HSC Music 1 (NSW) study guide
HSC Music 1 (NSW) · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
HSC Music 1 is a New South Wales Higher School Certificate course administered by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA), the body that sets syllabuses, assessments, teaching and school standards for all schools in NSW. It sits within the HSC, which NESA describes as a world-class credential that helps young adults on the path to work, training and further education. The HSC Music 1 (NSW) study guide has 4 sections and about 1,324 words.
01Performance: Preparing, Interpreting and Presenting
Performance in Music 1 is assessed on the quality of your playing or singing as heard in a live program, so every decision you make in preparation has an audible consequence. Begin with repertoire choice : select works that contrast in style, period, tempo, texture and duration, and that sit within your technical reach so that accuracy survives under pressure.
347 words, about 2 min02Composition: Crafting and Notating an Original Work
Composition tasks require you to create an original piece, usually to a set brief, and to document your process. The examiner reads both the score or recording and your portfolio or log , so the thinking behind the music matters as much as the notes.
333 words, about 2 min03Musicology: Contexts, Styles and Analytical Language
Musicology in Music 1 asks you to investigate music within its context and to analyse what you hear and read. You must move fluently between contextual knowledge (historical period, composer, audience, function, technology, cultural setting) and musical evidence (melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, timbre, form, dynamics).
321 words, about 2 min04Aural Skills: Listening, Identifying and Transcribing
Aural skills test what you can hear accurately and describe in musical language. Tasks typically involve identifying intervals, chords, scales and cadences; recognising rhythm, metre and melodic contour; detecting texture, instrumentation and timbral change; and notating short excerpts.
323 words, about 2 min