SACE Music Studies subject outline — topics explained
Stage 2 Music Studies (2MSI20, 20 credits) is built on three interconnected strands, understanding music, creating music and responding to music, applied through six musical elements: rhythm, pitch, dynamics and expression, form and structure, timbre and texture. This original revision resource targets the 130-minute examination: aural recognition and dictation, theory and notation, score and aural analysis of unfamiliar works, and creative notation tasks (melody completion, three-part arranging and Option A or Option B harmonisation). It is not affiliated with the SACE Board or SATAC. Because a text hub cannot play audio, every listening excerpt is an original excerpt described or notated in text and labelled as such.
Stage 2 Music Studies Subject Outline (2MSI20, change table 'to 2025 onwards') with the Music Studies supporting document · guide last reviewed . Always check the current subject outline on the SACE Board site ↗.
Stage 2 Music Studies Subject Outline (2MSI20, change table 'to 2025 onwards') with the Music Studies supporting document
School assessment is 70%: Assessment Type 1 Creative Works (40%), a portfolio of performances (6 to 12 minutes) and/or compositions or arrangements (3 to 6 minutes) with a creator's statement; Assessment Type 2 Musical Literacy (30%), two or three tasks, at least one a notated composition or arrangement of about 2 minutes. Assessment Type 3 Examination (30%) is a 130-minute written paper (Friday 13 November 2026, 9 am, on the 2026 timetable; no additional reading time). The 2023-2025 papers each have 13 questions worth 120 marks: recorded examples are played for Questions 1 to 11 (tick-box recognition, rhythmic and melodic dictation, broken chords, scales, melody completion, a printed-score analysis, an aural-only analysis, an arrangement analysis, a comparative table and a three-part arrangement), Question 12 is a rhythm-notation task, and Question 13 is a 24-mark harmonisation with a choice of Option A (four-part vocal style) or Option B (jazz-related harmony). A formula sheet (scales and modes, key signatures, transposing instruments, interval and chord tables, cadences, scale degrees and standard chord progressions) and manuscript paper are provided. The subject grade (A+ to E−) comes from the performance standards; the exam assesses UM2, CM1, CM3, CM4, RM1 and RM2.
Past papers on this subject span more than one subject outline. Papers written under an older one still work as practice, but the topics they test have changed — the index labels every paper with the subject outline it was set under.
Stage 2 Music Studies Subject Outline (change table to 2025 onwards) · 2025–presentStage 2 Music Studies Subject Outline (pre-2025 version; same 130-minute examination) · 2021–2024
The topics, one by one
Each area below lists the concepts named in the subject outline, what the SACE Board exam asks of them, and the mistake that most often costs marks.
Aural perception and dictation
Musical elements, notation and the formula sheet
Score reading and analysis of unfamiliar works
Manipulating elements: melody writing, arranging and harmonisation
Area 1 of 4
Aural perception and dictation
Roughly the first third of the paper (the 2023 SAA counts 40 of 120 marks for aural recognition and dictation). Expect tick-box recognition of rhythms, melodies, chord qualities, time signatures and progressions; rhythmic dictation of two to four bars with ties, dotted figures, semiquavers and triplets; broken-chord naming and notation; adding accidentals to scales; finding wrong notes; and completing an instrumental part from a given rhythm, often in a minor key using the melodic minor. In this hub excerpts are printed, so practise real dictation with audio as well.
What the subject outline lists under this area · 6 points
The supporting document lists the theory you must control: note values, beat grouping in simple, compound and irregular meters, clefs (including alto), scales and modes, intervals and inversions, triads and sevenths in all inversions, extensions and altered dominants, secondary dominants, cadences, modulation to closely related keys, transposition and score order. Question 12 tests rhythm grouping directly, and the formula sheet is meant to be used to derive and proof answers.
What the subject outline lists under this area · 4 points
Questions 7 to 10 analyse works you have not seen: chord naming across clefs, keys and cadences, compositional devices, textures with bar numbers, string and wind techniques, articulation, form, how an arrangement changes a known tune, an aural-only piece in any style, and a comparative table. Markers reward precise terminology, evidence from the score, timbre described by quality, and comparison with the theme rather than the previous variation.
What the subject outline lists under this area · 6 points
Manipulating elements: melody writing, arranging and harmonisation
Question 6 (melody completion), Question 11 (three parts beneath a melody with chord symbols) and Question 13 (Option A four-part vocal style or Option B jazz-related keyboard harmony, 24 marks) are the creative notation tasks. Success depends on correct chord spelling, smooth voice-leading seen both horizontally and vertically, cadences at phrase ends, the named features (six-four progressions, dominant 7th, secondary dominants, modulations, extensions and alterations), and a musical rather than mechanical approach.
What the subject outline lists under this area · 4 points
The 2023, 2024 and 2025 papers each had 13 questions worth 120 marks in 130 minutes. Recorded examples are played for Questions 1 to 11; Questions 12 and 13 have no recording. At Question 13 you answer Option A (four-part vocal style) or Option B (jazz-related harmony), 24 marks each.
Can this hub play the aural excerpts?
No. Every listening excerpt here is an original excerpt described in words or written in text notation, and is labelled as such. That practises notation reading and analysis; you still need audio-based dictation practice for the real paper.
What is provided in the exam room?
The papers list a question booklet, score booklet, formula sheet and manuscript paper for rough work. The formula sheet gives standard chord progressions, key signatures, scales and modes, transposing instruments, interval and chord tables, cadences and scale-degree names.
Should I choose Option A or Option B at Question 13?
Choose the harmonic language you have practised most. The 2024 and 2025 SAAs report most students chose Option B (jazz-related); markers look for overall control of the chosen style rather than arguable details.
Is there reading time?
No separate reading time is shown: Music Studies is in black text on the 2026 timetable (red text marks subjects with additional reading time), and the papers state a total time of 130 minutes. The recording sets the pace for Questions 1 to 11.
Is the subject changing because of subject renewal?
Music Studies is in renewal group 1, but the renewal documents seen are drafts not for implementation, and the 2026 timetable still lists the 130-minute exam. Check the SACE subject page for any change notice.
How does the exam mark become my grade?
The exam is 30% of the subject. The SACE Board combines it with the school-assessed Creative Works and Musical Literacy to give a grade from A+ to E−; exam marks are not published as grade cut-offs.
Practise it against the real thing
Knowing the subject outline is the first half. The other half is seeing how SACE Board actually asks it — every official paper for Music Studies is indexed by the same areas above.