Music is offered to all Stage 4, 5 and 6
Stage 4 - Year 7
One hundred hours of music is mandatory in the Junior School. In Year 7 all students study music for 6 x 53 minute periods per two week cycle.
The course includes:
- Reading notation
- Listening activities
- Composition
- Performance in percussion
- Singing
- Keyboard
- Guitar
Stage 5 - Years 9 and 10
In Years 9 and 10 a board endorsed music elective course is offered. Learning experiences are offered in the areas of performing, Composing and Listening. These learning experiences and concepts are taught within the context of topics studied, including:
One compulsory topic:
- Australian Music
And three elective topics such as:
- Popular Music
- Music from the Historical Period
- Music of another Culture
An interest based elective music course is also available.
The interest based elective, caters for those who enjoy the thrill of playing a musical instrument. The course uses a 'hands on' approach to music and students will learn to play songs on their chosen instrument.
Although having some experience on your chosen instrument is preferred, this is not a pre-requisite.
Stage 6 - Years 11 and 12
There are several board course options in music depending on the interest of students.
The Music course is tailored to students who show interest and ability on their chosen instrument. In the Preliminary and HSC courses, students will study the concepts of music learning experiences in performance, composition, musicology and aural within the context of a range of styles, periods and genres.
Students study three topics in each year of the course. Topics are chosen from a list of 21, which cover a range of styles, periods and genres.
In addition to core studies in performance, composition, musicology and aural, students select three electives from any combination of performance, composition and musicology. These elective must represent each of the three topics studied in the course.
Students are required to do performance, composition and musicology assessment tasks. However for the exam students will select "elective" and will only sit exams based on these electives (many students choose performance as their elective area and this requires them to play and/or sing three pieces for the external HSC exam). These electives are worth 60% of the HSC mark.