Description category 3: Developing and refining understanding of skills and techniques (practising)

and [compare] how elements of music are used to communicate musical intentions in traditional, digital and graphic scores from different styles” (n.d.-r, version 8.3). It appears that this category is primarily concerned with students learning the processes through which they will then compose, in the ACM sense of the term. I believe that this is adequately captured by the term theory, which in a praxial sense should be learned in contextually relevant situations to inform students’ creativity (Elliott and Silverman 2014, pp. 44–47). While these elaborations provide the clearest indication of the focus of their descriptions, they continue to use the term score to refer to music notation, which occurs twice across the two bands and is inappropriate when considering the range of musical styles the ACM

represents.

5.4.3 Description category 3: Developing and refining understanding of skills and techniques (practising)

In music, developing and refining understanding easily equates to practising or rehearsing, making this description category the most straightforward (see Table 12). There are some

16 _{Alice explained how she bypassed the use of notation in her school by using technology (Alice 2017, see}

Chapters Six and Seven). This is another potential reading of the 9–10 content description, although I do not believe that implying technology as an alternative to notation was the intention—if it were, the description would have stated “technology or notation.” There is tension in the provision of notation in the ACM: two concurrent sentences in the rationale state that “Learning in Music [sic] is aurally based and can be understood without any recourse to notation. Learning to read and write music in traditional and graphic forms enables students to access a wide range of music as independent learners” (ACARA n.d.-u, version 8.3).

Table 12: Content descriptions and elaborations for description category 3 (ACARA n.d.-r, version 8.3).

issues though: “developing and refining understanding of skills and techniques” (ACARA n.d.- r, version 8.3) could just as easily refer to a composer practising their skills through

Developing and refining understanding of skills and techniques Year 7–8 content

description Year 7–8 elaborations Year 9–10 content description Year 9–10 elaborations Practise and rehearse

a variety of music, including Australian music to develop technical and expressive skills (ACAMUM094).

Exploring and manipulating the elements of music within given parameters to create new music, and reflecting upon musical ideas used by Australian composers, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.

Practise and rehearse to refine a variety of performance repertoire with increasing technical and interpretative skill (ACAMUM101).

Rehearsing solo and ensemble repertoire to develop technical skill and musical sensitivity.

Considering viewpoints— societies, cultures and histories: For example—What is the social context of this piece and for whom would it be performed? What is the cultural context of this piece and what does it signify? What instruments and other

features of the music indicate it is from a particular time and place?

Rehearsing and refining solo and ensemble repertoire with an increasing stylistic understanding.

Rehearsing a range of music in solo and ensemble activities for performance to a variety of audiences.

Considering viewpoints— cultures and histories: For example—How are the elements of music used in this piece to convey a cultural identity? What historical forces and influences are evident in this work? Improvising, practising and

rehearsing a range of music expressively and with attention to technique.

Working collaboratively to develop ensemble skills and an

understanding of the role of each member of the ensemble in a

performance. Considering and investigating

techniques for stylistic features when rehearsing.

Recording and evaluating performances using digital technologies, for example, listening to a recording of their own performances and identifying areas for improvement. Practising interpretation of

notation in a range of known and unknown repertoire.

compositional exercises, but composition is not referred to by the individual descriptions, which are both focused on practising to develop performance skills. Therefore, the ACM presents a limited understanding of practising.

The descriptions indicate a slight difference in terminology between the bands without actually indicating progression. In Years 7–8, students practise “developing technical and expressive skills” (n.d.-r, version 8.3) while in Years 9–10, they practise with “increasing technical and interpretative skill” (n.d.-r). The distinction between expressive skills and interpretative skills is unclear. This lack of clarity is compounded by the fact that students are encouraged to practise the vague category of Australian music in Years 7–8, but there is no mention of Australian music in Years 9–10. This could have been a prime opportunity to elaborate on the Indigenous Priority in detail, rather than simply listing it as in the 7–8 elaborations. Defining Australian music so vaguely and then removing it from study by more mature students seems counterintuitive at best, and counterproductive at worst.

Despite the limited treatment of the Indigenous Priority, the elaborations for these descriptions illustrate a sophisticated concept of practising. The tasks associated with practising display a surprising depth: students are encouraged to consider the contexts of their repertoire, what is considered appropriate within different musical styles, and to work on their interpretive skills rather than simply developing technical ability on their

instruments (n.d.-r, version 8.3). It is in these conventional types of tasks that viewpoints become valuable, as they encourage students to integrate aspects of musicology, and potentially theory, in everything that they do. The integration of practice, theory, and context is at the heart of the praxial philosophy. Therefore, the ACM’s concept of practising (in a performative sense), as expressed through the elaborations, aligns with contemporary approaches to best practice.