Greystanes High School has music programs for Years 7 to 12.
Year 7
In this semesterised course, they study the foundations of music. This includes an introduction to playing the keyboard using sheet music. They are exposed to a variety of listening examples in which they are asked to identify instruments and basic concepts. They also study the Instruments of the Orchestra, in which they are exposed to orchestral music. Students learn about the families and are exposed to orchestral music. They further explore the concepts in this topic.
Year 8
In this semesterised course, they study Rock 'n' Roll and Popular Music. Students learn how to play the 12 bar blues on guitar and develop skills on other rock instruments. They complete various tasks that reflect their knowledge of the concepts of music.
Years 9 and 10
Students elect to study music in Years 9 and 10. In this two-year course, students further develop their musicianship in a wide variety of topics. This includes, but is not limited to:
- music for film
- television and multimedia
- classical music
- jazz
- baroque music
- popular music
- technology in music.
They complete assessment tasks in three key learning areas:
- performance
- composition
- listening.
Year 11
Students in this course develop their own performance skills and musicianship. They are guided through a variety of learning activities, which help them prepare to take on the HSC (Higher School Certificate) in Year 12. Students are assessed in four core learning areas:
- performance where students are assessed on their own personal performance skills on the instrument of their choice (which includes the voice)
- composition where students create their own music and are assessed on their abilities to organise and communicate their ideas.
- musicology where students research an area within the wider topic and present a viva voce (a speaking task) and are assessed on their ability to communicate the concepts of music.
- aural where student sit an exam which they listen to excerpts of music and expain how the concepts are being maniupulated.
Year 12
Students continue to develop their skills in performance, composition, musicology and aural. The practical marking of the music HSC takes place in late Term 3 and assesses 70% of the external HSC assessment component. Students must do a minimum of one performance and can choose any combination of composition, musicology or performance components for the three elective topics.
Topics include:
- an instrument and its repertoire
- Australian music
- theatre music
- jazz
- medieval music
- methods of notating music
- music and religion
- music and the related arts
- music for large esembles
- music for radio, film, television and multimedia
- music for small ensembles
- music in education
- music of a culture
- music of the 18th century
- music of the 19th century
- music of the 20th/2st centuries
- popular music
- rock music.
The HSC music internal assessment is as follows:
Component
- Performance core (10%)
- Composition core ( 10%)
- Musicology core (10%)
- Aural core (25%)
- Elective 1 (15%)
- Elective 2 (15%)
- Elective 3 (15%)
Total: 100%