§-Music syllabus
NSW · NESA← Music
Music syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the NSW Music syllabus, with a focused answer for each. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions and links to related points.
Aural (core listening and analysis)
Module overview →How do you analyse an unfamiliar excerpt through the concepts of music and structure a high-scoring aural response?
Aural analysis of unfamiliar music: identifying and describing the concepts of music in recorded excerpts, and structuring written responses for the HSC aural examination
How do you take down melody and rhythm accurately by ear, and what method gives you the best chance in dictation tasks?
Melodic and rhythmic dictation: notating heard pitch and rhythm accurately, the Music 2 rhythmic and melodic expectations, and a reliable step-by-step dictation method
How do you read and sing an unseen melody accurately, and how does aural musicianship underpin every part of the music course?
Sight-singing and aural musicianship: reading and singing an unseen melody using sol-fa or intervals, the Music 2 sight-singing expectations, and the inner-hearing skills that support performance, composition and analysis
Composition and arranging (core and elective)
Module overview →How do you compose or arrange a piece that uses the concepts of music deliberately and meets the HSC submission requirements?
Composition as a learning experience: generating and developing musical ideas, manipulating the concepts of music, working within a style, and preparing a submitted composition with score or recording and supporting documentation
How do you present a submitted composition with a score, recording and documentation that lets the marker hear and read every intention?
The composition submission: the score or lead sheet, the recording, and the supporting documentation or statement of intent, plus topic links and the Music 2 expectation of accurate full notation
The Concepts of Music (core framework)
Module overview →How does the concept of duration organise time in music, and how do you identify metre, tempo and rhythmic devices by ear?
Duration in depth: beat and pulse, tempo and tempo change, simple, compound and irregular metres, note and rest values, and rhythmic devices such as syncopation, dotted rhythms, ostinato, augmentation and diminution
How do dynamics and expression shape the meaning of music, and what vocabulary do you need to describe volume and articulation precisely?
Dynamics and expression in depth: dynamic levels and changes, articulation and phrasing, expressive devices, and how performers and composers use them to shape interpretation
How does harmony work, and how do you recognise chords, progressions and cadences by ear and label them in scores?
Harmony in depth: diatonic chords and Roman numeral or chord-symbol labelling, common progressions, cadences (perfect, plagal, imperfect, interrupted), consonance and dissonance, and modulation
How do you read and write standard notation accurately, and why does score literacy matter more in Music 2 than in Music 1?
Notation and score reading: pitch and rhythm notation, key and time signatures, clefs, score layout and reading conventions, and the level of notation literacy expected in Music 1 and Music 2
How do scales, intervals and chords organise pitch, and how do you identify them by ear and on the page?
Pitch in depth: scales (major, minor, modal, pentatonic, blues), intervals, triads and seventh chords, and basic harmonic progressions used in tonal and popular music
How is music organised over time, and how do you recognise common forms and structural devices by ear and in scores?
Structure in depth: common forms (binary, ternary, rondo, theme and variations, sonata, twelve-bar blues, verse-chorus, through-composed), and structural devices such as repetition, contrast, ostinato, sequence, motif and development
How do the layers of sound combine to create texture, and how do you identify and describe density and texture types by ear?
Texture in depth: monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic and heterophonic textures, density and the roles of layers (melody, bass, harmony, riff, drum pattern), and how texture changes shape a piece
What are the concepts of music and how do they give you a shared language for performance, composition and musicology?
The concepts of music (duration, pitch, dynamics and expression, tone colour, texture and structure) as the organising framework for all listening, performing, composing and writing in Music 1 and Music 2
What is tone colour, and how do you identify instruments, voices, playing techniques and production effects precisely by ear?
Tone colour in depth: identifying instruments and voices and their families, playing and singing techniques, and production techniques in recorded music such as reverb, distortion, panning and effects
Music 1 Topics and Electives
Module overview →What does the Australian Music topic cover, and how do you study Australian repertoire through the concepts of music?
The Australian Music topic: studying Australian art, popular, jazz, film and First Nations music through the concepts, and applying it across performance, composition and musicology electives
How is the Music 1 HSC course structured around topics and electives, and how do you build a coherent program from the list of topics?
The Music 1 course structure: choosing three HSC topics from the syllabus list, the comparative study, and selecting three electives across performance, composition and musicology that represent the topics
How does music work in radio, film, television and multimedia, and how do you study and create music that serves a visual or narrative context?
The Music for Radio, Film, Television and Multimedia topic: how music supports image and narrative through the concepts, scoring techniques, and applying it across performance, composition and musicology
How do you study popular music and jazz analytically through the concepts, beyond simply enjoying them?
The Popular Music and Jazz topics: studying song forms, grooves, harmony and improvisation through the concepts, and applying them across performance, composition and musicology electives
Music 2 Mandatory Topic: Music of the Last 25 Years (Australian focus)
Module overview →Music 2 Additional Topic and Core
Module overview →Musicology (core and elective)
Module overview →How do you compare works through the concepts of music, and how does a comparative study deepen a musicological argument?
Comparative study and analysis: comparing two or more works, styles or periods through the concepts of music, the Music 1 comparative-study requirement, and using comparison to build a sharper argument
How do you research and write about a style, period or genre through the concepts of music, and how does score analysis support your argument?
Musicology as a learning experience: researching styles, periods and genres, analysing how the concepts of music are used in repertoire, and presenting findings as a viva voce, written report or score-based analysis
How do you present musicology as a viva voce or written report that argues from the concepts of music and stands up to questioning?
Presenting musicology: the viva voce, the written report or analytical task, building an argument from the concepts and the score, citing repertoire as evidence, and answering examiner questions
Performance (core and elective)
Module overview →How do you prepare and deliver an HSC performance that demonstrates control of the concepts of music and stylistic understanding?
Performance as a learning experience: preparing repertoire, demonstrating technical control and musicality, applying the concepts of music in performance, and meeting the requirements of the core and elective performance examinations
How do you choose, structure and rehearse a performance program that meets the HSC requirements and shows you at your best?
Preparing the performance program: choosing repertoire and difficulty, meeting course and topic requirements, structured rehearsal and practice, memory and reliability, and managing accompaniment and equipment
What does the examination panel reward beyond accuracy, and how do you perform with the stylistic understanding and musicality that earn the top bands?
Stylistic interpretation and the examination panel: performing in style, shaping expression and the concepts in real time, communicating musically, and understanding the panel's marking focus