The HSC Music 2007 Chatter Thread (1 Viewer)

[ur_inner_child]

Hello 2007ers! Welcome to the music forum!

In past years this forum was able to make a lot of connections and good friends, especially 2004 and 05 where many met up at their conservatoriums, or even went to gigs with each other! 2006 I think 2 people who wanted to go to the QLD conservatorium found each other! We hope to do similar connections here this year!


So tell us about yourself!

Things like your instrument, your passion, your ideas on the course, bitching and moaning about the course, your goals, your taste in music, etc.

I'll start off (even though I'm not an 07er!).

I'm just finishing my 2nd year of a Bachelor of Music (Composition) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. I have hopes to do some audio engineering. I play piano... and I'm not very good at it! My taste in music varies. I like anything from trash pop to snobby art music, but I find it hard to accept rap most of the time. In Year 12 I played a piece called Red Blues by Australian Composer Carl Vine. I also wrote 4 compositions, for Music 2 and Music Extension. That was incredibly hard to get through! Throughout this time, I accompanied a few Music 1 students.

Anyway, have fun posting! Keep in mind sometimes this forum gets a little slow, but when it kicks up, it really kicks up!

 

[DH1988]

Hi
I'm doing Music 2 and Music Ext (Performance) this year. The performance part finished last term, so hopefully I went well in that, and the Music 2 exam is tomorrow Got any words of wisdom you can share with me?

I've got an A.mus.A on Clarinet and also play a bit of sax as well.

You're right about that composition stuff. I found it hard enough writing only one for the Music 2 course!

I like listening to pretty much anything really, however I'm not a great fan of opera or trance rubbish

I've put in an application for the Sydney Con, and I believe the auditions are held in late November

 

[rickem]

G'day.
Doing Music 2 course and Music Extension course this year (2006).
Played trombone for 10 years.
Sung with choirs for 5 years.
Played piano for 4 years.
Did performance for music extension and had loads of fun.
Did composition for music elective and struggled a bit to get them both done (don't know how u could have managed 4 ).
Love pretty much any type of music.
Want to study performance on Trombone at ANU next year (2007) and maybe compose a few pieces for fun.
Want to stay at Burgmann College, which seems like a great place.
If any of you are going to do music at ANU then probably see u there next year.
Anyone have tips for the Music 2 Musicology paper? Any woud be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[rickem]

Just thought I'd give a few tips to those people starting the Music 2 course this year and finishing it in 2007:
Compositions:
Make sure you don't leave this to the last minute! It may seem easy to write a couple of minutes of music, but don't get complacent! Start on you compositions this year, decide how many you want to do an stick to it! Make sure you keep a process diary of all your different versions of ur comp. each time you edited it and why you made certain changes, in case you need to prove that the composition is urs and not plagiarised.
Performance:
Pick all of your pieces this year! Decide on how many you want to do. For string, piano or percussion players you can do 6 pieces if you practice extensively but it is physically yvery tiring. Wind, brass and singers shouldn't even think of doing a 6 piece program, unless they practice at least an hour straight everyday to build up their stamina. I played for a total of 25 minutes on trombone for my performance exam, and by the end i was completely worn out. Make sure you have a handerchief or cloth to wipe sweat off your hands/face so you don't drop your instrument or get sweat in your eyes (i know one guy who dropped a drum stick because his hands were sweaty.) It may sound strange , but you do need to have a handkerchief, expecially if u sweat alot! Don't pick pieces that are to easy for you, but then again don't try and pick something way out of your league.
Musicology and Theory:
Make sure you do lots of practice questions for this - melody dictation, practice long answers and prepare a lot of musical quotes - you'll need as many as you can remember.

If you want anymore tips or need help then pm me, or email me @ matthew.ricketts@cgs.act.edu.au

 

[DH1988]

Wind, brass and singers shouldn't even think of doing a 6 piece program, unless they practice at least an hour straight everyday to build up their stamina.

I'd disagree with that actually. It depends on your program. I chose 6 pieces which varied greatly in style, beginning with 2 movements from my ensemble piece, then a slightly more difficult movement from a concerto, then a harder piece by Debussy (Premiere Rhapsodie). So that was 3 works out of the way, then I did my sight singing, which gave me time to rest/relax before playing the remaining 3 pieces (which followed the same pattern of getting higher in difficulty for each).

This was a pretty good layout, and prevented me from getting too tired. About 20 - 30 mins of practise every couple of days was what I did. That meant I didnt overwork myself before having to perform the full program. (I did have 2 practise runs of my full program with my accompanist and ensemble group though).

 

[Dragonfyre]

Yay! I am the first 2007 Music student to post here! I am doing Ext. 1 Music, my electives both composition and performance, in Music 2 and Ext. 1 respectively.

I play the violin, for about 9 years already. I am going to be doing my A.mus.A in two weeks (I need to practice a lot more!!).

I would like to study music at UQ in 2008, but it is not yet decided.

 

[DH1988]

I am going to be doing my A.mus.A in two weeks (I need to practice a lot more!!).

Good luck! Just don't get too stressed or nervous in the exam. You'll stuff things up and forget all your general knowledge

 

[Emma-Jayde]

Wind, brass and singers shouldn't even think of doing a 6 piece program, unless they practice at least an hour straight everyday to build up their stamina.

Excuse me, but that's absolute bullshit as far as singers are concerned. (I can't speak for wind or brass because I don't play either)
I did a 6 piece program and I very rarely practiced for more than half an hour at a time.
I treated my HSC performance a little like a recital; A mixed program with each song contrasting with the ones before and after it.
I did 3 solo pieces (a Mozart aria, a classical music theatre piece and a Bach oratorio), a duet, and then 2 other solo pieces (a folk song and a Gilbert and Sullivan song).
I did my sight singing after I'd finished all the pieces.

Like DH1988 said, it depends on how you structure your program.

If there's any singers (the wider 'classical' and music theatre style) that would like advice or suggestions, feel free to ask

 

[lala2]

Welcome to the 2007'ers now! I did Music 2 in 2005, doing pharmacy atm but I'm hoping to do Music Education after my degree--my piano teacher has really inspired me. I'm doing my A.Mus.A. this year, but my teacher won't let me sit it till she knows I will pass, so the exam isn't on the cards for a while yet. anyway, welcome all! Make your lovely music in here!

EDIT: For my HSC, I did performance in Music 2--so that's three pieces--2 elective, 1 core. I did a Kats-Chernin rag for the core, and a Chopin nocturne and Schumann's Aufschwung for my electives. Soooo glad I never have to see sight-singing again!

 

[Shaebabie]

Well Im onli doing music one..

I can sing... Never had lessons.. But i like to think im pretty good.... I can play basic keyboard.... And guitar... but thats about it......

LOL



Good luck to everyone

 

[Sofstar]

Yay!
I'm doing music 2. Playing the french horn for it, even though ive only been playing for 4 years. Been playing the piano for about 8 years but i kinda suck at that. Had 1 year on guitar(acoustic n electric) and recently gave it up cuz i don't really have that much time.

I think i'm doing composition for my elective cuz i dont think 3 pieces on horn is a great idea. I've started A composition but it's annoying me cuz i'm not getting anywhere.

Looking for a contemporary horn piece is a nightmare!! Dah. They're either too easy or too hard.

I'm not really looking to study music in uni though. But i loovve music.

 

[Dancegirl99]

Hi
I'm doing Music 1 for the 2007 HSC. I play flute and sing. I can do some basic piano.
I hoping to do a double degree in Music and Education when I leave school at Newcastle Con.
I'm going to a viva, performance for my electives. For my last elective I'm tossing up between an other performance and Composition.
Goodluck every1 for this yr

 

[jazzmuzik]

Hi I'm another Music 1 student (2007)
I got a fairly small school and they only offer music one (not that i'd do 2 anyway) I have been playing trumpet for 8 years now. I hate AMEB exams..i've only sat my 6th grade and i dont want to do anymore. I play in my school concert band, orchestra and jazz band. I also play in the town concert band (woo state champions ) and the local con orchestra and percussion ensemble (haha stress reliever, go hit stuff in rhythm i recommend it!) I occasionally play in a jazz band in town when they are mssing someone.. i'm the "backup"
I love most types of music depending on my mood, from jazz (hence my name), rock, musicals, pop, R&B, easy listening queer stuff. And 60's and 70's disco is my current fetish!
Yeah so... I think i'll do 2 performances and a viva or 3 performances.

good luck fellow musos!

oh and i dont particularly want to do music as a career when i finished school.

 

[bringbackshred]

Hi there. Sam's the name.
I do Music 1 because it is the only Music offered at my school... I would have done Music 2 had it been offered or had I known about it. I've been playing guitar for around 3 and a half years and I'm pretty much a metalhead, but I do like other genres, as long as the music isn't on radio. For my HSC I'm doing 2 performances, a Viva and a composition. So far, I'm not sure about my performance pieces, but I am leaning towards Selkies: The Endless Obsession by Between The Buried and Me as well as Bed Of Razors by Children of Bodom. These are subject to change, though as I change my mind on things a lot. My composition is based on a clean guitar riff I made up in around August last year and it is pretty much a Black Metal song in the heavier parts and more of a Metal/Post-Rock clean section for the rest of it. I suppose the main feature of it is dynamics and building up and coming down. I like the heavy parts to hit hard, as well as having a good melody to accompany it. I suppose it will be somewhat progressive as well, as the first riff is in 10/8 and later on I branch to a 2 hand tapping motif on the 5th and 6th strings based in 7/8 and 6/8 with a much faster feel. Regarding my Viva, i'm not sure what I'm going to do it on yet, but I have had one simple, albeit good idea and that is to explore different sub-genres of metal, as I can fill a lot of time in speaking on that subject as well as having a passion for it.

Anyway, I look forward to meeting you all on here this year and I wish everyone good luck with their music for the HSC.

 

[bringbackshred]

Did I mention that my teacher only really bothers to turn up to about every second class? And we get no resources or anything to help us out this year?

I'm going to need all of the help I can get from you guys this year, I think.

 

[cmckie]

I'm doing music ext in 2007, as I completed music 2 in 2006 as an accelerant.
My advice for all you people doing music this year, I know its already been mentioned but...dont leave the composition writing until the last minute! Seriously, its way to stressful to try and cram it all in, its abit of a mad panic towards the end of year 12, particually if you have other major works, so try and get in done as soon as possible!
Im doing performance for music ext, any other cellists out there??

 

[bringbackshred]

I fucking love the Cello. I just wish I could play one.

Oh guys:
http://venuemusic.com.au/Products.asp?ProdID=5715

*shoots load*

Hopefully I will be playin one of those for the HSC.

 

[cmckie]

YAY another cello lover!!!
thats awseome!

 

[bringbackshred]

I just love the sound of it. I have no idea about it or much music that features it, but I do like the sound.

 

[cmckie]

I really love it too, its ment to be one of the closest instruments to the human voice, and its also used also in music therapy. In hoping to get into a conservatorium on cello performance, sydney would be cool!
Are you doing music 1 or 2?