Level 7
Developing Practical Knowledge in Music (PK)
Students will use focused listening, practical activities, instruments, and technologies to analyse and describe musical structures and devices and to transcribe, transpose, and notate music from a range of styles and genres.
Developing Ideas in Music (DI)
Students will improvise music.
Students will combine musical elements, structural devices, and the use of technologies to compose and arrange music for specific purposes and in particular styles.
Students will notate, edit, and record original compositions and arrangements.
Communicating and Interpreting in Music (CI)
Students will prepare, rehearse, refine, present, record, and evaluate individual and group performances of a range of pieces in contrasting styles, in keeping with the composers' intentions and in style.
Students will analyse and investigate ways in which communications media and technology influence sound and meaning in music.
Students will use critical analysis to inform and evaluate performances.
Understanding Music in Context (UC)
Students will describe, analyse, compare, and contrast a range of musical styles and genres in relation to past and present contexts.
Students will investigate the production and performance of music in contemporary contexts.
Learning Examples
- Practise, present, record, and self-assess performances of two or more musical works in different styles, genres, or moods, as either a soloist or a member of a group. Research and analyse the structures, styles, and backgrounds of the works and present the results as CD cover notes or a web page. (CI, PK, UC)
- Compose and notate music for two or more specified instruments or voices, focusing on cohesion in structure, style, and development of ideas. Rehearse, share, and discuss the composition and those of others. Refine the composition where necessary and then perform and record it. Complete a self-assessment. (DI, PK, CI)
- Compare and contrast works that are similar in period, style, or purpose by two or more composers from different countries. Transcribe parts of the works, and use these transcriptions to describe and explain similarities and differences in the use of musical elements and devices. (UC, PK)
- Evaluate a live or recorded performance by others, paying particular attention to clarity, balance, fluency, and musical effect. Use these same criteria to compare and evaluate different performances of a single music work (e.g., a symphonic movement, pop song, waiata). (CI)
- Select a work from the eighteenth or nineteenth century. Use a score, several hearings, and background reading to investigate and describe its style, genre, and historical and social context. Identify and explain performance directions within the score. Illustrate with diagrams the structure and textures of the work, and describe the use of elements and devices that are typical of the genre or the composer's style. (UC, PK)
- Improvise on a given melodic or rhythmic motif, chord sequence, or opening phrase. Record the improvisation and evaluate it in terms of fluency, style, and cohesive use of the initial motif, sequence, or phrase. Repeat the activity, incorporating ideas and improvements from the evaluation. (DI, CI)
- Compare and analyse versions of the same work from different times (e.g., a 1950s version and a contemporary version of a pop song; early and recent recordings of a work). Find and compare reviews of each version, discussing possible reasons for the stance each review takes (e.g., different performance emphases in past times). Write an original contemporary review of each version for a nominated newspaper or magazine. (UC, CI)
- Investigate music in advertising, reading articles on its use and listening to a range of examples (e.g., from television, radio, and cinema advertisements). Select a particular advertisement and analyse the role music plays in supporting the message and promoting the product. Write an original jingle or brief piece for use in a new advertisement for the product, and record and evaluate the results. (UC, CI, DI)
- Investigate the influence of processing effects (e.g., distortion, reinforced bass and treble frequencies, reverb, compression) on recording. Select two contrasting recordings and evaluate the use and effectiveness of such effects within them. (CI, UC)
