Term 4 in the Music Classroom is always the most rewarding, where the fruits of students’ learning is on full display! Congratulations to all students in our elective classes for the skills they have developed and compositions and performances they have produced!

VCE Music

This year, we have had four students complete the new Unit 3&4 VCE Music Repertoire course. The most significant part of this course is the requirement for students to present a 20 minute program on their instrument or voice, including at least one set piece from a prescribed list, one piece that is composed by an Australian composer and one ensemble work.

Our students have worked all year on perfecting their pieces, dedicating hundreds of hours of study with their private tutors and personal practice. Last week, they presented a recital of their full program to staff and students at lunchtime, in preparation for their practical exams which will be held over the next two weeks. Congratulations to Sarah, Sophie, Angelique and Tara on their stunning performances. We wish you all the best of luck with your final assessments!

Year 9 Music

The Year 9 Music elective students have been studying songwriting this semester. Students have learnt about the fundamentals of creating an original pop inspired composition, learning about chord progressions, riffs, melodic contours, song structure and how to appeal to a wide market. The students are now at the end stage of notating and recording their work, and I look forward to hearing the finished product very soon!

Student Reflections

During Music we’ve been writing and composing our own songs. We’ve had to come up with our own lyrics, chords and melody and put it all together. It’s been really fun to work on it each class, as well as helping us learn and discover more about our instruments and what kind of music we can create.

Eve Jurdukian

In Music Performance class, we have been working on a songwriting task where we create a song using chords, a melody, lyrics and a beat. We’ve learnt how to make a catchy song, what chords work together, and how to write a melody. It has been a fun and challenging process creating a song where I began with roughly zero knowledge. I’ve learnt a lot!

Arielle Bajurnow

In this semester of Music, we’ve learnt what it takes to write a song. From chord progressions to melodies, chorus to bridge, a good song tells a story, portrayed through hooks, riffs and overall attitude. Songwriting should leave the audience with something that’s stuck in their head all day.

Rhiannán Marie-Jeanne

This year, I’ve learnt many things. My favourite was when we began composing songs. I learnt the form of a song and how to plan it out. I learnt timing and bridges, planning to compose and the steps. Overall, I’ve learnt how to work in a group to incorporate our lyrics and ideas building our song together.

Nessrine Khattar

Students in Year 9 Music have had the challenge throughout Semester 2 to compose and perform their own songs. Using their skills and understanding of music and theory, they have pieced together songs using either physical instruments or online music programs. Students have been challenged to creatively start a song from scratch and use their abilities to write beats, rhythms and lyrics.

Francesca Kearns

We learnt how to write a song from scratch. We learnt how to write lyrics, chord progression, melody and a bridge or middle 8, as some call them. We also learnt what makes a song sell and how to make it catchy.

Charlotte Forbes

Throughout this semester, we learnt how to write a song. We learnt how to create your own chord progression and how to tell a story through your song. We also learnt other things such as how to aim for a target audience, how to create a hook and how to layout a song properly.

Tara Prasad

Kara-Lee Rabbetts
Learning Leader: Performing Arts – Music

VCE Dance and Drama

On Thursday 5 October, the VCE Dance and Drama students presented their solo performance works to an audience of teachers, family and friends. These presentations were an opportunity to prepare for their upcoming performance exams that will take place in October and November in front of external VCAA assessors.  

Dance

Unit 2 Dance students presented a composition trio with the intention of the elements to open the evening and then the Unit 3 students presented their technical skills solos. These solos are designed to showcase strength, flexibility, alignment, stamina, time, space, energy and artistry. All of the students performed beautifully in their chosen styles and were given feedback on which to improve for their assessment.

Their cohesive composition solos were also choreographed by the students to portray an intention through movement.  Students presented works with themes such as grief, drought and illness.  They showcased a personal movement vocabulary to present these ideas to the audience.

Drama

The second part of the evening was dedicated to Unit 4 Drama students to present their solo performance items. Commencing at the beginning of Term 3, students have worked through a complex and demanding play-making process to fully develop all aspects of their solo performances based on their individually selected examination structure.

Some examples of the characters showcased throughout the evening include ‘Professor Trelawney’ from the Harry Potter series, desperately trying to save her job at Hogwarts through ‘discovering’ a new star sign; a jilted, brokenhearted Emily Eliza Donnithorne waiting as a recluse in her own home for 20 years for her lover to return; the ‘Court Attendant’ auditioning prospective Ladies in Waiting at a contest for King Henry VIII’s next wife and ‘Phyllis Latour Doyle’, former SOE agent, rallying members of her CWA branch to join her in the fight against the latest global conflict.

All students approached the performance evening with focus, dedication and control, overcoming a flurry of nerves at the prospect of performing solo in front of an audience for up to seven minutes. They each demonstrated skills through their application of a range of theatrical conventions such as transformation of character, place and time, along with creating strong symbolic meaning through their work. We wish all of our students every success in their upcoming performance examinations.

Nicole Everett and Cara Mitchell
Learning Leaders: Performing Arts – Dance and Drama