This course emphasizes the creation and performance of music at a level consistent with previous experience and is aimed at developing technique, sensitivity, and imagination. Students will develop musical literacy skills by using the creative and critical analysis processes in composition, performance, and a range of reflective and analytical activities. Students will develop an understanding of the conventions and elements of music and of safe practices related to music, and will develop a variety of skills transferable to other areas of their life.
This course consists of four Practice Units and an Exam Task.
| Unit Name | Duration |
|---|---|
| Practice Unit 1 | 20 hrs |
| Practice Unit 2 | 20 hrs |
| Practice Unit 3 | 20 hrs |
| Practice Unit 4 | 20 hrs |
| Exam Task | 30 hrs |
Inspired by the Creative Process, as provided by the Ministry of Education, the units follow a Mastery learning model, where students have the opportunity to build on prior efforts at acquiring skills in order to achieve true mastery of their subject. Students develop a practice plan and refine their methodology as they learn more about themselves and their learning.
The Creative Process is embedded into each unit, as well as the superstructure of the units throughout the course:
This course uses video extensively to both see your progress and verify your identity. The majority of the assignments in this course will require you to submit a video which shows your face and hands while you play. Video submissions must be well-lit and clearly show you playing your instrument. Videos should be submitted to the relevant assignments on Google Classroom. We recommend a resolution of 1280x720 (or 720p) as a good balance of quality without having too large a file.
In compliance with Ontario Ministry of Education requirements, all Asynchronous Academy courses use the following types of assessments:
“Teachers engage in assessment as learning by helping all students develop their capacity to be independent, autonomous learners who are able to set individual goals, monitor their own progress, determine next steps, and reflect on their thinking and learning.” — Ontario Ministry of Education
By completing regular self-assessments throughout the course, students can learn to monitor their own progress and become independent learners. Assessments As Learning do not affect students’ overall grade.
“As part of assessment for learning, teachers provide students with descriptive feedback and coaching for improvement.” — Ontario Ministry of Education
Assessment For Learning is used to give students a “trial run” at a set of skills in order to make sure that the student and teacher are on the same page with regards to expectations and formats. Skills demonstrated during Assessment For Learning can be used as evidence to improve a student’s mark, but can never be used to lower a mark.
Assessment Of Learning is what teachers actually use to calculate a grade. Students can earn marks for all parts of the Creative Process. Each Practice Unit contains the following assignments (percentages reflect the assignment’s weighting in overall grade calculation, on a “most recent and consistent” basis):
Midterm marks will be assigned after the second practice unit has been completed.
This course takes an exploratory approach to learning by encouraging students to explore, create their own works, and interpret the works of others. Students receive ongoing feedback throughout the course, and have frequent opportunities to rehearse, practice, and apply skills and strategies, and to make their own choices.
The individualized nature of an online course gives many opportunities for a student to tailor their learning to their specific needs. Having all course content in digital files, students who require text-to-speech or speech-to-text software enables full engagement in all course assignments by default. If you notice anything that could make this course more accessible, please reach out to contact@asyncacademy.ca.
One of the major reasons to study the Arts is their ability to transcend cultural and linguistic barriers. Anywhere in the world, students can find guitarists who have incredible abilities and who would inspire any player. Through studying music, English Language Learners can find themselves on equal footing with any other student and have meaningful engagement with their peers and build the self-confidence and opportunities to develop their English skills.
We always strive to make our courses as inclusive as possible, so any students who would benefit from a change in the format of an assignment (for example, changing a written assignment to a recorded presentation), is encouraged to discuss the idea with their teacher. In general, there should be no issue with these types of changes as long as the content of the assignment stays the same.
Throughout the course, students are encouraged to develop “a sense of connection to the immediate environment and the natural world [which] is frequently reflected in the arts” (p. 35). In this course, students engage their creativity when connecting with music inspired by artists and their environments, and specifically consider how the art might be affected by its surroundings.
Music is most often played with others, so healthy relationships are integral to success in music. This course places a strong emphasis on building healthy relationships by emphasizing the community-driven nature of music through the Critical Analysis Discussions. Students explore new music with another person, building relationships and expanding their range of influences together.
Students are encouraged in every unit to consider the social status of artists they study. Artists often come from disadvantaged backgrounds, so students are nearly certain to engage with a wide range of social conditions when investigating the artists that inspires them each unit. Additionally, in the Exam Task students create a map of their influences, and their influences’ influences. By tracing back musical history in this way, students see the connections between the music they value and all of the different cultural traditions that influenced it.
Being a performer is a complex task. Being literate in the symbolic language of popular culture is not easy. What is incredibly popular one day is embarrassing the next, and being able to stay on top of these trends defines who is successful and who is quickly forgotten. In this course, students are challenged “to explore, negotiate, communicate, interpret, and make sense of the changing realities of contemporary culture, technology, and society” (p. 39). Students study these changes by profiling a new artist each unit, and looking into their career path.
All of our senses are measurement devices for physical phenomena. This course tries to emphasize cross-curricular components of the study of music from the beginning.
Students read not only text while researching their artists and music, but also learn to read music. Students gather data about their practice using spreadsheets and are able to use numerical analysis to improve their practice regimes.
Students also investigate a new piece of music and a new artist each unit, and independently research techniques to help them develop similar skills using self-assessments, input from peers, and teacher feedback.
Thinking critically is one of the cornerstones of musicianship. Musicians must identify the elements of their playing that they believe will connect with their audience, create a plan, and revise the plan as they get feedback. Understanding the implications of their choices in relation to society’s reception of their work is essential to a musician’s success.
Furthermore, students are encouraged to research the influences of several musicians, which leads them to considering how different contexts, backgrounds, and points of view can affect artistic choices. Now more than ever, being able to be selective about which elements of history are brought to the forefront of an artistic endeavour is an essential skill.
While students may not have a school library at home, students are encouraged to access information from the school library at their day school, a public library, or even to access library services through the internet. Librarians are often accessible through email or online chat, so students are still able to get their questions answered, even if they can’t make it into a physical library.
As an online course, Information and Communications Technologies are deeply embedded within our curriculum. From using video cameras to record their practice to using Digital Audio Workstation software to create multitrack recordings, students are developing technology skills in every class. Students also log their practice in a spreadsheet which does several analyses on their practice habits.
Students also use the internet and word processors to research and create cloud documents that communicate their findings to their teacher, keeping our students on the cutting edge of educational technology.
In this course, students explicitly investigate the careers of a range of musicians, and consider the importance of the many unseen people who make the magic happen backstage. Throughout the course, students have many opportunities to consider different career pathways in music.
In the modern world, many musicians work alone and share their work through digital files with the people in their professional orbit. Students in this course have opportunities to engage in many of the same tasks as professional musicians. In recent years, recording equipment has moved more and more into the home, and many musicians work from their home studios and promote their work through social media. Students in this course use similar DAW software to professionals, and are making recordings of their performances.
This course is not included in the SHSM - Arts & Culture designation, but may support students in pursuing it in Grade 11 or 12.
This course takes health and safety seriously. We emphasize the importance of proper posture in order to prevent repetitive strain injuries, and are able to monitor students’ posture through their video recordings. These repetitive strain injuries are one of the most common health problems for musicians.
Students are also asked to consider what they would need to have in their rider in order to ensure that their performances are safe for everyone. Many shows have pyrotechnics, audience members under the influence of alcohol, and any number of other safety concerns. Performers need to be very safety-conscious.
Another significant problem which is dealt with in this course is hearing loss. Students are asked to consider ways that they can protect their hearing, and are made aware of the availability of professional-quality earplugs that don’t distort music while attenuating volume.
There are many different ethical issues which may arise from life in the culture industry. Students explore one of a range of different legal cases in their Exam Task in order to begin the journey of learning about the ethics and legal obligations a musician has.
Students also consider their obligations when designing their rider. Performers have a duty to ensure that their performances don’t endanger their audience or their support staff, which is another significant ethical concern for performers.