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Why study Music?
Music gives you the opportunity to use your imagination and express yourself in a creative and practical way. It helps you to develop important skills such as: playing a musical instrument, communication, creative thinking, using your voice, composing and arranging music. You can develop and consolidate your skills in performing and creating music, and develop your creativity and confidence as you explore and develop your own creative ideas and music.
The skills you learn on this course not only makes a valuable contribution to your general education and personal development but also allows you to develop the skills and knowledge required to proceed to further study and/or follow a career in music.
What do I need to get in?
Entry is at the discretion of the school or college, but you would normally be expected to have achieved:
What will I study?
On completing this course you will be able to: perform a programme of music with accuracy and maintaining musical flow; create your own original music; self-reflect on and evaluate your own work and that of others; listen to music with awareness, understanding and discrimination; and improve your musical creativity and performing skills by critically evaluate your own work and the work of others.
The course consists of three compulsory units and the course assessment unit.
Music: Performing Skills (6 SCQF credit points)
In this unit you will:
- develop performing skills on two selected instruments, or on one selected instrument and voice
- perform challenging level-specific music with sufficient accuracy and maintain the musical flow realising the composers’ intentions
- through regular practice and critical reflection and evaluation, develop your technical and musical performing skills.
Music: Composing Skills (6 SCQF credit points)
In this unit you will:
- experiment with, and creatively use complex compositional methods and music concepts to realise your intentions when creating original music
- critically reflect on and evaluate the impact and effectiveness of their creative and musical choices and decisions
- analyse how musicians and composers create music in different ways and how music styles are shaped by social and cultural influences.
Note: Both of these units may be taken with a Scottish Context option, which contributes towards the Scottish Studies Award.
Understanding Music (6 SCQF credit points)
In this unit you will:
- through listening, develop detailed knowledge and understanding of a range of complex music concepts, and music literacy
- identify and distinguish the key features of specific music styles and recognise level-specific music concepts in excerpts of music, and music signs and symbols in notated music.
How will I be assessed?
Course Assessment (6 SCQF credit points)
The course assessment has two components:
- a question paper (40 marks)
- a performance (60 marks).
The question paper will assess your understanding of music concepts and music literacy. You will demonstrate conceptual knowledge and understanding of music by responding to questions that relate to musical excerpts and music concepts and styles. The question paper will be set and marked by SQA.
The performance will assess your practical performing skills on either two selected instruments, or on a selected instrument and voice, in a prepared programme of music. The performance can be solo and/or in a group setting.
Your work will be assessed by your teacher on an ongoing basis throughout the course. You must pass all three units and the course assessment to gain the course qualification.
The course assessment is graded A-D. Your grade will depend on the total mark for all the units in your course.
What can I go on to next?
Successful completion of this course may lead to:
Further study, training or employment in:
Which jobs are related to this subject?
Where can my parents find out more?
Your school will give your parents an Options or Choices information booklet, which has detailed information on the curriculum and the individual subjects or courses you can study. It will also invite them along to a Parents’ Information Evening.
They can also read the information leaflet(s):
Highers in a Nutshell - Music (CfE Higher)