Music at 91¸£Àû is designed to provide a continuous and seamless music education experience for students from Prep to Year 12, through three complimentary areas: Classroom, Instrumental Tuition and Ensembles.
We provide a range of compulsory and optional music experiences to fully exploit the amazing cognitive development and learning potential of music, and to provide a broad range of choices to suit every student’s individual journey.
Classroom Music - Primary
Music at 91¸£Àû is an engaging program of classroom, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, which begins for all students in our Primary Classroom Music classes. All students in Prep - Year 6 participate in a classroom Music lesson each week conducted by a Specialist Music Teacher. The Classroom Music Program is Kodaly-based, having a focus on in-tune singing, the importance of beat, and rhythm recognition.
Year 3 & 4 Instrumental Music Immersion Programs
In addition to their classroom music lesson, all students in Years 3 and 4 participate in the Instrumental Music Immersion program.
Year 3 - Strings
Year 3 students learn violin, viola, cello or double bass. Instruments are assigned to students through a selection process which combines the interest of the students with the skill and insight of our teaching team to select an instrument that the students will enjoy and experience success with. Group lessons occur weekly, and enable students to develop a solid foundation in technique and musicality, and for many will provide the first opportunity for public performance. The teaching team is selected from the College’s highly qualified string specialist staff.
Students who have already started private lessons are encouraged to continue on their current instrument, and will be given extension work as appropriate in the Year 3 Strings class.
Year 4 - Concert Band
Year 4 students are able to choose from a wider selection of instruments, as we open up the options of Woodwind, Brass and Percussion. Lessons are grouped according to instrument type and are taught by the College’s specialist music staff. Students will draw on their increasing body of musical knowledge and apply it to their new instrument to develop new skills and opportunities for musical expression.
As in Year 3, instruments are selected through a careful process taking into account the preferences of the student, and the considered opinions of our staff.
Classroom Music Elective - Secondary
From Year 7, Music is taken as an elective. The Music Elective program is genre based (styles of music), and students will make music (compose and perform) and actively respond to their developing artwork and the artworks of others by drawing on the knowledge, understanding and skills acquired through their experiences in making music.
In Years 7-9, students demonstrate evidence of their learning over time in relation to the following National Curriculum standards:
- Making: Composing and Performing
- Responding: Analysing and evaluating the use of the elements of music and defining characteristics from different musical styles that relate to the unit of study.
In Years 10, 11 and 12, students demonstrate evidence of their learning over time in relation to the following assessable elements. These assessment pieces are derived from the QCAA 2019 Senior Music Syllabus:
- Composing and writing a statement of compositional intent
- Performing and writing a performance statement
- Integrated project (musicology and composition or musicology and performance)
- Extended analytical response in exam conditions