Anna van Veldhuisen Head of Music – Alice Miller School, Macedon

The horror of a composite class: Structuring your year (and staying sane) when teaching a mixed Unit ½ and Unit ¾ class (and a sample unit of study) VCE Music Conference – Music Styles & Composition 2018

Major differences between ½ and ¾ curriculum and requirements

•  For analysed works (Outcome 2), Unit 1 students study three whilst Unit 2 students only study two pieces

•  Unit 2 has a focus on discussing how music elicits responses in Outcome 1, and whilst this isn’t the explicit focus in Unit 4, it is part of their needed skills set for listening skills in the end of year.

•  For Outcome 1, Unit 2 students need to study music in two works that combine music and non-musical features (eg film), whereas Unit 4 students only need to study one work (not necessarily for film etc, just needs to be post 1950).

•  Obviously, Unit ¾ students need to be responding, analysing and composing in a more in depth, mature, and complex manner across all areas.

However, there are also similarities: •  Both cohorts need to create a short folio of 2 comp. tasks in semester 1, and a more major

composition in semester 2 •  Both cohorts need to study contrasting pieces of music for Outcome 2 •  Both cohorts focus on developing listening skills related to elements and devices etc in

Outcome 1

Assessment tasks & studied works: an overview

Unit 1 Unit 3

Outcome 1 Listening for elements and devices etc. Assessed through listening test- four responses (more in depth questions for Unit 3 students, but sat together)

Outcome 2 > Haydn – Surprise Symph movt. 1 > Westlake – Omphalo Centric Lecture + Roy Head – Treat Her Right Assessed through a visual report / project

> Haydn – Surprise Symph movt. 1 > Westlake – Omphalo Centric Lecture Assessed in test format

Outcome 3 2 short composition exercises (responding to a prompt) drawing influence from the Haydn and the Westlake

Unit 2 Unit 4

Outcome 1 Listening for elements and devices etc. but also how they contribute to mood/effect Assessed through listening test (more in depth questions for Unit 4 students, but sat together)

Outcome 2 > Bernard Herrman – Psycho score excerpts + Music in Kubrick’s The Shining Assessed through multimedia pres.

> Bernard Herrman – Psycho score excerpts Assessed in test format.

Outcome 3 Writing music for film: students given a selection of film excerpts to choose from and score

EAT Unit 4 composition task – open ended major work.

Sem

este

r 1

sche

dule

Week Unit 1 Unit 3

1 Listening: Melody & Elements in Haydn

2 Listening: Melody cont. & Devices in Haydn

3 Listening: Rhythm & Classical style in Haydn Introduce first composition exercise based on Haydn

4 Listening: Rhythm cont. & Context re: Haydn

5 Brief study of Treat Her Right

Revision of all Haydn content – practice test

6

7 Finishing and submitting comp. task based on Haydn

8 Listening: Tone colour & Elements in Westlake

9 Listening: TC cont. & Devices in Westlake

10 Listening: Texture & Style in Westlake Introduce second comp task based on Westlake

11 Listening: Form/Dynamics & Context re Westlake

12 Working on O2 SAC project re: Treat her Right, Haydn, & Westlake

Revision of all Westlake content and then completing O2 SAC on Westlake & Haydn

13 Working on composition folio

14 Westlake composition folio task submission

15 Listening for devices

16 Listening for devices continued

17 Revision of all listening skills then O1 Listening SAC test

Sem

este

r 2

sche

dule

WEEK Unit 2 Unit 4

1 Elements in the Shining Completing final revisions on Unit 3 composition folio and beginning Unit 4 composition 2 Devices in the Shining

3 Elements in Psycho scenes

4 Devices in Psycho scenes

5 Style in Psycho and contextual issues in Psycho

6 Contextual issues continued on Psycho.

Practice SAC (test) on Psycho

7 Revision of all Psycho and Shining content

Outcome 2 SAC on Psycho (written test)

8 Beginning film music composition

Completing and submitting final Unit 4 EAT comp.

9 Outcome 1 listening skills - elements

10 Outcome 1 listening skills - devices

11 Outcome 1 listening skills – creating character

12 Revising listening skills and completing Outcome 1 listening SAC Unit 2 compositions due.

13 Working on Outcome 2 project SAC comparing The Shining and Psycho

Exam revision

14

Sample Outcome 2 study: Psycho score excerpts

  All students studied excerpts from the film score of Hitchcock’s film Psycho by Bernard Herrmann. Scenes studied included:   Opening cues: Prelude > The City > Marion

  Murder cues: The Bathroom > The Murder > The Body

  For Unit 2 students, this formed a broader comparison between the use of music in the Kubrick horror film The Shining.

  Studying a film score for the Unit 4 work post-1950 proved quite successful – lots of contrast to talk about within and between cues, variation of motifs such as the ‘Hitchcock’ chord, structure of cues / scenes and of course contextual issues. Students had much to talk about in the end of year exam and SAC.

Example Scene from Psycho: Prelude

Modular form: ‘Nightmare Rondo’ in the Prelude ABC ABDC ABC ABD ABCB DAB Great for discussing form, rhythm, melody, texture, TC, contrast/variation, 20th century style!

A: Hitchcock Chord B: Steiner motif C: Dotted motif

D: Psycho theme

Use of music in The Shining Kubrick did commission an original score for the Shining, but at the last minute opted to use a lot of the music he had been using as ‘hold music’ untill he got the score, because he preferred it in the end. (Quite a bit used without composer permission). The original score was dumped.

Kubrick opted for 20th century, Eastern European avant garde art music with a lot of dissonance and high strings! The use of pre-composed music adapted/adopted/(stolen?) for film contrasts nicely with the use of an original score composed specifically for the film Psycho and gives much to discuss re: creative processes of artists.

Sample scenes selected for study:

  Bartok’s Music for Percussion Strings and Celeste whilst Danny rides his tricycle until Jack extracts paper from the typewriter (Tuesday)

Penderecki’s De Natura Sonoris No. 1 when Wendy leaves the Overlook to check the Snow Cat at the climax of the film

Ligeti’s Lontano in the scene where Danny encounters the twins in the game room for the first time

Example scene from The Shining: Bartok’s Music for Percussion, Strings & Celeste

Sample assessment tasks (Unit 2 compared w/ Unit 4) •  Unit 2 students given two weeks and asked to prepare a

visual report/Powerpoint or similar. Students select one scene from each film and discuss their use of elements and devices, as well as the non-musical factors such as plot, character, cinematography etc and how this contributes to mood.

•  Unit 4 students respond under test conditions to four written questions regarding use of devices, elements etc in Psycho

Questions? Thank you!

anna.vanveld@alicemiller.school Happy to share resources!