Students are able to use music skills in a music style.
Use music skills in a music style
Use music skills effectively in a music style
Use music skills fluently in a music style
Explanatory Note 1
Use music skills in a music style involves:
identifying and applying music skills consistent with a music style.
Use music skills effectively in a music style involves:
applying developed music skills consistent with a music style.
Use music skills fluently in a music style involves:
applying extended music skills consistent with a music style.
Music skills refers to any combination of aural, technical, theoretical, or physical skills. For the purpose of this standard, students must evidence the use of aural skills.
Music styles are different types of music and encompass traditional and contemporary styles from Aotearoa New Zealand, the Pacific, and the wider world.
Examples include:
waiata tira
hiva usu (Tongan choral music)
classical or contemporary music forms.
Evidence submitted for 91949, 91950, or 91951 cannot be submitted as evidence for this Standard, or vice versa.
As part of the evidence provided, students must submit a written or spoken description of the skills they have developed, used, and combined in the project, and the musical and stylistic decisions they have made. A spoken description would be recorded for moderation purposes.
Assessor involvement during the assessment event is limited to monitoring students’ progress closely and familiarising themselves with students’ evolving work. This is especially important for students working in groups.
Students may work in small groups on projects where appropriate to the assessment activity, but each student’s evidence must be individually identifiable and represent the student’s own work and meet all the requirements of the Standard. This includes evidence produced outside of class time or assessor supervision.
Students may access any materials, resources or tools that would support their understanding and skill development necessary for engaging with this Standard. However, this excludes resources that could artificially create the evidence assessed, such as software, websites, or any AI technologies.
The length or size of the skills-based submission will be substantial enough to provide sufficient evidence against the Standard. The volume of evidence will vary depending on the nature of the activity. A musical recording could be up to one minute, while an annotated score could be approximately 32 bars in length.
Submission formats could include:
a sound or video recording
a screencast
annotated or notated score
slideshow with embedded files (but not links)
a live presentation, recorded for moderation purposes.
Mātauranga Māori constitutes concepts and principles that are richly detailed, complex, and fundamental to Māoridom. It is important to remember that the practice of these are wider and more varied than their use within the proposed NCEA Achievement Standards and supporting documentation.
We also recognise that the cultures, languages, and identities of the Pacific Islands are diverse, varied, and unique. Therefore the Pacific concepts, contexts, and principles that have been incorporated within NCEA Achievement Standards may have wide-ranging understandings and applications across and within the diversity of Pacific communities. It is not our intention to define what these concepts mean but rather offer some ways that they could be understood and applied within different subjects that kaiako and students alike can explore.
This Achievement Standard is all about demonstrating music skills that are relevant and helpful to the musical development of ākonga. These are skills that are being developed throughout the teaching and learning programme, that ākonga can draw on as they progress in their own music-making. While combinations of different skills will be applied in this standard, it is important that aural skills are central to the assessment activity. Ākonga will explore ways of applying a range of music skills within a stylistic context.
This Achievement Standard is closely connected to the following Big Ideas:
music is a craft that can be continually developed and refined
music is a sensory language that organises sound and can be visually represented with signs and symbols
music is an expression of, and a way of connecting with, culture, identity, place, and time.
The Significant Learning that ākonga will engage with in relation to this Standard includes:
practice aural skills and develop listening repertoire
explore how music styles from different contexts are expressed in unique ways through combining and shaping music concepts
develop an understanding of how music from te ao Māori is guided by tikanga
explore visual representation styles and aural systems to preserve or pass music on.
The term ‘music skills’ covers a diverse range of musical capabilities and can be drawn from diverse musical traditions and styles, including those that are grounded in mātauranga Māori and Pacific knowledges.
Aural skills involve the ability to hear, interpret, transcribe, or reproduce music. Aural skills will be required in all activities and are particularly central to transcription of melodies, baselines, rhythms or harmonies, and playing by ear. Practical skills refer to technical competencies such as vocal and instrumental techniques, strumming and plucking strings, hā, breath control, special intonations, articulations, and embouchure. Physical skills can apply directly to practices that require the whole body to communicate music, such as stances and particular body formations, pūkana, and wiri. Theoretical skills are the use of knowledge as applied to an activity, such as musical analysis, investigating compositional tools and devices, or harmonisation.
Ākonga will combine a range of different music skills within a music activity. For example, when playing by ear, a range of skills would be combined, including being able to aurally identify elements such as melody, rhythm, key or tonality, as well as the skill to then accurately reproduce the music on their instrument.
The application of music skills will be in keeping with an identifiable music style, such as a specific waiata style, or a particular contemporary, classical, or folk style.
To achieve this Standard, ākonga will identify and apply music skills stylistically in a music activity. Ākonga must evidence the use of aural skills. At higher levels of achievement, ākonga will extend and combine relevant music skills within a music activity, ensuring that their work is in keeping with central stylistic components of the activity. This could range from creating melodic shape, rhythmic flow and stylistic connections between physical formations and kupu, to applying a range of music production techniques to achieve desired musical textures and timbres.
This Standard will be assessed with an activity that requires the application of aural skills, alongside any combination of practical, theoretical, or physical skills. Ākonga will select musical source material in collaboration with their kaiako, investigate the music style, and use relevant music skills to respond to the activity. Although this Standard is intended to be assessed via one music activity, more than one activity may be required to provide enough evidence of music skills at an appropriate level and within the stylistic context.
Appropriate music activities include but are not limited to:
playing by ear or aural transcription
electronic recreation
improvisation
arrangement
practical or written harmonisation
sight reading
rehearsal as a conductor.
In addition to the music activity, ākonga will submit a description of the skills they have developed and applied throughout the Assessment Activity, and the musical and stylistic decisions they have made. This could be a written or verbal description, visual presentation, or slideshow.
The diversity of activity choices that are possible within this Standard can be aligned to the musical aspirations of ākonga, as well as allowing for agency in terms of evidencing aural and other music skills.
This Standard is an opportunity to explore musical styles within te ao Māori, Aotearoa New Zealand, the Pacific, and the wider world. Ākonga can explore their own tūrangawaewae and cultural contexts, respecting the mana of cultures and in keeping with tikanga.
Māori music, whether contemporary or more traditional, carries mana, mauri, and in some cases tapu. Kaiako and ākonga need to be guided by tikanga. This ensures safe navigation of lyrical and musical parameters, as well as correct, respectful ways of engaging with waiata forms, taonga, physical formations, and other musical protocols. Tikanga also requires an awareness of the whakapapa of the music. This spans interconnectedness between musical forms, iwi, hapū, region and environments, time, and physical and spiritual parameters. This also includes the kaitito or composer, and the kaupapa within the music. Where possible, relationships with mana whenua are encouraged.