The Year 9 Music program provides a balanced course involving performance, creativity and academic challenge. It enables students to be involved with music as a leisure pursuit, an interest, and an academic study in its own right or as a future career.

Music is experienced through three learning outcomes:

• Aurally and visually analysing and responding to music
• Reading and writing music
• Performing and composing music

The course is developmental and sequential, covering key concepts and skills through the three core learning outcomes. A sample of the units offered is listed below, but these are continually developed to best meet the needs of the students:

Aurally and Visually Analyse and Respond to Music

This enables students to develop their problem solving and communication skills, both oral and written, through analysing the various musical styles they see and hear. Research has indicated that these skills transfer positively to enhance student performance in other subject areas.

Students study basic acoustical properties; how sound is made and how we define the elements of sound such as pitch, amplitude, timbre and duration. What makes a ‘nice’ sound and what makes a ‘bad’ sound.

To Play and Compose

Students develop basic keyboard and computer skills and learn the basics of performance on instruments such as the piano and how the impact of technology has expanded the production of music.

Famous Names in Music

Famous composers are really just ordinary people. We study their works and explore their relevance to today's music while developing our skills.

Exploring Film Music

Music can evoke a mood, a time, place or character. In this Unit we explore the stories that music can tell. We examine careers in film music and we compose our own film score using music technology.

Sing and Play a Varied Repertoire of Music

Students develop their self-confidence, independent learning and teamwork skills through a programme of participation in and direction of vocal and instrumental performance. With peer and teacher support students are enabled to explore and to express themselves powerfully through music.

Contact Teacher - Gary Nicholls