My advice for HSC Music Students

If you had 30 minutes to talk with hundreds of HSC Music students, what would you tell them?

I had this opportunity last Friday at the HSC Music Day in Newcastle NSW, with the specific brief of guiding students and staff through the mandatory written Aural Exam, which comprises 30% of the external Higher School Certificate examination.

My presentation was titled “Think Like a Marker” where I used a question from the 2022 HSC Aural Exam to walk students through using a marking criteria to critically grade responses from other students, and in the process, reflect on their own aural analysis and writing abilities.

I used several resources from the NSW Department of Education, to ensure consistency and alignment within the system I work in. A helpful page you might like to review is https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/creative-arts/creative-arts-curriculum-resources-k-12/11-12-curriculum-resources/writing-about-music-in-stage-6-music-1-aural-skills

This page has great slides on the exam structure, general tips and tricks, different question types to expect and prepare for, and more.

A unique teaching tool I have developed, as simple as it is, is having my students begin their aural response with writing down “The Basics”. In this, I refer to using the first listen of the aural excerpt to immediately identify the performing media, structure, style, tonality, and time signature, to help inform your understanding of the excerpt and the composers intentions. I also encourage students to use the reading time wisely, by looking for clues in the questions by identifying the composer and potential style of each excerpt, plus planning how to respond to each question depending on what it is asking and how it should be structured.

A summary of the advice I provided to students on the day was;

1. Explicitly address the question,

2. Demonstrate your understanding of the musical concepts,

3. Structure your response sequentially as per the musical events of the excerpt.

Importantly, these 3 points were underscored by the unpleasant truth that there is no silver bullet for suddenly improving your musicality and therefore your aural responses; you must practice, be curious, and openly seek and enact feedback from experts.

For those interested, you can view my full presentation here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhqf6xWwy7U