§-Unit

Unit 3: Performance and music language

9 dot points, in syllabus order. Each dot point has a focused answer, with exam-style questions and worked answers where available.

How do you transcribe a melody by ear and develop the aural skills that VCE Music examines under time pressure?

the aural identification and notation of melodies, including pitch direction, intervals, scale degrees and contour, and the development of dictation and sight-singing skills

Melodic dictation and aural training: using pitch direction, intervals, scale degrees and contour to transcribe melodies by ear, plus sight-singing and practice strategies for the aural exam.

6 min read →

How do you identify chords, chord qualities, progressions and cadences purely by ear in VCE Music?

the aural recognition of chord qualities, chord progressions and cadences from heard examples, including hearing the bass line, distinguishing major from minor harmony, and identifying cadence types by ear

Hearing harmony: recognising chord qualities, common progressions and cadence types by ear, using the bass line and the sense of resolution rather than written notes, for the aural examination.

6 min read →

How do you recognise tone colour and identify instruments and sound sources by ear in VCE Music?

the aural recognition of tone colour and timbre, the identification of instruments, voices and sound sources, and the description of how sounds are produced and combined in performed and studied works

Tone colour: recognising timbre by ear, identifying instruments, voices and electronic sound sources, understanding how sounds are produced, and describing tone colour accurately in aural and analysis tasks.

6 min read →

How do you read and write standard notation correctly, including clefs, the stave and score conventions, in VCE Music?

the reading and writing of standard notation, including the treble, bass and other clefs, the stave, accidentals, enharmonics, ledger lines and the conventions used when transcribing and presenting music

Notation: reading and writing on the treble and bass clefs, the grand stave, accidentals and enharmonics, ledger lines, and the presentation conventions markers expect in transcription and written work.

6 min read →

How do you recognise tonality, hear a change of key and describe modulation and key relationships in VCE Music?

the aural and written recognition of tonality, including major, minor, modal and atonal sound, the identification of modulation, and the description of key relationships in performed and studied works

Tonality and modulation: hearing whether music is major, minor, modal or atonal, recognising when and how the music changes key, and describing key relationships such as dominant, relative and parallel keys.

6 min read →

How do you hear, count and accurately notate rhythm and metre when transcribing music in VCE Music?

the aural recognition, counting and notation of rhythm, metre, time signatures, subdivision and syncopation, and their accurate transcription from heard examples

Rhythm and metre: how to count beats, read simple and compound time signatures, handle subdivision, dotted notes, ties and syncopation, and transcribe rhythm accurately from heard examples in the aural exam.

6 min read →

How do key signatures and the circle of fifths let you name a key instantly and work between related keys in VCE Music?

the identification and construction of major and minor key signatures, the order of sharps and flats, the circle of fifths, and the use of relative and parallel keys in performed and studied repertoire

Key signatures: the fixed order of sharps and flats, how the circle of fifths organises every major and minor key, naming a key from its signature, and using relative and parallel key relationships.

6 min read →

How do intervals, scales and modes form the pitch material that you must hear, name and notate in VCE Music?

the identification, construction and aural recognition of intervals, major and minor scales, and the diatonic modes used in performed and studied repertoire

Intervals, major and minor scales and the diatonic modes: how to name, construct and aurally recognise the pitch material that underpins performance, transcription and analysis tasks.

6 min read →

How are chords built and connected into the harmonic progressions you must recognise and analyse in VCE Music?

the construction and aural identification of triads and seventh chords, chord qualities and inversions, and common diatonic harmonic progressions and cadences

Harmony: how triads and seventh chords are built, their qualities and inversions, Roman numeral analysis, cadences and the common diatonic progressions you must hear and notate.

6 min read →