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Music

Information on Pre VCE Music

A Pre VCE Music course is also offered for students - it is recommended to completed the Pre VCE course before attempting unit 1&2. To find out more see the Pre VCE Music course description here.

  • Music Units 1-2

  • Music Contemporary Performance Units 3-4

Rationale

Through performance, students sing and play music, demonstrating their knowledge and practical music skills through refining solo and/or ensemble performances. Students realise music ideas through the demonstration and interpretation of music elements and concepts to convey meaning and/or emotion to an audience.

Through creating, students explore the manipulation of sound, producing new music works and arrangements. Using the music elements and concepts, students apply their knowledge and understanding of compositional devices to their own creations and the works of others.

Through responding and analysing, students investigate and explain the use of music elements, concepts and compositional devices, and respond to music from a variety of contexts, styles and genres. They develop knowledge and skills in identifying and understanding how music is organised, how effect is created and how influences and cultural contexts are manifested in works.

VCE Music equips students with personal and musical knowledge and skills that enable them to focus on their musicianship in particular areas and follow pathways into tertiary music study or further training in a broad spectrum of music related careers. VCE Music also offers students opportunities for personal development and encourages them to make an ongoing contribution to the culture of their community through participation in life-long music making.

Aims

This study enables students to:

  • develop and practise musicianship

  • perform, create, arrange, improvise, analyse, recreate, reimagine and respond to music from diverse times, places, cultures and contexts including recently created music

  • communicate understanding of cultural, stylistic, aesthetic and expressive qualities and characteristics of music

  • explore and strengthen personal music interests, knowledge and experiences

  • use imagination and creativity, and personal and social skills in music making

  • access pathways to further education, training and employment in music

  • participate and present in life-long music learning and the musical life of their community.

Unit 1: Organisation of music

In this unit students explore and develop their understanding of how music is organised. By performing, creating, analysing and responding to music works that exhibit different approaches, students explore and develop their understanding of the possibilities of musical organisation.

They prepare and perform ensemble and/or solo musical works to develop technical control, expression and stylistic understanding on their chosen instrument/sound source. At least two works should be associated with their study of approaches to music organisation. They create (arrange, compose or improvise) short music exercises that reflect their understanding of the organisation of music and the processes they have studied.

They develop knowledge of music language concepts as they analyse and respond to a range of music, becoming familiar with the ways music creators treat elements of music and concepts and use compositional devices to create works that communicate their ideas.

Area of Study 1
Performing
In this area of study, students focus on practical music-making and performance skills by preparing and performing solo and ensemble works, one of which should be associated with a music approach studied in Area of Study 3. They develop their individual instrumental and musicianship skills through regular practice and develop group skills through rehearsal and performance with other musicians.

They perform and demonstrate technical skills specific to an instrument or sound source of their own choosing. Students may present on a variety of instruments and/or sound sources, and also sing as part of their program.

Area of Study 2
Creating
In this area of study, students create a folio of brief creative responses. At least one exercise should demonstrate their understanding of musical organisation and characteristics of at least one work selected for study in Area of Study 3. They develop appropriate methods of recording and preserving their music. Students reflect on their creative organisation by documenting their approach to creating the music, and identifying and describing their use of music elements, concepts and compositional devices.

Area of Study 3
Analysing and responding
Students analyse the treatment of specific music elements, concepts and compositional devices in music that have been created using different approaches to musical organisation. They develop skills in identifying how music is organised and the components of this organisation. They develop skills in aural analysis and respond to a range of excerpts in different styles and traditions. They develop their auditory discrimination and memory skills through identifying, recreating and documenting music language concepts, for example chords, scales, melodic and rhythmic patterns.

Unit 2: Effect in Music

In this unit, students focus on the way music can be used to create an intended effect. By performing, analysing and responding to music works/examples that create different effects, students explore and develop their understanding of the possibilities of how effect can be created. Through creating their own music, they reflect this exploration and understanding.

Students prepare and perform ensemble and/or solo musical works to develop technical control, expression and stylistic understanding using their chosen instrument/sound source. They should perform at least one work to convey a specified effect and demonstrate this in performance.

They create (arrange, compose or improvise) short music exercises that reflect their understanding of the organisation of music and the processes they have studied.

As they analyse and respond to a wide range of music, they become familiar with the ways music creators treat elements and concepts of music and use compositional devices to create works that communicate their ideas. They continue to develop their understanding of common musical language concepts by identifying, recreating and notating these concepts.

Area of Study 1
Performing
In this area of study, students prepare and perform solo and group works, one of which should demonstrate their understanding of effect in music. They convey meaning and/or emotion to an audience through practical music-making and further development of performance skills.

They develop their individual instrumental and musicianship skills through regular practice and develop group skills through rehearsal and performance with other musicians.

They perform and demonstrate technical skills specific to an instrument or sound source of their own choosing. Students may present on a variety of instruments and/or sound sources, and also sing as part of their program.

Area of Study 2
Creating
In this area of study, students assemble a folio of brief responses using a variety of sound sources demonstrating their understanding of the possibilities of creating effect in music. They develop appropriate methods of recording and preserving their music. Students reflect on their responses by documenting their approach to creating effect in their music, and identifying and describing their use of music elements, concepts and compositional devices.

Area of Study 3
Analysing and responding
In this area of study, students develop skills in analysing how effect can be created in music and how the treatment of elements of music, concepts and compositional devices contribute to this effect. They respond to a range of excerpts in different styles and traditions, building understanding of how effect is realised. They continue to develop their auditory discrimination and memory skills through identifying, recreating and recording common musical language concepts and their effect, for example chords, scales and melodic and rhythmic patterns.

Assessment

The award of satisfactory completion for a unit is based on whether the student has demonstrated the set of outcomes specified for the unit. A variety of learning activities and assessment tasks that provide a range of opportunities for students to demonstrate the key knowledge and key skills in the outcomes will be the means of assessment.

Suitable tasks for assessment may be selected from the following:

  • performance/s of at least two works including at least one ensemble/group work

  • a discussion of the challenges presented by these works which may be presented as:

    • Oral

    • Multimedia

    • Written

  • aural, written and practical tasks such as:

    • A folio of exercises

    • Responses to structured questions

    • A workbook of class activities

  • composition and/or improvisation exercises and accompanying discussion that demonstrate an understanding of the organisation of music which may be presented as:

    • Oral

    • Multimedia

    • Written.

Music Contemporary Performance

Please note - The VCE Music study design has changed. As of 2023, TC will offer VCE Music Contemporary Performance at Unit 3&4. The main focus areas of VCE Music Contemporary Performance are:

  • re-imagining contemporary musical works

  • improvisation

  • finding your personal voice on your instrument

  • arranging

We will not be offering VCE Music Repertoire (recreation and interpretation of notated musical works). If you have any concerns or questions, please contact Brayden McDonald.

Unit 3

In this unit students begin developing the program they will present in Unit 4. Students should refer to the examination specifications to make sure that the works selected allow them to best meet the requirements and conditions of this task. They use music analysis skills to refine strategies for developing their performances.

Students analyse interpretation in a wide range of recorded music, responding to and analysing music elements, concepts, compositional devices and music language. Students also learn how to recognise and recreate music language concepts such as scales, melodies, chords, harmony and rhythmic materials that relate to contemporary music.

Area of Study 1
Performing
In this area of study, students perform regularly in a variety of contexts and use these performances to explore and build on ways of developing technical skills and interpretation approaches relevant to the style(s) of the selected works. They investigate the possibilities of exhibiting personal voice by reimagining at least one existing work.

Students develop their individual musicianship skills through regular practice and develop group skills through rehearsal and performance with other musicians.

Area of Study 2
Analysing for performance
In this area of study, students focus on the processes of analysis and practices that they undertake to develop their performances. This includes investigating how interpretation and a sense of personal voice may be developed in performance. Research materials may include musical scores, recordings and live performances, texts, digital sources and critical discussion with other musicians.

As students develop strategies for practice and performance, they trial the use of a wide range of techniques and instrument-specific conventions. Students analyse the strengths and weaknesses in their performance capabilities and develop a planned approach to address challenges.

Students investigate and implement approaches for developing a command of their instrument, presentation skills and strategies for reimagining an existing work.

Students prepare for a school-assessed dialogue with their teacher. Through discussion and performance, students demonstrate a selection of practice strategies. This task should focus on approximately half of the program of works being prepared in Area of Study 1 for the performance examination.

Area of Study 3
Responding
In this area of study, students develop their understanding of the ways elements of music, concepts and compositional devices can be interpreted and/or manipulated in contemporary performance. They demonstrate this knowledge through aural analysis and comparison of the ways in which different performers have interpreted and/or reimagined works in performance.

They develop their auditory discrimination and memory skills in relation to the works they hear by identifying and re-creating music language concepts related to contemporary performance. They use documentation to transcribe these concepts as appropriate to genre/style.

Unit 4

Students continue to work towards building a performance program they will present at their end-of-year examination in line with their Statement of Intent. The program will contain at least one performance that is a reimagined version of an existing work and an original work created by an Australian artist since 1990.

Students continue to study the work of other performers and their approaches to interpretation and personal voice in performing music works. They refine selected strategies to optimise their own approach to performance.

Students further develop strategies to address the technical, expressive and stylistic challenges relevant to works they are preparing for performance.

Students listen and respond to a further range of recorded music by a variety of performers in contemporary styles. They continue to study music language concepts that relate to contemporary music.

Area of Study 1
Performing
In this area of study, students perform regularly in a variety of contexts and use these performances to consolidate their development of technical skills and interpretation approaches relevant to the style(s) of the selected works. They consolidate their approach to reimagining an existing work in performance.

Across Unit 4, students must select a program of works for external assessment, using the performance examination specifications. One of the performed works will be a reimagining of an existing work, and the other will be an original work created by an Australian artist since 1990.

Area of Study 2
Analysing for performance
In this area of study, students continue to focus on the processes of analysis and practices that they undertake to develop their performances, including approaches to reimagining an existing work. Students refine their understanding of how a sense of personal voice may be achieved in performance.

As students develop strategies for practice and performance, they trial the use of a wide range of techniques and instrument-specific conventions. Students analyse the strengths and weaknesses in their performance capabilities and develop a planned approach to address challenges.

Students investigate and implement approaches for developing a command of their instrument, presentation skills and reimagining techniques.

This task should focus on approximately half of the program of works which were not covered by Unit 3, Outcome 2.

Area of Study 3
Responding
In this area of study, students continue to develop their understanding of the ways elements of music, concepts and compositional devices can be interpreted and/or manipulated in contemporary performance. They demonstrate this knowledge through aural analysis and comparison of the ways in which different performers have interpreted and/or reimagined works in performance.

Students continue to develop their auditory discrimination and memory skills in relation to the works they study, identifying music language concepts related to contemporary performance and using appropriate documentation conventions.

Assessment

School-based assessment
Satisfactory completion

The award of satisfactory completion for a unit is based on whether the student has demonstrated the set
of outcomes specified for the unit. Teachers should use a variety of learning activities and assessment tasks to provide a range of opportunities for students to demonstrate the key knowledge and key skills in the outcomes.

The areas of study and key knowledge and key skills listed for the outcomes should be used for course design and the development of learning activities and assessment tasks.

Assessment of levels of achievement

The student’s level of achievement in Unit 3 and Unit 4 will be determined by School-assessed Coursework. School-assessed Coursework tasks must be a part of the regular teaching and learning program and must not unduly add to the workload associated with that program. They must be completed mainly in class and within a limited timeframe.

Where teachers provide a range of options for the same School-assessed Coursework task, they should ensure that the options are of comparable scope and demand.

The types and range of forms of School-assessed Coursework for the outcomes are prescribed within the study design. The VCAA publishes Support materials for this study, which includes advice on the design of assessment tasks and the assessment of student work for a level of achievement.

Teachers will provide to the VCAA a numerical score representing an assessment of the student’s level of achievement. The score must be based on the teacher’s assessment of the performance of each student on the tasks set out in the following table.

External assessment

The level of achievement for Units 3 and 4 is also assessed by an end-of-year aural and written examination, and by a performance examination.

Contribution to final assessment

The performance examination will contribute 50 per cent to the study score, and the end-of-year aural and written examination will contribute 20 per cent to the study score.

End-of-year performance examination

The student will give a live performance drawing on knowledge and skills from Outcome 1 in Units 3 and 4.

A student may present as a soloist, or as a member of a group, according to conditions described in the examination specifications.

Percentage contributions to the study score in VCE Music Performance are as follows:
Unit 3 School-assessed Coursework: 20 %
Unit 4 School-assessed Coursework: 10 %
End-of-year performance examination: 50 %
End-of-year aural and written examination: 20 %