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NSW Curriculum
NSW Education Standards Authority

K–6Creative Arts K–6 Syllabus

Record of changes
Implementation from 2027
Expand for detailed implementation advice

Content

Stage 1

Music

For students who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing, Listening may include the use of assistive technology, graphic notation activities, watching performances or accessing music through other senses.

Performing: Music is performed to communicate musical ideas through sound
  • Engage in musical games and warm-up exercises for singing and playing instruments

  • Maintain a steady beat or change the speed of the beat through movement, body percussion, environmental sounds or by playing instruments

  • Sing, chant or engage with vocal repertoire, developing an aural awareness of pitch

  • Explore changes in pitch and pitch patterns, indicating changes with gestures

  • Perform rhythmic and melodic patterns by singing, using body percussion or playing instruments

  • Produce sounds using voice, body percussion, environmental sounds, instruments or digital technologies to develop an awareness of timbre

  • Develop playing skills using environmental sounds, instruments or technologies

  • Use sound sources to experiment with dynamic effects, including gradual or sudden changes in volume

  • Rehearse music and use listening skills to refine singing, moving or playing

  • Perform music repertoire through singing, moving, using body percussion and playing instruments to communicate musical ideas

  • Perform music in small groups by layering sounds in cooperation with others

  • Demonstrate safe music practices with awareness of physical and social safety

Listening: Musical ideas are conveyed through sound
  • Use listening skills and describe duration, pitch, performing media, timbre, dynamics, expression and structure in music, using Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary

  • Develop listening skills and aural awareness by experiencing music from cultural contexts around the world, and identify ways musical ideas are communicated

  • Describe ways Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples express connection to Country and Place through music

  • Explore ways to use symbols or graphic notation to represent sounds and musical ideas in repertoire

  • Explore music from historical contexts, including ancient music practices, to recognise how music is influenced by time and place

  • Use listening skills and reflect on personal experiences, discussing ideas, feelings or opinions in response to music

Composing: Music is composed to communicate musical ideas through sound
  • Imitate and vary rhythm patterns and tempo using body percussion, movement or instruments

  • Experiment with ways to change rhymes or songs using body percussion or instruments

  • Select and organise sounds into simple structures, using melodic or non-melodic sound sources

  • Explore sound sources used in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander music

  • Use symbols or graphic notation to represent duration, pitch, dynamics and other musical ideas

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