Music lessons across the PICRAT grid.

Sampled environmental sounds in a DAW

Year 10 · 80 min · 1 device per student plus headphones

Each student records 10 environmental sounds (bell, footsteps, water, wind, traffic, school sounds, etc.) and arranges them into a 90-second piece using DAW effects (pitch shift, reverse, time-stretch, layering). The piece must follow a clear narrative arc.

Tools: GarageBand

Vocal layers with auto-pitch and harmonisation

Year 10 · 80 min · 1 device per student plus headphones and a mic

Each student records a single melodic vocal line and uses auto-pitch correction plus a harmoniser plugin to generate three additional harmony parts. They mix the four voices into a 60-second layered vocal track. They submit individually.

Tools: GarageBand, Logic Pro

Composing with virtual orchestral instruments

Year 11 · 100 min · 1 device per student plus headphones

Each student composes a 90-second piece using virtual orchestral instruments (strings, woodwinds, brass) plus effects (reverb, compression). The piece must use at least three instrumental voices and a clear arc. They export and submit.

Tools: GarageBand, Logic Pro, BandLab

Each child composes a 16-second melody

Year 5 · 35 min · 1 device per child plus headphones

Each child composes a 16-second melody on virtual piano in GarageBand using four pitches and a clear rhythm. Submit as exported audio.

Tools: GarageBand

Each child builds a soundtrack for a short video

Year 6 · 50 min · 1 device per child plus headphones

Each child takes a 30-second silent video clip (school sports highlights, a nature scene) and composes a soundtrack using a DAW. Submit clip with embedded soundtrack.

Tools: GarageBand, BandLab

Each child records and layers a percussion pattern

Year 6 · 40 min · 1 device per child plus headphones

Each child records four simple percussion lines (foot stomp, hand clap, body percussion, shaker) and layers them into a 16-bar pattern.

Tools: GarageBand, BandLab

Beat programming in a step sequencer

Year 8 · 45 min · 1 device per student plus headphones

Each student programs a 16-step beat using kick, snare and hi-hat samples in a step sequencer. The beat must have a four-on-the-floor feel and a clear backbeat. They export and submit.

Tools: GarageBand

Composing a 30-second melody in GarageBand

Year 8 · 45 min · 1 device per student plus headphones

Each student composes a 30-second original melody using the virtual piano in GarageBand. The melody must use four distinct pitches and have a clear rhythmic pattern. Students export to mp3 and submit.

Tools: GarageBand

Vocal layers for a simple round

Year 9 · 50 min · 1 device per student plus headphones and a mic

Each student records four sequential layers of their own voice singing the parts of a simple round (e.g. Frere Jacques) on a multitrack DAW. They mix the levels and export.

Tools: Soundtrap, GarageBand

Live-coded music composition in Sonic Pi

Year 12 · 200 min · 1 device per student plus headphones

Each student composes a 60-second piece in Sonic Pi by writing live code that generates musical patterns. The composition must use at least three musical structures (e.g. a loop, a probabilistic event, a parameterised melody) defended in a 200-word artist's statement. Students perform live by running code in front of the class.

Tools: Sonic Pi

AI-trained generative composition with critique

Year 13 · 240 min · 1 device per student

Each student trains a small AI model on a chosen corpus of existing music (e.g. Bach chorales, jazz standards, contemporary minimalism) and uses it to generate new compositions. They critique the AI's output, identifying what the model captures well and what it misses, then publish a 90-second composition combining AI-generated and student-composed material with a written commentary.

Interactive sound installation responsive to environment

Year 13 · 240 min · 1 device per student plus optional sensor hardware

Each student builds an interactive sound installation that responds to environmental input (movement, ambient sound, time of day, weather data). The installation is presented in a chosen location for visitors to experience for 60-90 seconds each. Students write a 200-word artist's statement on the relationship between input and sound output.

Tools: p5.js

Class soundscape construction with shared timeline

Year 7 · 50 min · 1 device per student plus headphones

The class collaboratively builds a 90-second soundscape on one shared Soundtrap session. Each student adds one sound to a designated time-window of the timeline (e.g. forest morning sounds: birds, wind, footsteps). The class plays back the full composition together and discusses what could be tightened.

Tools: Soundtrap

Live polling on melodic choice with debate

Year 8 · 40 min · 1 device per student

The teacher plays three different melodic versions of the same opening (e.g. three different ways to harmonise a folk-song chorus). Students vote on Mentimeter for which they prefer, defend in pairs, debate, re-vote.

Tools: Mentimeter

Pair composition critique with shared annotations

Year 9 · 50 min · 1 device per student plus headphones

Each student posts their 30-second composition to a class Padlet column with a one-line description of their compositional choice. Three named peers listen to each composition and post a one-line critique focused on harmony, rhythm or texture. Students revise based on three pieces of feedback.

Tools: Padlet, Soundtrap