Music Contemporary Performance

This study offers pathways for students whose performance practice includes embellishment and/or improvisation, uses collaborative and aural practices in learning, often takes recordings as a primary text, and projects a personal voice. Students study the work of other performers and analyse their approaches to interpretation and how personal voice can be developed through reimagining existing music works. They refine selected strategies to enhance their own approach to performance.

Students identify technical, expressive and stylistic challenges relevant to works they are preparing for performance and endeavour to address these challenges. They listen and respond to a wide range of music by a variety of performers in contemporary styles. They also study music language concepts such as scales, harmony and rhythmic materials that relate to contemporary music. Students may present with any instrument or combination of instruments which will be suitable to convey understanding of the key knowledge and application of key skills for Outcome 1, with styles including (but not limited to) rock, pop, jazz, EDM, country, funk and R&B.

Students prepare a program for assessment in a live performance. They may be assessed as primarily a member of a group or as a solo performer. All performances must include at least one ensemble work with another live musician and an original work created by an Australian artist since 1990. All performances must include a personally reimagined version of an existing work. Original works may also be included in the program.

Students submit a program list along with a Performer’s Statement of Intent. Part of the statement should include information about their reimagined piece and explain how the existing work has been manipulated. This must be accompanied by an authentication document. As part of their preparation, students are able to present performances of both ensemble and solo music works and take opportunities to perform in both familiar and unfamiliar venues and spaces.

Across Units 3 and 4 all students select works of their own choice for performance that allow them to meet examination requirements and conditions as described in the performance examination specifications.

Influence in music
In this unit, through music making and responding, students focus on connections between music created in different times and/or places and the influence(s) of one on the other. Their music making involves the integrated music experiences of performing, creating and responding. They compose, arrange, interpret, reimagine, improvise, recreate, perform and critique music in a scaffolded manner that will lead to their project in Unit 4, where students become increasingly autonomous and self-directed and less dependent on teacher direction and support.

Students perform music to demonstrate musical approaches influenced by an existing style and/or performer, and create/arrange short music works that include identifiable influences from an existing work/performer/style and are able to explain these influences.

Students develop aural skills by responding to and analysing music from a range of sources across time and place, comparing their music characteristics. They analyse a music work and/or style and explore how it has influenced subsequent music creators. They develop an understanding of how the treatment of music elements, concepts and compositional devices in one work and/or style can be identified and explained in the works of others.

Project
In this unit, students deepen their understanding of the influence of music by considering it at a personal level. They move from considering and reflecting on the influences in the works of others to applying new understandings of influence in their own music making. They are increasingly able to deliberate on and articulate their thinking and choices. Their music making continues to focus on integrated music experiences and they become increasingly autonomous and self-directed after the modelling they experienced in Unit 3.

Students perform music to demonstrate musical influences of an existing style and/or performer on their own works, and they create/arrange short music works that include identifiable influences from an existing work/performer/style, which they are able to explain. Students develop aural skills by responding to music from a range of sources across time and place, comparing their music characteristics. They analyse music works and/or styles and explore how they have influenced their own music making. They develop an understanding of how the treatment of music elements, concepts and compositional devices in one work and/or style can be identified and explained in their own works.

Students choose their own Area of Investigation. 

This may be:

● a style

● a performer

● a creator

● a musical genre.

Students analyse at least two works from their chosen Area of Investigation. They discuss how the treatment of music elements, concepts and compositional devices in these works influence their own musical output. They describe the connections between these works and their own music making. They perform on their chosen instrument. The works performed will come from their chosen area of investigation. They create/arrange a music work. The work should demonstrate direct connections to the chosen Area of Investigation. 

Students continue to respond to a wide variety of music excerpts from a range of different music traditions, times and locations. In their responses, they continue to develop skills in identifying and describing similarities and differences between musical approaches.