Subject Area Syllabus 2015
150574
ISBN:978-1-921-80268-3
Music in PracticeSenior Subject Area Syllabus 2015
© The State of Queensland (Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority) 2015
Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
PO Box 307Spring HillQLD4004Australia
Level 7, 154 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane
Phone:+61 7 3864 0299
Fax:+61 7 3221 2553
Email:
Website:
Contents
Introduction
Study plans
Composite classes
1Rationale
2Dimensions and objectives
2.1Dimension 1: Knowing and understanding
2.2Dimension 2: Applying and analysing
2.3Dimension 3: Creating and evaluating
3Course organisation
3.1Underpinning factors
3.1.1Applied learning
3.1.2Community connections
3.1.3Core Skills for Work
3.1.4Literacy in Music in Practice
3.1.5Numeracy in Music in Practice
3.2Planning a course of study
3.3Core
3.3.1Core topic 1: Music principles
3.3.2Core topic 2: Music practices
3.4Electives
3.4.1Community music
3.4.2Contemporary music
3.4.3Live production and performance
3.4.4Music for film, TV and video games
3.4.5Music in advertising
3.4.6The music industry
3.4.7Music technology and production
3.4.8Performance craft
3.4.9Practical music skills
3.4.10Songwriting
3.4.11World music
3.5Teaching and learning
3.5.1Developing a unit of work
3.5.2Music activities
3.5.3Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives
3.5.4Embedding educational equity in the course of study
4Assessment
4.1Planning an assessment program
4.2Special provisions
4.3Authentication of student work
4.4Assessment techniques
4.4.1Project
4.4.2Performance
4.4.3Composition
4.4.4Extended response to stimulus
4.4.5Investigation
4.5Folio requirements
4.5.1Folios for external moderation
4.5.2Exit folios
4.6Exit standards
4.7Determining exit levels of achievement
4.7.1Determining a standard
4.7.2Awarding exit levels of achievement
4.7.3Standards matrix
Glossary
Introduction
Music in Practiceis an Authority-registered subject.
Successfully completed Authority-registered subjects contribute four credits towards the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE). Results in these subjects are not used in the calculation of Overall Positions (OPs) and Field Positions (FPs).
Study plans
A study plan is the school’s plan of how the course of study will be delivered and assessed. Studyplan requirements are available on the Music in Practicestudy plan tab:
Composite classes
This subject area syllabus enables teachers to develop a course of study that caters for a variety of ways to organise learning, such as combined classes for Years 11 and 12, shared campuses, or modes of delivery involving periods of student-managed study.
1Rationale
Music is a unique aural art form that uses sound and silence as a means of personal expression. It is a powerful medium because it affects a wide range of human activities, including personal, social, cultural and entertainment pursuits.
Musicians fulfil many roles in a community — as makers/creators, performers, presenters, journalists, technicians, administrators and managers. Music in Practice gives students opportunities to explore these and other roles through active engagement with music and music productions, and, where possible, by interacting with practising artists. Students are exposed to authentic music practices in which they learn to view the world from different perspectives, experiment with different ways of sharing ideas and feelings, gain confidence and self-esteem, and contribute to the social and cultural lives of their school and local community.
In Music in Practice, students explore and engage with the core of music principles and practices as they create, perform, produce and respond to their own and others’ music works in class, school and community settings. They gain practical, technical and listening skills and make choices to communicate in and through their music. Through the music activities of composing, performing and responding, they apply techniques, processes and skills, individually and in groups, to express music ideas that serve particular functions and purposes. This fosters creativity, helps students develop problem-solving skills, and heightens their imaginative, emotional, aesthetic, analytical and reflective experiences.
Students learn about workplace health and safety (WHS) issues relevant to the music industry and effective work practices that lead to the acquisition of industry skills needed by a practising musician. Preparation for the workplace is further enhanced by fostering a positive work ethic, teamwork and project management skills. The syllabus provides the flexibility for schools to cater for students with interests in career, industry or technical aspects of music, and for those with interests in performance-based and creative aspects.
Involvement in musicmaking, becoming part of music and arts communities and interacting with practising musicians and artists nurtures students’ creative thinking and problem-solving skills as they follow processes from conception to realisation and work to express music ideas of personal significance. The discipline and commitment of music-making provides opportunity for personal growth and the development of lifelong learning skills. It helps build students’ self-esteem, resilience and personal motivation, and allows them to refine time management and collaborative teamwork skills in activities that reflect the real-world practices of composers, performers and audiences.
A course of study in Music in Practice can establish a basis for further education and employment by giving students the knowledge and skills that should enhance their employment prospects in the music industry in areas such as performance, critical listening, music management and music promotions. With additional training and experience, potential employment opportunities may include musician, band or recording group member, music journalist, media composer, DJ, sound or studio engineer, songwriter or arranger, music sales and merchandising staff, record producer, concert promoter, entertainment manager, tour manager or music director.
2Dimensions and objectives
The dimensions are the salient properties or characteristics of distinctive learning for this subject. The objectives describe what students should know and be able to do by the end of the course of study.
Progress in a particular dimension may depend on the knowledge, understanding and skills developed in other dimensions. Learning through each of the dimensions increases in complexity to allow for greater independence for learners over a four-semester course of study.
The standards have adirect relationship with the objectives, and are described in the same dimensions as the objectives. Schools assess how well students have achieved all of the objectives using the standards.
The dimensions for a course of study in this subject are:
- Dimension 1: Knowing and understanding
- Dimension 2: Applying and analysing
- Dimension 3: Creating and evaluating.
2.1Dimension 1: Knowing and understanding
Knowing and understanding refers to the remembering and comprehendingof music principles and practices related to composing, performing and responding in and to music, and the ability to construct meaning from music texts.
Objectives
By the conclusion of the course of study, students should:
- identify and explain music principles and practices
- interpret music principles and practices
- demonstrate music principles and practices.
When students identify, they locate and recall music information, recognising particular qualities and/or characteristics of music principles and music practices. When students explain, they provide additional information and examples that demonstrate understanding and help clarify, illustrate and exemplify meaning.
When students interpret, they show understanding of the meaning of words, sounds and other symbols (e.g. notation, graphs, pictures, letters, characters, numbers and signs) and make the meaning clear or explicit, presenting it in a context with clarity, precision and completeness. They are able to change from one form of representation to another, e.g. by translating written symbols into sounds, and vice versa.
When students demonstrate, they show their comprehension and understanding of music elements, forms, styles, conventions and techniques by reproducing learnt skills when engaging in music.
2.2Dimension 2: Applying and analysing
Applying and analysing refers to the application, investigation and analysis of music principles and practices involved in composing, performing and responding in and to music. It involves gathering and dissecting information about music concepts and ideas to find meaning and purpose, identify patterns, similarities and differences, and determine relationships in an overall structure.
Objectives
By the conclusion of the course of study, students should:
- apply technical and expressive skills to performance and production of music works
- analyse the use of music principles and practices in their own and others’ music works
- use language conventions and features to communicate ideas and information about music, according to context and purpose.
When students apply technical and expressive skills, they enact a set of cognitive and creative procedures or steps in order to make or present music works or productions.
When students analyse, they dissect and consider information in detail for the purposes of finding meaning, exploring and examining alternative viewpoints, recognising and interpreting patterns and relationships, identifying function and purpose, and showing the significance of similarities and differences.
When students use verbal and symbolic language conventions and features in context, they use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, text types and structures, and symbolic notation/language in written, oral, visual and aural communication modes.
2.3Dimension 3: Creating and evaluating
Creating and evaluating refers to the generation of music ideas, the planning and execution of processes and the management of music sources and resources to respond to music activities and communicate music ideas. It involves reflection on music works, and on the processes, strategies and outcomes of composing, performing and responding in and to music.
Objectives
By the conclusion of the course of study, students should:
- plan and modify music works using music principles and practices to achieve purposes
- create music works to communicate music ideas to audiences
- evaluate the application of music principles and practices to music works and music activities.
When students plan, they conceptualise, create and develop ideas. They manage time and the technological, human, financial and consumable resources required to organise composing and performing activities and bring their music ideas to reality. Students devise processes for achieving purposes and accomplishing tasks, based on their ability to use their knowledge and understanding of music principles and practices, and to analyse and apply them. When students modify, they critically reflect, refine and adjust their music works, demonstrating an understanding of music principles and practices.
When students create music works, they put their planning into effect to create a coherent and functional whole. They synthesise music ideas, principles and practices, and make decisions about the way to communicate the intended meaning through music performances, products or forms of music text. When students communicate music ideas, they present information and convey meaning through written, spoken, physical, graphical, visual and/or auditory modes, appropriate to audiences. This may be through creating original music, playing instruments, singing, manipulating sound using technology, writing an article for a music magazine, writing a review of a concert or album, or discussing their own music and the music of others.
When students evaluate, they reflect on and critique their own and others’ application of music principles and practices to music works and to composing, performing and responding activities. They make judgments about the processes, outcomes and success of these creative works and activities, providing reasons or evidence to support statements and decisions through written, spoken, physical, graphical, visual and/or auditory modes.
3Course organisation
Music in Practice is a four-semester course of study.
Semesters 1 and 2 of the course are designed to allow students to begin their engagement with the course content, i.e. the knowledge, understanding and skills of the subject. Course content, learning experiences and assessment increase in complexity across the four semesters as students develop greater independence as learners.
Semesters 3 and 4 consolidate student learning.
3.1Underpinning factors
There are five factors that underpin subject area syllabuses and that are essential for defining the distinctive nature of Authority-registered subjects:
- applied learning
- community connections
- Core Skills for Work
- literacy
- numeracy.
These factors, which overlap and interact, are derived from current education, industry and community expectations, and inform and shape Music in Practice.
All subject area syllabuses cover all of the underpinning factors in some way, though coverage may vary from syllabus to syllabus. Students should be provided with a variety of opportunities to learn through and about the five underpinning factors across the four-semester course of study.
Applied learning and community connections emphasise the importance of applying learning in workplace and community situations. Applied learning is an approach to contextualised learning; community connections provide contexts for learning, acquiring and applying knowledge, understanding and skills. However, Core Skills for Work, literacy and numeracy contain identifiable knowledge and skills which can be directly assessed. The relevant knowledge and skills for these three factors are contained in the course dimensions and objectives for Music in Practice.
3.1.1Applied learning
Applied learning is the acquisition and application of knowledge, understanding and skills in
real-world or lifelike contexts. Contexts should be authentic and may encompass workplace, industry and community situations.
Applied learning values knowledge — including subject knowledge, skills, techniques and procedures — and emphasises learning through doing. It includes both theory and the application of theory, connecting subject knowledge and understanding with the development of practical skills.
Applied learning:
- links theory and practice
- integrates knowledge and skills in real-world or lifelike contexts
- encourages students to work individually and in teams to complete tasks and solve problems
- enables students to develop new learnings and transfer their knowledge, understanding and skills to a range of contexts
- uses assessment that is authentic and reflects the content and contexts.
3.1.2Community connections
Community connections build students’ awareness and understanding of life beyond school through authentic interactions. This understanding supports the transition from school to participation in, and contribution to, community, industry, work and non-profitorganisations. ‘Community’ includes the school community and the wider community beyond the school, including virtual communities.
Valuing a sense of community encourages responsible citizenship. Connecting with community seeks to deepen students’ knowledge and understanding of the world around them and provide them with the knowledge, understanding, skills and dispositions relevant to community, industry and workplace contexts. It is through these interactions that students develop as active and informed citizens.
Schools plan connections with community as part of their teaching and learning programs to connect classroom experience with the world outside the classroom. It is a mutual or reciprocal arrangement encompassing access to relevant experience and expertise. The learning can be based in community settings, including workplaces, and/or in the school setting, including the classroom.
Community connections can occur through formal arrangements or informal interactions. Opportunities for community connections include:
- visiting a local business, community organisation or agency to build students’ awareness and understanding of music life and opportunities beyond school
- working with community groups in a range of music and performance-related activities
- organising, preparing and presenting a music event or performance for the school or community
- collaborating with school and/or community groups on their productions and events
- creating music for school and/or community events
- attending music industry expos and career ‘taster’ days
- participating in mentoring programs and work-shadowing
- gaining work experience in the music industry
- interacting with visitors to the school, such as community representatives, music industry experts, employers, employees and the self-employed
- internet, phone or video conferencing with other school communities about music events.
3.1.3Core Skills for Work
In August 2013, the Australian Government released the Core Skills for Work Developmental Framework (CSfW).[1] The CSfW describes a set of knowledge, understanding and non-technical skills that underpin successful participation in work.[2] These skills are often referred to as generic or employability skills. They contribute to work performance in combination with technical skills, discipline-specific skills, and core language, literacy and numeracy skills.
The CSfW describes performance in ten skill areas grouped under three skill clusters, shown in the table below. These skills can be embedded, taught and assessed across Music in Practice. Relevant aspects of Core Skills for Work are assessed, as described in the standards.
Table 1: Core Skills for Work skill clusters and skill areas
Skill cluster 1:Navigate the world of work / Skill cluster 2:
Interacting with others / Skill cluster 3:
Getting the work done
Skill areas /
- Manage career and work life
- Work with roles, rights and protocols
- Communicate for work
- Connect and work with others
- Recognise and utilise diverse perspectives
- Plan and organise
- Make decisions
- Identify and solve problems
- Create and innovate
- Work in a digital world
3.1.4Literacy in Music in Practice
The information and ideas that make up Music in Practice are communicated in language and texts. Literacy is the set of knowledge and skills about language and texts that is essential for understanding and conveying this content.
Each subject area has its own specific content and ways to convey and present this content. Ongoing systematic teaching and learning focused on the literacy knowledge and skills specific to Music in Practice is essential for student achievement.
Students need to learn and use the knowledge and skills of reading, viewing and listening to understand and learn the content of Music in Practice. Students need to learn and use the knowledge and skills of writing, composing and speaking to convey the Music in Practice content they have learnt.
In teaching and learning in Music in Practice, students learn a variety of strategies to understand, use, analyse and evaluate ideas and information conveyed in language and texts.