rhythms, triplets, ties, slurs, chord inversions, seventh and suspended chords, chromatic neighbour notes, rounds, canons and expressive dynamics, alongside increasingly complex musical forms.
Explore Level J →
LEVEL K — G MAJOR, E MINOR & ACCIDENTALS
Pieces 57–62
Students develop their understanding of key signatures and accidentals through G major and E minor, introducing F-sharp, natural signs and the relationship between relative major and minor keys. They explore harmonic minor, the leading note, dominant-seventh harmony, strophic form, echo phrases and expressive tempo changes.
Explore Level K →
LEVEL L — STYLE & ADVANCED SCORE READING
Pieces 63–78
Students explore Classical and Romantic repertoire while developing advanced notation, rhythmic and harmonic understanding. They investigate compound and irregular rhythmic groupings, chromaticism, enharmonic notes, modes, transposition, additional clefs, the circle of fifths, chord inversions and voice-leading, alongside binary, ternary, rondo and sonata forms.
Explore Level L →
LEVEL M — LEAD SHEETS, POPULAR MUSIC & JAZZ
Pieces 79–88
Students apply their instrumental and theoretical skills to popular music, rock, blues and jazz. They develop confidence with lead sheets, chord symbols, twelve-bar blues, ii–V–I progressions, pentatonic and blues scales, Mixolydian mode, extended rhythmic patterns and longer musical structures. Improvisation, arranging and independent musical interpretation become central to their creative development.
Explore Level M →
CURRICULUM PROGRESSION — LEVELS A–M