Music 2013
Teaching and learning resources
Sample unit — Film Music
Time allocation: 41 hours (15 weeks)
Overview
This unit focuses on developing students’ musicianship by exploring the way music elements and
concepts have been used and manipulated in film music. Students will have the opportunity to
study the musical score as an integral structural element of cinema and explore the role of music
in films. A variety of genres and styles could be studied, including pop, jazz, folk, music from
other countries, and selected orchestral works.
Contexts, styles and genres to explore
Depending on the focus or approach for the unit, repertoire could be selected from the following:
World Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto et al.: The Last Emperor; Christopher Gordon: Mao’s Last
Dancer; Tan Dun, Yo Yo Ma: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon; Tan Dun: Hero; Zhao Jiping: Raise
the Red Lantern; Shigeru Umebayashi: House of Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower;
Naushad Ali: Baiju Bawra, Mother India; Allah-Rakha Rahman: Bombay, Slumdog Millionaire;
Yann Tiersen: Amelie; Javier Navarrete: Pan’s Labyrinth
Orchestral/choral music composed specifically for film: John Williams: Schindler’s List, Star
Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Harry Potter movies; Harry Gregson-Williams: The Chronicles
of Narnia; Howard Shore: The Lord of the Rings; Ennio Morricone: The Mission; Danny Elfman:
Batman, Corpse Bride and Alice in Wonderland; James Horner: Avatar; Hans Zimmer: Gladiator,
Black Hawk Down and Madagascar; William Walton: Richard III, Henry V; Erich Korngold: The
Adventures of Robin Hood; Bernard Hermann: Psycho, North by Northwest, Vertigo, Citizen
Kane, Cape Fear; Shostakovich: The Gadfly; Ludovic Bource: The Artist
Australian film: Nigel Westlake: Babe, Antarctica, and Miss Potter; David Hirschfelder: Australia;
Indigenous music used in The Sapphires; Bruce Rowland: Man from Snowy River; George
Dreyfus: Rush, Dimboola; Paul Grabowsky: The Eye of the Storm; Bruce Rowland: The Man from
Snowy River, Phar Lap; David Hirschfelder: Strictly Ballroom, Shine (original music) and
Australia; Paul Kelly & Dan Luscombe: Jindabyne; Peter Gabriel: Rabbit Proof Fence
Orchestral/choral music used in film but originally from another context: Richard Strauss,
György Ligeti: 2001: A Space Odyssey; Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart: The King’s Speech;
Bach, Beethoven and Mozart: Picnic at Hanging Rock
150199
Popular music styles and genres: Forest Gump (various); Muriel’s Wedding (various); Whip It
(various); The Wedding Singer (various); Romeo & Juliet (various)
Learning experiences are developed based
on the purpose and context of the unit and
the repertoire selected.
Possible learning experiences
 selecting and applying music elements and concepts in the creation of film music works
 demonstrating composition techniques in the creation of film music
 synthesising and communicating music ideas and stylistic characteristics to create film music
 compose short music works using available sound sources (vocal, instrumental, found
sounds) to establish mood, underscore film excerpts, to create a time or place, and/or to
create character themes (leitmotivs)
 synthesising and communicating music ideas and stylistic characteristics to create music for a
given section of film
 composing new music to a pre-existing film scene
 composing music for an assessment task for another subject area
 layering sound effects over existing tracks or marking scores with hit points
 experimenting with combinations of music elements to replicate a given emotion
Syllabus dimensions
and objectives will be
delivered through
learning experiences
over the unit of work, as
per these examples.
 journaling experiences of the creative process
 perceiving and interpreting the use of music elements and concepts in film scores
 analysing and evaluating film music to determine the relationships between music elements,
concepts and stylistic characteristics
 synthesising findings, justifying music viewpoints and communicating music ideas about film
music
 viewing excerpts from films and analysing and evaluating the music to determine the use of
musical elements and concepts and their effectiveness in the film sequence
 perceiving and interpreting musical elements and concepts from a range of film music
repertoire and sources and the manipulation of these elements and concepts to express time
and place, mood, character and/or emotion
 watching and analysing scenes with and without music to demonstrate the power of wellwritten film scores
 analysing scenes to determine the music elements highlighted in film
 analysing scenes with and without music to demonstrate the power of well-written film scores
 listening to interviews with prominent film composers or reading their blogs/web posts and
discussing their approaches to composition
 perceiving, identifying and documenting expressive devices used to establish mood
 interpreting and applying music elements and concepts in the performance of film music works
 demonstrating performance skills and techniques related to contexts
 synthesising and communicating music ideas and stylistic characteristics to create
performances
 performing extracts of a variety of works from films, both vocal and instrumental
 exploring, and developing an understanding of, the musical elements and concepts, including
aspects of duration, expressive devices, pitch, structure, texture and timbre within selected
repertoire across the three dimensions
 develop aural skills by notating film and character themes; identifying intervallic
representations; notating and reproducing rhythmic patterns; perceiving, identifying and
notating chord progressions within film music
Music 2013
Sample unit — Film Music
Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
February 2015
Page 2 of 4
Assessment tasks are designed from the purpose
and context of the unit and should be aligned to
the identified dimensions and objectives.
Possible assessment
Assessment technique
Composition
Possible task
Compose music to match an existing or original film scene.
Dimension to be assessed
Composition
The dimension Composition involves the creation of music by
combining music elements and concepts in a range of contexts,
styles and genres. It entails innovation through exploring and
experimenting with sound to synthesise and express personal
music ideas and enhance musicianship in Musicology and
Performance.
Objectives
By the conclusion of the course of study, students should:
 select and apply music elements and concepts in the creation
of their own works
 demonstrate composition techniques in the creation of their
own works
 synthesise and communicate music ideas and stylistic
characteristics to create their own works.
Assessment conditions
Year 11: a minimum of 16 bars or approximately 30 seconds in
length.
Year 12: a minimum of 32 bars or approximately 1 minute in
length.
Assessment technique
Musicology — extended response
Possible tasks
Analyse and evaluate at least two pieces used in films to
express a music viewpoint. Identify the ways music elements
and concepts have been manipulated to portray action and
support the narrative.
Analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of a selected work in
conveying mood, emotion, time and/or place.
Compare and contrast the music from two or more film scenes
from different eras to identify the most appropriate music for a
particular context, and justify the response.
Dimension to be assessed
Musicology
The dimension Musicology involves the study of music in social,
historical and cultural contexts. It entails researching, analysing
and evaluating repertoire and other music sources, in a range of
contexts, styles and genres, to synthesise and express a music
viewpoint, and enhance musicianship in Composition and
Performance.
Objectives
By the conclusion of the course of study, students should:
 perceive and interpret music elements and concepts in
repertoire and music sources
 analyse and evaluate music to determine the relationships
between music elements, concepts and stylistic
characteristics
 synthesise findings, justify music viewpoints and communicate
music ideas.
Music 2013
Sample unit — Film Music
Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
February 2015
Page 3 of 4
Assessment conditions
Year 11:
Written: 600–1000 words
Spoken: 3–4 minutes
Multimodal: 3–5 minutes
Year 12:
Written: 800–1200 words
Spoken: 4–5 minutes
Multimodal: 5–7 minutes
Assessment technique
Performance
Possible task
Perform music from a film score, either vocal and/or
instrumental, solo or ensemble. This may be a performance of
the student’s own composition.
Dimension to be assessed
Performance
The dimension Performance involves the interpretation of music
elements and concepts through playing, singing and/or
conducting in context. It entails communicating music to
audiences through the synthesis of music ideas, stylistic
characteristics and practices, while enhancing musicianship in
Composition and Musicology.
Objectives
By the conclusion of the course of study, students should:
 interpret and apply music elements and concepts in
performance
 demonstrate performance skills and techniques related to
contexts
 synthesise and communicate music ideas and stylistic
characteristics to create performances.
Assessment conditions
Length (Years 11 and 12): Approximately three minutes.
Music 2013
Sample unit — Film Music
Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
February 2015
Page 4 of 4