MUSIC - Full Year

The following topics are covered in the Level 1 Music course:

Developing composing and performing skills

Ākonga will develop music composition skills and performance skills for their instrument (voice is an instrument). 

They will learn the different kaupapa around live performance such as stagecraft, delivery, engagement, respect, ownership of environment, and different components of diverse performance settings (eg kapa haka, the Sāsā, small intimate shows, and festival settings).

Ākonga will also look at different ways of working through feelings of nervousness related to performance, how to manage it, and even use it to their advantage. They will do this by performing during class time where others in the class give formative feedback and building up their confidence to then perform in assembly/prize-giving/outside of school at an appropriate showcase. 

Performances can be recorded for peer review processes.

Ideas for creating music that leads into performance

Looking at chord progressions, Ākonga will start with a few chords and build their melodic ideas on top of them. Once the foundations of their piece are set, they will then explore ideas of what to layer over the top. This could be aspects like melody, rhythm, lyrics, harmony, MIDI, different instrumental sounds, and song structures. 

Ākonga can also learn the basics of using DAW software to create the working template.

They will work independently or in pairs according to the rest of the composition brief provided by the kaiako.

The next step is for ākonga to arrange their compositions for a group or solo. Each student can do this with their own composition and can orchestrate it for a live setting. Ākonga will then be exposed to online shows like NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, the BBC Live Series and “Like A Version”, which can be accessed through streaming platforms, where artists perform their music and the music of others in a small and sometimes completely different setting. This will inform ākonga that even successful artists have restrictions and sometimes have to think outside the box to deliver their own material to the best of their ability and with what is available to them.

Developing music skills through music activities

Ākonga can engage in a wide range of activities that will build their music skills in different areas. Activities could include improvising, arranging, aural activities such as playing by ear, reproducing melodies, harmonies, rhythms, effects on a DAW, or transcribing, running singing rehearsals or creating harmonies for a melody.

Developing recording and mixing skills through music activities

Ākonga can engage in a wide range of recording activities through Loop recording studio. Activities include, effects on a DAW, mixing, P.A set up, compression and studio effects. This unit will count for 2 Unit Standard credits. 

• Future pathways: MUS21F