Music: Contemporary Storytellers
Elective Unit
Unit Description
In this subject, students are stepping into the world of contemporary music and the story of songs— and not just listening to it but really understanding it and creating it. Students will trace the journey from the raw emotion of the Blues as an African American artform to the energy of Rock and Roll, following the sound all the way through to the musical stories today. Along the way, they’ll discover how music has evolved in response to social change, political movements, and cultural shifts, and how artists have used their voices to challenge ideas, tell powerful stories, and influence the world around them.
But this isn’t just about learning about music — it’s about making it and telling your own story through music and gaining an appreciation for deep music listening. In this subject through performing, composing, listening, and collaborating, students will deepen their musical understanding in ways that are hands-on and real. They’ll continue developing their skills on guitar and keyboard, build on Year 7 foundations, and bring their own instrumental or vocal strengths into the classroom. Students will recreate well-known tracks, experiment with different styles, create original compositions, writing their own lyrics, program computer-music that reflects their growing confidence and creativity as a musician.
Whether still building skills or already feeling at home on a stage or behind an instrument, this course is designed to stretch all students. It’s a space to take creative risks, work with others, and discover more about the kind of musician you want to become. If you’ve ever wondered how the music you love came to be — or what your own sound might be — this is your opportunity to find out.
