Course information
Music is an exciting and engaging area of study which caters for all ability levels through a range of styles. At the Accredited level students can enter the program with little or no musical experience, the only prerequisite being a love of music and a curiosity to explore. Taking Music at the Tertiary level requires note reading skills and an ability to play an instrument at a Grade 3 practical standard. It is also important for those looking to undertake university studies in the field. At every level, however, students benefit from the time and space to refine their performance skills in a wide range of settings, including our ever popular school-wide Friday performance sessions and other school events. Being an expressive and creative field, student compositions are highly valued, and our musicology areas cover a wide range of study from classical, contemporary and through to musical theatre. If you love to share, explore, and refine your craft, the Music course is for you.
Post-school pathways
Do you enjoy or are you good at Music? (pdf, 110kb)
Workload expectation
All Performing Arts units have an emphasis on practical work with the inclusion of written analytical tasks and composition tasks.
Course patterns
Available as a Minor, Major, Major-Minor, or Double Major
Suggested Minor course
Semester | Unit |
|---|---|
1 | Creativity in Music |
2 | Communicating Meaning in Music |
Suggested Major course
Semester | Unit |
|---|---|
1 | Creativity in Music |
2 | Communicating Meaning in Music |
3 | Music in Context |
4 | Improvisation and variation in Music |
Unit descriptions
Unit 1: Creativity in Music
Students learn about creativity in music by exploring a range of techniques and strategies musicians use in the creative process. They make informed personal interpretations in performances, compositions and criticism to evoke responses from target audiences. Students make music to express their understanding of the world through interpretation, performance, production and composition in authentic contexts.
Unit 2: Communicating Meaning in Music
Students learn about how meaning is communicated in a variety of musical genres by analysing musical works and performances that have made a difference. They explore technical skills, stagecraft and production elements for communicating their ideas to a target audience to shape response, provoke, inform, or entertain. Students apply techniques to communicate their understanding of themselves and the world through music.
Unit 3: Music in Context
Students explore the works of musicians from different times and places, to understand the way social, historical, political and/or cultural contexts have shaped music and impacted audiences. Students apply their knowledge and appreciation of techniques from a variety of contexts. They demonstrate empathy, ethics, and principles of intercultural understanding to the creation of their own music.
Unit 4: Improvisation and Variation in Music
Students learn about improvisation and variation through a range of musical genres. They explore how musicians adapt ideas, arrange, improvise and create variation in music. They consider regulatory and ethical issues associated with using the works of others. Students create music that explores a variety of interpretations of an idea, context, mood, or emotion. They develop skills in adaptability, resilience, critical analysis and versatility.
Arts at Gungahlin College
Arts programs include Ceramics, Dance, Drama, Media, Music, Photography, Visual Arts, as well as Industry skills programs in Musical and Stage Performance and Live Production Services. Arts studios and classrooms are fully equipped with high-quality technology and resources, including a fully operational theatre.