Music
The ATAR Music course is one of the most challenging, yet stimulating and motivating, courses available to secondary school students. It is a highly rigorous course that requires a dedicated commitment to one’s chosen craft. The Music course is split evenly with fifty percent of the course assessment coming from practical performance (study of an instrument, voice or composition) and fifty percent from written theory (music skills, aural development and historical analysis).
Classes are structured with specific focus on the four learning outcomes:
- Performing: the growth and development of each student as a performer on his chosen instrument
- Composing and Arranging: the development of skills for music writing
- Listening and Responding: the development of aural and analysis skills
- Culture and Historical Society: the detailed analysis of musical works and the historical context of these works
Each student chooses to major in either music performance (playing an instrument) or composition (writing music). The major can be taken in any one of four contexts:
- Jazz
- Contemporary
- Musical Theatre
- Western Art Music (classical)
Tuition Requirement
All students enrolled in the Music ATAR course must be receiving weekly one-on-one specialist tuition on their chosen major instrument or composition. This tuition can either be through the College Music Tuition programme (recommended), or externally through a private studio teacher.
Note: students must select a standard western instrument for their study in the ATAR music course, as stipulated by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority. Bagpipes are not considered a standard western instrument by the Authority.