Contact
Head of Department: Simon Smith
Email: ssmith@barker.nsw.edu.au
Year 9
There are two elective music courses in Year 9:
- Contemporary Music Studies (CMS)
- Elective Music
Both courses offer students the opportunity to develop their musical skills and are designed to increase their understanding through a wide range of activities.
Contemporary Music Studies (CMS)
Contemporary Music Studies (CMS) is a customized program designed for students with varying levels of experience and interest in developing their skills on the guitar, bass, drum kit, or for contemporary pianists or vocalists, regardless of their prior musical background. Proficiency in advanced note reading is not a prerequisite for this course. CMS in Year 9 lays the groundwork for continued study in Year 10 CMS and progresses into the Preliminary and HSC Music Course 1 subjects in Years 11 and 12.
Topics include:
- Australian Rock and Pop Music
- Jazz
- Music of A Culture
Elective Music
The Elective Music Course is designed for students with an orchestral, band, or classical piano or vocal background. These students usually read traditional notation and have some understanding of musical theory. It is expected that students will continue their music elective course of study in Year 10, which naturally progresses into the Preliminary and HSC Music Course 2, as well as Music Extension subjects in Years 11 and 12.
Topics include:
- Music for large ensembles (Romantic and 20th Century)
- Vocal music
- Australian music
- Theatre music
- Music for small ensembles
Prerequisites:
All students who study elective music must have weekly individual lessons on an instrument or voice. This is usually done through the Music Centre’s instrumental teaching program, although some students have lessons outside of school. In addition to lessons, students are also required to participate in the co-curricular music ensemble program as follows:
- Band instrumentalists (including percussion): One of the school’s bands as determined by the Director of Bands. Also, some band instrumentalists are invited to play in the Symphony Orchestra.
- Vocalists and Pianists: Senior Choir
- Orchestral strings: Symphony Orchestra (Years 9-12), Chamber Orchestra (Years 10-12)
- Guitarists, Keyboards, Drummers: Contemporary Music Ensembles as determined by music staff. These ensembles are established as part of the students’ performance program and have a regular weekly rehearsal time.
Assessment
The Year 9 Music includes tasks that assess:
- Performance
- Composition
- Listening
Year 10
There are two elective music courses in Year 10:
- Contemporary Music Studies (CMS)
- Elective Music
Both courses offer students the opportunity to develop their musical skills and are designed to increase their understanding through a wide range of activities.
Contemporary Music Studies (CMS)
Contemporary Music Studies (CMS) is a customized program designed for students with varying levels of experience and interest in developing their skills on the guitar, bass, drum kit, or for contemporary pianists or vocalists, regardless of their prior musical background. Proficiency in advanced note reading is not a prerequisite for this course. CMS in Year 10 leads into the Preliminary and HSC Music Course 1 subjects in Years 11 and 12.
Topics include:
- Rock and Pop
- Australian music
- Theatre music
- Music for small ensembles
- Music of A Culture
Elective Music
The Elective Music Course is designed for students with an orchestral, band, or classical piano or vocal background. These students usually read traditional notation and have some understanding of musical theory. The course naturally progresses into the Preliminary and HSC Music Course 2, as well as Music Extension subjects in Years 11 and 12.
Topics include:
- Music for large ensembles (Romantic and 20th Century)
- Vocal music
- Australian music
- Theatre music
- Music for small ensembles
Prerequisites:
All students who study elective music must have weekly individual lessons on an instrument or voice. This is usually done through the Music Centre’s instrumental teaching program, although some students have lessons outside of school. In addition to lessons, students are also required to participate in the co-curricular music ensemble program as follows:
- Band instrumentalists (including percussion): One of the school’s bands as determined by the Director of Bands. Also, some band instrumentalists are invited to play in the Symphony Orchestra.
- Vocalists and Pianists: Senior Choir
- Orchestral strings: Symphony Orchestra (Years 9-12), Chamber Orchestra (Years 10-12)
- Guitarists, Keyboards, Drummers: Contemporary Music Ensembles as determined by music staff. These ensembles are established as part of the students’ performance program and have a regular weekly rehearsal time.
Assessment
The Year 10 Music includes tasks that assess:
- Performance
- Composition
- Listening
Year 11
There are two music courses in Year 11:
- Music Course 1
- Music Course 2
Both courses develop a deep understanding of musical concepts through learning experiences in performance, composition, musicology, and aural skills. In Year 12, students select electives from any combination of performance, composition, and musicology to present for both internal and external assessment. These electives represent topics chosen from contexts covering a range of styles and genres.
Music 1
Music 1 caters to students of varied musical interests. Proficiency in advanced note reading is not a prerequisite for this course. Students study three topics each year of the course.
Topics include:
- An instrument and its repertoire
- Australian music
- Baroque music
- Jazz
- Methods of notating music
- Music for large ensembles
- Music for radio, film, television, and multimedia
- Music for small ensembles
- Music of the 20th and 21st centuries
- Popular music
- Rock music
- Technology and its influence on music
- Theatre music
Music 2
Music 2 caters to students with experience in score reading and notation-based skills such as sight-singing and melodic dictation. Students study one Mandatory Topic and one Additional Topic each year of the course.
- Year 11 Mandatory Topic: Music 1600-1900
- Additional Topic: Music 1900-1945 or Music 1945 to up to 25 years ago
Prerequisites:
All students who study elective music must have weekly individual lessons on an instrument or voice. This is usually done through the Music Centre’s instrumental teaching program, although some students have lessons outside of school. In addition to lessons, students are also required to participate in the co-curricular music ensemble program as follows:
- Band instrumentalists (including percussion): One of the school’s bands as determined by the Director of Bands. Also, some band instrumentalists are invited to play in the Symphony Orchestra.
- Vocalists and Pianists: Senior Choir
- Orchestral strings: Symphony Orchestra (Years 9-12), Chamber Orchestra (Years 10-12)
- Guitarists, Keyboards, Drummers: Contemporary Music Ensembles as determined by music staff. These ensembles are established as part of the students’ performance program and have a regular weekly rehearsal time.
Assessment
Year 11 Music includes tasks that assess:
- Performance
- Musicology
- Composition
- Aural Skills