Year 9 - Music
The use of the drum kit in grunge
The sound of 90s grunge
Study Hub
Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit introduces pupils to 90s Grunge music, including the context of the style and its other musical influences. Pupils learn about the main musical features and about extended pop song structure, riffs with power chords, harmonic rhythm and phrase structure in melody and lyric writing.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to identify the key features of grunge and its drum beats and have created a grunge-style drum beat.
Key Notes
- Grunge is a style of of heavy rock music featuring distorted guitar sounds and angry lyrics.
- Key musical features include the use of riffs, distorted guitars and simple instrumentation.
- These are influences taken from punk rock and heavy metal.
- Drum beats in rock have a strong pulse and snare backbeat.
- Grunge drum beats often contrast between sections, and use open hi-hats or crash cymbals to create powerful effects.
Vocabulary To Learn
- Grunge: Grunge is a style of heavy rock music featuring distorted guitar sounds and angry lyrics.
- Riff: A riff is a short, repeated musical idea that forms the basis of a pop or rock song.
- Distortion: Distortion is a fuzzy effect often added to guitar sounds.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Rock is a specific, narrow genre in itself.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Grunge is a style of of heavy rock music featuring distorted guitar sounds and angry lyrics. Key musical features include the use of riffs, distorted guitars and simple instrumentation.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'Grunge'
Grunge is a style of heavy rock music featuring distorted guitar sounds and angry lyrics.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Rock is a specific, narrow genre in itself. Correction: Rock is a very broad term for lots of different musical genres, spanning a wide range of influences and using very different musical features. There are many sub-genres of rock, including grunge, punk rock and heavy metal.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 9 Music guide library.