Areas of Inquiry (AOI)

1. Music for sociocultural and political expression

This area focuses on music that expresses and communicates social and cultural messages, conveys political ideas and/or helps preserve social and cultural traditions.

Examples of relevant musical materials may include the following genres:

• Protest songs

• Liturgical music (music for worship)

• National anthems

2. Music for listening and performance

This area focuses on music that expresses and communicates intrinsic aesthetic values - aims to simply sound good and appeal to an audience simply for that purpose. Such music is sometimes referred to as “absolute music”.

Examples of relevant music materials may include the following genres:

• Chamber music of the Western art tradition

• Jazz (Bebop, swing and big band, modal, smooth jazz, afro-cuban jazz and more)

• Experimental music

3. Music for dramatic impact, movement and entertainment

This area focuses on music used for dramatic effect, music that supports choreographed movement or dance and/or music that is incidental or intended to purposefully serve as entertainment.

Examples of relevant music materials may include:

• Music for film

• Music for ballet

• Musical theatre

4. Music technology in the electronic and digital age

This area focuses on music created, performed and/or produced using electronic or digital technologies. Such technologies are an important aspect of contemporary musical experiences, often transforming some of the ways that we understand and engage with music.

Examples of relevant musical materials may include the following genres:

• Electronic dance music

• Elektronische Musik (translates to 'Electronic Music'. Similar to above but concerned instead with all electronic styles as opposed to the above EDM which is intended for night clubs, raves and festivals and re-played by a DJ. One example would be Kraftwerk who create and perform their own electronic music)

• Technology in popular music production

Students are required to engage with the diverse nature of music, looking beyond their own contexts to explore music with which they are unfamiliar, and which will broaden their cultural and musical perspectives. This encourages the exploration of less familiar musical work to inspire student’s practical work. Three contexts will be used to guide the student’s choice of material:

Personal context

• This includes music that has significance to the student, and that they are most familiar with.

• Students consider their immediate cultural context and interests that contribute to their emerging musical identity.

Local context

• This includes music that has local significance, but that may be unfamiliar to the student.

• This can be music from within the student’s local, regional or cultural communities, and may include music that the student is not currently engaged with.

Global context

• This includes unfamiliar music from a variety of places, societies and cultures.

• This may include music that the student has not connected or engaged with. The music may be from a distant global region but may also include music in closer proximity that has not been previously accessible to the student.