Rationale
Rationale for Music in the Stage 6 curriculum
The purpose of Music in Years 11 and 12 is to provide students with the opportunity to acquire, develop, extend and refine the knowledge, understanding and skills gained from the Music 7–10 Syllabus (2024). Music in Years 11 and 12 may also be accessed by students who have not studied Music in Years 9 and 10.
Music is an aural art form enabling personal and cultural expression that occupies a significant place in the oral and recorded histories of global cultures. It can define and express identities, shape and communicate values, and convey meaning through sound in diverse ways. Music employs unique symbol systems, which can be used to shape, organise and communicate musical ideas.
Music fosters an appreciation of continuity and change, connecting cultures, times and regions. As students develop a deeper understanding of music, they draw on histories, practices, technologies and personal experiences to perform, create and appreciate music. Students explore and experience Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music, and the diversity of influences and styles in Australian music.
Students engage with Music context and Music language through performing, listening to and composing musical repertoire from ever-widening styles, genres and musical conventions. Engagement with the expressive, cultural and aesthetic value of music enriches students’ musical knowledge and supports them to appreciate music more deeply. Students use creative thinking and expression, and they explore and communicate musical ideas through a range of traditional and contemporary mediums.
Rationale for Music 2
The Music 2 11–12 Syllabus builds on the Music 7–10 Syllabus and assumes students have a formal background in music, with developed performance, composition, aural and music literacy skills, and some knowledge and understanding of musical styles.
The course provides students with the opportunity to strengthen their musical knowledge, understanding and skills through analytical, interpretative, creative and innovative music-making. Students perform, create and compare diverse pieces of music and music practices. Drawing upon an understanding of Western art Music students expand their musical knowledge through the study of repertoire from a range of diverse styles and genres. By exploring music from diverse cultural, historical, social and contemporary contexts students broaden their experience of performing, creating and composing and musical analysis. Students also develop an understanding of the diversity of traditional, contemporary and art music of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and the connections to Country, Place, Culture and Community.
In Music 2 students engage with the real-world practices of performers, composers, musicologists and audiences. The syllabus provides pathways to further study, education, vocational training, and careers in a range of music related fields, including solo and ensemble performance, conducting, musical direction, composition, musical production, sound design, musicological and ethno-musicological research.