SACE Stage 2 Music Explorations study plan

Map the school-assessment requirements (performance, composition/arrangement, and music-studies tasks) into a dated checklist with weightings and due dates

Audit your current repertoire, original material, and written work, then rate each item red/amber/green against the rubric criteria

Draft a weekly practice and drafting timetable that protects at least four sessions per week around your work hours

Select the two performance pieces and one creative task you will carry to completion and record why each suits the assessment criteria

Build a technical routine that isolates the three hardest passages in each chosen performance piece and log tempo and accuracy for every session

Analyse each performance piece for structure, harmonic language, and stylistic conventions, and write short annotated summaries

Record a rough full run of both pieces and timestamp every insecure bar for targeted practice

Start a listening log of six works related to your repertoire, noting two observable features in each

Develop the creative task by sketching a structural plan (form, texture, instrumentation, harmonic framework) before writing detailed material

Compose or arrange at least one full section and notate or record it to a presentable standard

Draft the accompanying commentary that explains your creative decisions against the assessment criteria

Rehearse performance pieces under timed conditions and record one formal run of each

Complete the remaining sections of the creative task and produce a clean score or recording

Run a full mock performance for a listener and collect written feedback against the rubric descriptors

Revise the commentary so every claim links to a specific musical example

Cross-check all school-assessment drafts against the task sheets and correct any missing components

Finalise the school-assessment performance pieces by polishing the insecure bars identified in weeks 2-4

Submit or lock in all school-assessment written components after a final proofread for terminology and accuracy

Obtain and read the external-assessment specifications, then list every required component, format rule, and submission condition

Identify the external task type and gather three reference sources or works you will discuss

Draft the external assessment's main analytical or investigative component with a clear structure and stated focus

Integrate at least four specific musical examples, citing bar numbers, timestamps, or lyric lines for each point

Build a terminology glossary of 25 terms relevant to your chosen focus and use each one correctly in the draft

Set up a revision schedule that allocates remaining weeks between drafting, refining, and rehearsal

Revise the external draft for coherence, ensuring each paragraph advances the stated focus

Check every factual and analytical claim against a primary source and correct or remove anything uncertain

Prepare any performance or practical component of the external assessment and run two timed rehearsals

Proofread for notation, formatting, and referencing conventions required by the specifications

Complete a final timed run of every performance component and record it for self-review

Apply last corrections to the external written component and confirm all formatting and submission requirements are met

Rehearse explaining your creative and analytical choices aloud in case of a viva or interview-style check

Assemble a submission checklist and confirm every file, score, and recording is present and correctly named