Higher Music Technology

Course Overview

There are three areas of study and a Course Assessment. The Course Assessment is conducted externally by the SQA. The course award will be determined on the result of the Course Assessment and will be graded A–D.

1. Music Technology Skills

Learners will continue to develop skills and techniques relating to the use of music technology hardware and software to record and edit audio. Learners to explore, experiment with and apply a range of music technology resources through practical activities. They will also learn how to use stereo micing.

2. Understanding 20th and 21st Century Music

Learners will develop knowledge and understanding of 20th and 21st century musical styles and genres as well as technological developments. They will also develop a greater understanding of related music technology developments and how their own practical activities relate to these.

3. Music Technology in Context

Learners will use the skills developed in the Music Technology Skills unit and apply these to straightforward contexts such as live performances, radio broadcasts, composing and/or sound design for film, TV themes, adverts and computer gaming as well as electronic music-making.

Assessment

To pass the Higher Technology course, you must complete the course and the course assessment which consists of two separate parts – an assignment and a question paper. In the assignment, learners will be expected to plan and carry out one creative production using music technology (this is a much bigger production than expected at National 5). This production must be between 4-7 minutes in length, have a minimum of 10 parts and must be a combination of multi-tracked recordings of sound and/or music AND multi-tracked, electronically produced sound and/or music in a context of your choice. There are other mandatory production requirements it must also meet. Learners must submit a plan of their production, a completed audio master, a record of progress and an evaluation report. This assignment is worth 80 marks, (scaled back to 70). The production task is allocated 20 marks for planning, 50 marks for the implementation and 10 marks for the evaluation process. The question paper is based on the content learned in the three areas of study and will test learners’ knowledge and understanding of music technology terms, concepts, styles, technological developments, musical concepts, music technology controls/effects and music technology processes as well as a question on Intellectual Property. This paper is worth 40 marks (scaled to 30). When combined together, both parts of the Course Assessment add up to 100 marks and how well learners score in both of these will determine the final grade they are awarded.