Subject description

Stage 2 Music Performance — Ensemble is a 10‑credit subject.

Music is a creative and expressive response to experiences and feelings, using sound as a medium. Music is the systematic organisation of sound patterns that have the potential to transform perceptions, emotions, and thoughts.

The study of music enables students to appreciate the world in unique ways, through aesthetic treatments of sound across cultures, times, places, and contexts. It forms a vital part of the transmission of histories, knowledge, and stories among generations.

Through synthesising and applying their understanding of musical elements, students learn to manipulate sound and create musical works that express their ideas and emotions.

Students develop their critical and creative thinking, and their aesthetic appreciation of music, through exploring and responding to the music of others, and refining and presenting performances and/or compositions. These performances and/or compositions may include original works and/or presentations or arrangements of existing compositions.

Students experiment with, explore, and manipulate musical elements to learn the art of constructing and deconstructing music. They develop and extend their musical literacy and skills through understanding the structural and stylistic features and conventions of music, expressing their musical ideas, and reflecting on and critiquing their learning in music.

Through their learning, students engage with, gain insights into, and are inspired by the transformative powers of music.

Capabilities

The capabilities connect student learning within and across subjects in a range of contexts. They include essential knowledge and skills that enable people to act in effective ways. 

Literacy

In this subject students extend and apply their literacy capability by, for example:

• applying their knowledge and understanding of the use of musical elements, including musical conventions and styles, to create and refine their musical works 
• developing their musical literacy through responding to and discussing their own and others’ works
• refining their aural perception and notation skills to identify and apply musical elements in creating and responding to music
• understanding the characteristics of musical styles, structures, and techniques to inform the processes they use to create performances or compositions
• analysing, discussing, and manipulating musical elements to create musical works, respond to the works of others, and extend their musical literacy
• commenting on how their understanding of the style, structure, and conventions of the repertoire informs their performance
• extending their understanding of music theory, conventions, and skills in score reading
• understanding and incorporating appropriate terminology in their discussions and responses.

Numeracy

In this subject students extend and apply their numeracy capability by, for example:

• understanding, analysing, and using numbers, patterns, and relationships in a musical context
• understanding the relationship of standard and graphic notation to sound
•  exploring and applying musical conventions in their creative works
• applying their understanding of the measurements of duration, pitch, volume, and tempo
• using measurement to quantify intervals, chords, scales, beat, and rhythm.

Information and communication technology (ICT) capability

In this subject students extend and apply their information and communication technology (ICT) capability by, for example:

• performing, creating, and recreating music using audio and MIDI recordings
• creating and performing music using technology and found sounds
• notating music using software programs
• exploring and experimenting with sources of music and sound production, and ways of making and recording music
• using digital technologies in timing, sequencing, synchronising, experimenting with, and recording the creation and/or performance of musical works.

Critical and creative thinking

In this subject students extend and apply their critical and creative thinking capability by, for example:

• thinking critically and creatively about the nature and scope of creating and performing music
• applying their understanding of the nature and scope of music to make innovative choices in developing their own creative works
• expressing their ideas creatively through performances and/or compositions
• expressing their ideas critically in responding to their own creations and those of others
• synthesising musical understanding, skills, and techniques
• critiquing strategies for improving and refining their musical skills, technique, and accuracy
• using initiative in collaborating with other musicians
• applying their understanding of musical elements to deconstruct, analyse, and discuss how composers manipulate musical elements
• exploring and experimenting with how music is made.

Personal and social capability

In this subject students extend and apply their personal and social capability by, for example:

• enriching their aesthetic appreciation of music 
• collaborating with others to perform music
• reflecting on the appropriateness of their creative works to the intended purpose and context
• reflecting on learning and feedback in making refinements to their creative works
• reflecting on live music performances
• reflecting on and critiquing their own performances or compositions and those of other students
• refining their skills and understanding of their creative works to build confidence through diverse opportunities to practise and perform, and experiment and create
• being responsive to other musicians
• understanding and appreciating the aesthetic, stylistic, and technical dimensions of performing music
• exploring how the music of others influences their experimentation with music.

Ethical understanding

In this subject students extend and apply their ethical understanding capability by, for example:

• understanding the appropriate use of recorded works and compositions 
• respecting the intellectual property rights of composers and performers
• considering ethical strategies for working with individuals and groups
• presenting with integrity the creative works of others
• respecting the composer’s intent when interpreting music
• discussing and evaluating the ethical issues surrounding recording and the use of recorded works
• increasing their critical understanding of the appropriate and ethical uses of digital technologies.

Intercultural understanding

In this subject students extend and apply their intercultural understanding capability by, for example:

• understanding and appreciating that all music is a form of cultural expression
• exploring, analysing, and interpreting genres, styles, and influences in music across times, locations, and cultures
• exploring, discussing, and evaluating how music from different cultures influences their own creations
• understanding and discussing the function of music in social and cultural contexts
• identifying and analysing intercultural influences in music
• interpreting and applying a variety of notations from different cultures and traditions.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, cultures, and perspectives

In partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and schools and school sectors, the SACE Board of South Australia supports the development of high-quality learning and assessment design that respects the diverse knowledge, cultures, and perspectives of Indigenous Australians.

The SACE Board encourages teachers to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and perspectives in the design, delivery, and assessment of teaching and learning programs by:

• providing opportunities in SACE subjects for students to learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and contemporary experiences
• recognising and respecting the significant contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Australian society
• drawing students’ attention to the value of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and perspectives from the past and the present
• promoting the use of culturally appropriate protocols when engaging with and learning from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.  

Learning requirements

The learning requirements summarise the knowledge, skills, and understanding that students are expected to develop and demonstrate through their learning in Stage 2 Music Performance — Ensemble.

In this subject, students are expected to:

1. apply knowledge and understanding of style, structure, and conventions in performing musical works in an ensemble
2. apply musical skills and techniques in refining and performing musical works
3. interpret creative works and express musical ideas
4. demonstrate responsive collaboration within an ensemble
5. discuss key musical elements of the repertoire
6. critique and evaluate own learning within music.

Note: For the purposes of this subject students may perform on one or more instruments, or a combination of instrument(s) and voice.

Content

Stage 2 Music Performance — Ensemble is a 10‑credit subject that consists of the following strands:

• understanding music
• performing music
• responding to music.

The strands in Music Performance — Ensemble are interconnected and not intended to be taught independently. Students develop and extend their musical skills and techniques in creating performances as part of an ensemble. They interpret musical works, and apply to their performances an understanding of the style, structure, and conventions appropriate to the repertoire.

Students extend their musical literacy through discussing key musical elements of the repertoire, and interpreting creative works. Students express their musical ideas through performing, critiquing, and evaluating their own performances.

Understanding music

Musical understanding underpins student learning in this subject. Students:

• understand and apply key musical elements of the repertoire
• think creatively and critically about ensemble music performance
• express musical ideas.

Understand and apply key musical elements of the repertoire

Students develop and extend their musical understanding and musical literacy by:

• applying appropriate terminology to discuss key musical elements in the repertoire
• developing and applying their knowledge and understanding of the style, structure, and conventions appropriate to the repertoire.

In this subject, elements for study include:

• rhythm
• pitch
• dynamics and expression
• form and structure
• timbre
• texture.

Refer to the Music Performance — Ensemble supporting document for articulation of the musical elements.

Students apply their knowledge and understanding of the style, structure, and conventions appropriate to the repertoire, in developing and refining their musical performances, their musical imagination, and their own ideas about and appreciation of music.

Students develop and extend their musical understanding and musical literacy through interpreting creative works, and discussing key musical elements in the repertoire.

Thinking creatively and critically about music performance

Students think creatively and critically about the nature and scope of music, and apply this understanding to make informed and innovative choices in developing their own performances as part of an ensemble.

Students:

• develop and apply a critical understanding of style, structure, and conventions when performing in an ensemble
• refine their aural perception and/or notation skills to consider, discuss, and apply their understanding of key musical elements in their performances
• extend their understanding and appreciation of the aesthetic, stylistic, technical, and expressive demands of performing music in an ensemble
• enrich their appreciation of music and its transformative powers.

Express musical ideas

Students synthesise their learning through music to express their ideas:

• creatively, through their performances in an ensemble
• critically, in critiquing and evaluating their own performances.

They develop and extend their understanding of how learning in music is an iterative process, and how the knowledge and skills developed through interpreting and performing music can refine their musical thinking and inform the choices they make as a member of an ensemble.

Students reflect on and critique the specific skills, techniques, and strategies required to create and present music through ensemble performance, and evaluate their own development, application, and refinement of musical skills in the learning process.

Performing music

Students develop and extend their practical music‑making skills through performing works in an ensemble. They apply their musical understanding, skills, and techniques in refining and performing music.

Students create music for ensemble performance for a range of purposes and contexts. They choose one or more instruments (voice, acoustic, and/or electronic) and perform in one or more ensembles as appropriate to the focus of their learning. They may perform in:

• a small ensemble of two or more performers
• an orchestra
• a band
• a choir or vocal ensemble
• a performing arts production (as a singer or instrumentalist in an ensemble).

Students develop and extend their practical music‑making skills, and use initiative in collaborating with other musicians to create and refine ensemble performances. They develop and apply an understanding of and responsiveness to how each part, including their own, contributes to the effectiveness of the whole ensemble.

In creating performances, students extend their specific technical and performance‑related skills on their chosen instrument(s), and apply this contextual learning to refine their musical expression. They experiment with the manipulation of musical elements appropriate to the performance context. A performance may include improvisation.

As students develop and refine their performances, they synthesise their musical understanding, skills, and techniques. They reflect on and evaluate their learning, and critique and make refinements to their performances, throughout the development process.

Responding to music

Students engage critically and creatively with music, and strengthen their musical literacy, through critiquing and evaluating their own performances in an ensemble, interpreting the creative works that they perform, and expressing their musical ideas.

Students build confidence in using appropriate terminology to discuss key musical elements of the repertoire. They develop and extend their skills in score reading and/or aural perception.

Students critique and evaluate strategies to develop and refine their own musical performances and contribute as effective members of an ensemble.

Suggested teaching and learning strategies

The following teaching and learning strategies are suggested as possible approaches and contexts, and are neither comprehensive nor exclusive. Teachers and students may choose to select from these, and are encouraged to consider other strategies according to particular needs and interests.

Understanding music

Suggested teaching and learning strategies may include, but are not limited to:

• aural perception practice
• annotation of scores
• discussion of performance repertoire with score annotations as applicable
• external sources (e.g. live concerts, recorded performances)
• analysis of the structural elements of works in students’ repertoire.

Performing music

Suggested teaching and learning strategies may include, but are not limited to:

• undertaking workshops and master‑classes (e.g. with externally sourced clinicians)
• performing works in front of a range of audiences
• exploring and experimenting with techniques
• critiquing exemplary performances (live or online)
  • providing feedback (including peer feedback) on performances
  • attending local performances (e.g. a symphony orchestra rehearsal; a rock or folk music concert)
  • presenting concerts in the school or local community
  • performing at local, national, and/or international events.

Responding to music

Suggested teaching and learning strategies may include but are not limited to:

• keeping a log or journal of musical ideas and practice strategies
• researching and exploring approaches to music practice
• interpreting and discussing works from the genres of their selected works
• modelling exemplars of discussion of key musical elements
• reviewing concerts and live performances
• identifying and applying appropriate technical terminology in critiquing selected works
• applying technologies to enhancing aural perception skills in learning repertoire.

Evidence of learning

All Stage 2 subjects have a school assessment component and an external assessment component.

The following assessment types enable students to demonstrate their learning in Stage 2 Music Performance — Ensemble.

School assessment (70%)

• Assessment Type 1: Performance (30%)
• Assessment Type 2: Performance and Discussion (40%).

External assessment (30%)

• Assessment Type 3: Performance Portfolio (30%).

Students provide evidence of their learning through four assessments, including the external assessment component. Students complete:

• one performance or set of performances
• one performance or set of performances and a discussion
• one performance portfolio.

Assessment design criteria

The assessment design criteria are based on the learning requirements and are used by:

• teachers to clarify for the students what they need to learn
• teachers and assessors to design opportunities for students to provide evidence of their learning at the highest possible level of achievement.

The assessment design criteria consist of specific features that:

• students should demonstrate in their learning
• teachers and assessors look for as evidence that students have met the learning requirements.

For this subject the assessment design criteria are:

• understanding music
• performing music
• responding to music.

The specific features of these criteria are described below.

The set of assessments, as a whole, must give students opportunities to demonstrate each of the specific features by the completion of study of the subject.

Understanding Music 

The specific features are as follows:

Performing Music

The specific features are as follows:

Responding to Music 

The specific features are as follows:

School assessment

The school assessment component for Stage 2 Music Performance — Ensemble consists of two assessment types:

• Assessment Type 1: Performance
• Assessment Type 2: Performance and Discussion.

Assessment Type 1: Performance (30%)

Students present an ensemble performance, or set of performances of a single work or a set of works by one or more composers, and individual evidence of each student’s contribution to the chosen ensemble through individual part‑testing.

In the ensemble performance and part-testing, students apply their knowledge and understanding of style, structure, and conventions appropriate to the repertoire. They interpret musical works, and apply their musical skills, technique, and accuracy to present their performance. 

The ensemble performance should be presented to a live audience. All performances and part tests must be recorded. The performance should be a maximum of 6 to 8 minutes.

The individual part‑testing should be approximately 2 minutes. 

For this assessment type, students provide evidence of their learning primarily in relation to the following assessment design criteria:

• understanding music
• performing music.

Assessment Type 2: Performance and Discussion (40%)

Students present:

• an ensemble performance, or set of performances of a single work or a set of works by one or more composers, and individual evidence of each student’s contribution to the chosen ensemble through individual part‑testing
• an individual discussion of key musical elements of the repertoire, with a critique of strategies to improve and refine each student’s performance.

The musical work(s) chosen may be an extension of or related to the work(s) performed in Assessment Type 1 but must not repeat work already presented for assessment.

In the ensemble performance and part‑testing, students apply their knowledge and understanding of style, structure, and conventions appropriate to the repertoire. They interpret musical works, and apply their musical skills, technique, and accuracy to refine and present their performance.

In their individual discussion, students:

• comment on how their understanding of the style, structure, and conventions of the repertoire informs their performance in the ensemble
• critique the strategies they used in improving and refining their skills, technique, and accuracy in practice and performance.

The ensemble performance should be presented to a live audience. All performances and part tests must be recorded. The performance should be a maximum of 6 to 8 minutes.

The individual part‑testing should be approximately 2 minutes.

The individual discussion should be a maximum of 4 minutes if oral, 800 words if written, or the equivalent in multimodal form.

For this assessment type, students provide evidence of their learning primarily in relation to the following assessment design criteria:

• understanding music
• performing music
• responding to music.

External assessment

The external assessment component for Stage 2 Music Performance — Ensemble consists of a performance portfolio.

Assessment Type 3: Performance Portfolio (30%)

Students present an ensemble performance portfolio consisting of:

• an ensemble performance, or set of performances of a musical work or works, and individual evidence of each student’s contribution to the ensemble through individual part‑testing
• an individual evaluation of their learning journey.

The musical work(s) chosen may be an extension of or related to works performed in Assessment Type 1 and Assessment Type 2 but must not repeat works already presented for assessment.

The purpose of the ensemble performance and individual part‑testing is for students to draw together their musical understanding, skills, technique, and accuracy developed and extended throughout learning in this subject.

The purpose of the evaluation is for students to demonstrate their progression and development in performing music in an ensemble. In their individual evaluation, students evaluate their understanding of how their role contributed to the effectiveness of the whole ensemble, including:

• responsiveness within the performance
• skills in collaborating with other musicians
• learning from their performance preparation
• understanding of their own part and the repertoire as a whole.

The performance should be presented to a live audience. All performances and part tests must be recorded for assessment. A performance should be a maximum of 6 to 8 minutes, with approximately 2 minutes of part‑testing.

The evaluation should be to a maximum of 3 minutes if oral, 500 words if written, or the equivalent in multimodal form.

For this assessment type, students provide evidence of their learning in relation to the following assessment design criteria:

• understanding music – UM1, UM2
• performing music – PM1, PM2, PM3, PM4
• responding to music – RM2.

Performance standards

The performance standards describe five levels of achievement, A to E. 

Each level of achievement describes the knowledge, skills, and understanding that teachers and assessors refer to in deciding how well students have demonstrated their learning on the basis of the evidence provided. 

During the teaching and learning program the teacher gives students feedback on their learning, with reference to the performance standards.

At the student’s completion of study of each school assessment type, the teacher makes a decision about the quality of the student’s learning by:

• referring to the performance standards
• assigning a grade between A+ and E– for the assessment type.  

The student’s school assessment and external assessment are combined for a final result, which is reported as a grade between A+ and E–.

Performance standards

Stage 2 performance standards for Music Performance — Ensemble can be viewed below. You can also download in Word format [DOC 239KB].

To learn more about what performance standards are, how they are used, and other general information, see performance standards and grades. 

Subject changes

Any changes to this subject will be recorded here.

Music Performance — Ensemble supporting document