SACE Stage 2 Music: 2026 guide to the Music suite, theory, aural, analysis, performance and composition

SACE Stage 2 Music is the Year 12 music offering of the SACE Board of South Australia. Rather than a single subject, it is a suite that includes Music Studies, Music Explorations, and Music Performance (Solo and Ensemble), each blending practical music-making with the understanding of music. As with every Stage 2 subject, your final result combines school assessment with a single external assessment component.

This page is the index. Below you will find every dot-point page we have for the core skills of SACE Stage 2 Music in 2026, organised by module, along with the structural notes you need to plan your study.

Please note: the SACE Music suite spans several subjects whose assessment types differ. The weightings below describe the standard Stage 2 split. Confirm the exact assessment-type names and weightings against the subject outline for the specific Music subject you are enrolled in at sace.sa.edu.au.

The 70/30 assessment split

Every SACE Stage 2 subject, including each subject in the Music suite, divides into:

School assessment: 70 percent. Set and marked by your school and then moderated by the SACE Board to keep standards consistent across schools. In Music this typically covers practical work (performance and creative tasks such as composition or arranging) and written or aural tasks, depending on the subject. The exact assessment types and their individual weightings are defined in each subject outline.

External assessment: 30 percent. Marked by the SACE Board. Depending on the subject this may take the form of an examination, a performance, or a folio of creative work. For example, Music Studies includes an external examination, while performance-focused subjects assess an external performance. Check which external form applies to your subject.

Because the precise assessment types vary across the Music suite, treat the figures above as the standard Stage 2 framework and verify the specifics for your enrolled subject.

Core modules in this hub

These notes concentrate on the skills that transfer across every Music subject: theory and aural, analysis and musicology, and the practical strands of performance and composition.

Music Theory and Aural

• Intervals and scales
• Chords and harmony
• Rhythm, metre and tempo
• Aural skills and transcription
• Key signatures and the circle of fifths
• Transposition and clefs
• Cadences and harmonic progression
• Melodic dictation and sight-singing

Musical Literacy

• Standard notation and score-reading
• Texture and instrumentation
• Tonality and modulation

Analysis and Musicology

• Elements of music
• Form and structure
• Stylistic and comparative analysis
• Harmonic analysis and Roman numerals
• Musicology, styles and context

Performance and Composition

• Performance skills and interpretation
• Composition and arranging
• Motif development and melody writing
• Music technology and production
• Solo performance and technique
• Ensemble performance skills
• Reflecting and evaluating performance

How the modules connect

The three modules reinforce one another. Theory and aural give you the raw materials: intervals, scales, chords, rhythm and the ability to hear them. Analysis and musicology apply that vocabulary to understand how real works are built. Performance and composition put it all into practice, since interpreting a score draws on theory and aural skill, and writing music draws on harmony and analysis. Strength in one module lifts the others.

How to use this hub

If you are building foundations: start with the theory and aural pages, since intervals, scales and chords underpin everything else.

If you are preparing analysis or musicology tasks: work through the elements of music and form pages, then practise applying the vocabulary to unfamiliar recordings.

If you are preparing practical work: use the performance and composition pages to guide focused practice and to develop and notate your creative work.

For the official subject outlines, assessment requirements and past materials for each subject in the Music suite, refer to the SACE Board of South Australia at sace.sa.edu.au.