Overview
Sport
Co-curricular programme
INSTRUMENTAL
Music is essentially an aural art form, which exists in time. Our contact with it is mainly through hearing, but musical performance can involve bodily movement and the senses of touch and sight.
Music can serve both aesthetic and functional purposes. It engages our imagination and enables us to express our thoughts and feelings in individual ways. It can be used simply for relaxation and entertainment. Music is both intellectually and emotionally engaging, helping develop the individual's full capacity and intellect whilst providing a balance to other areas in the curriculum.
FEES
Instrumental lessons are organised on a term basis, with the provision of a minimum of 32 lessons per year, averaging eight lessons per term. These will be invoiced by the College, separate from the College tuition fees and supplementary account.
PLEASE NOTE: FEES ARE PAYABLE IN ADVANCE
The fee* structure is as follows:-
All Instruments
Individual lessons $214.00 per term
Small group lessons (2) $147.00 per term
Theory
Grades 1 to 3 $80.00 per term
Grade 4 and above $85.00 per term
Piano lessons are only available to individual pupils.
Some special fees are offered for special programmes. Prices are available on application.
The fees are determined in accordance with the Music Teachers' Association of Queensland guidelines.
Please note: Fee structure for ESL is available on application.
SMALL GROUP LESSONS
When small group lessons are requested, it is not always possible to match pupils of exactly the same ability level. The best match possible will be made or if not feasible the option of shorter lessons will be advised. Learning individually is the optimum, but circumstances do not always allow this. If it is felt that a pupil needs to be moved out of a group lesson in order to improve their progress, then the parents will be contacted.
Timetabling for music tuition is as follows:
Years 11 and 12
- Out of school/academic hours
- Non-rotational.
Years 4 to 10
- In school hours.
- Rotational (lesson times rotate throughout the day so as not to be in the same time slot each week).
- Pupils who take multiple co-curricular lessons may be accommodated in an out of school hour time slot where possible.
- Pupils may request an out of school time slot and it will be accommodated to the best of our ability, but this will be dependent on the number of Year 11 and 12 pupils learning. It also depends on the number of pupils who take multiple lessons and availability of staff.
Early Education Class to Year 3
- In school hours
- Non-rotational
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT HIRE
Somerset has a number of instruments available for use by pupils. The purpose of a hired instrument is to allow pupils, parents and teachers to check that a pupil is suited to an instrument and likely to enjoy its study. In the case of most instruments, the maximum hiring period is for two years. For a small number of instruments, this period may be extended. The cost of hiring an instrument is $35 per term which will be debited to the supplementary account. Instruments are distributed on a "first come, first served" basis. In the event that a hired instrument is no longer available, there are commercial firms which have rental instruments available. Waiting lists are established for extra demands. The Musical Instrument Hire Agreement must be submitted with a request to hire any instrument.
YEAR 3 STRING PROGRAMME and
YEAR 5 BAND PROGRAMME
Year 3 pupils and Year 5 pupils participate in these school based instrumental programmes. The programme is free for the whole year with a $35.00 hire fee charged per term for the use of school instruments or equipment.
CARE, STORAGE AND INSURANCE OF INSTRUMENTS
Musical instruments represent a significant financial investment for parents. The following guidelines relate to their care.
Parents should make arrangements to insure any musical instrument. Whilst every care is taken, the school will accept no responsibility for any damage or loss suffered.
When a pupil brings an instrument to school, it should be deposited with the teacher in preparation for an instrumental lesson. If the instrument is to be used in an ensemble performance, pupils are advised to deposit their instrument in the rehearsal room. Instruments are not to be left in breezeways or corridors.
All instrument cases should be named clearly on the outside and inside. This discourages theft, helps staff account for instruments and makes it less likely that pupils could take home the wrong instrument by mistake.
Rehearsal time (which are correct at the time of printing) for the following groups are as follows :-
Monday
7.45am to 8.30am Senior Chamber Orchestra
8.00am to 8.30am Junior Recorder Ensemble
8.00am to 8.30am Middle Primary Chorale
1.05pm to 1.30pm Men's Chorus
3.30pm to 4.30pm Junior Concert Band
Tuesday
8.00am to 8.30am Senior Recorder Ensemble
1.05pm to 1.30pm Saxophone Ensemble
3.30pm to 5.00pm Senior Concert Band
3.30pm to 5.00pm Senior String Orchestra
Wednesday
7.45am to 8.30am Junior String Orchestra 1
8.00am to 8.30am Girls' Choir
1.05pm to 1.30pm Brass Ensemble
1.05pm to 1.30pm Junior Flute Ensemble
1.05pm to 1.30pm Percussion Ensemble
Thursday
7.45am to 8.30am Senior Vocal Group
8.00am to 8.30am Upper Primary Chorale
8.00am to 8.30am Cool Cat's Choir
1.05pm to 1.30pm Chapel Band
1.05pm to 1.30pm Clarinet Ensemble
Friday
7.45am to 8.30am Jazz Band
8.00am to 8.30am Senior Flute Ensemble
7.45am to 8.30am Junior String Orchestra 2
3.30pm to 5.00pm Show Choir
COPYRIGHT GUIDELINES – MUSIC PUPILS
If you have recently bought a flute, a guitar, perhaps a violin, then it is your property - you are the owner. The same applies to the books or clothes that you own. Because these things are yours, the law says other people can't take them from you without your permission. You might be happy for a friend to borrow your new musical instrument, but they would have to give it back to you.
If you wrote a song, you would automatically be the owner of that song, as soon as it was written or recorded. At the bottom of the page of manuscript, you would write your name and the date. This would be the sign that you were the owner of your song, and nobody could do anything with that (i.e. take it, copy it, perform it, record it) without first getting permission from you. THE SONG WOULD BE YOUR COPYRIGHT
The law in Australia says your song is protected UNDER COPYRIGHT. If you became a songwriter, a composer, you might take your composition to a MUSIC PUBLISHER to see if they would take you on as one of their composers, so your works could be published. Writers, composers and arrangers all over the world are linked with publishers in this way, so that their works are promoted, protected, distributed and sold or hired through the large commercial networks of the music industry. The publisher would protect your song, (your copyright), and the sales or recordings of your music would bring you ROYALTIES. For hundreds of years composers and songwriters have made a living from the royalties collected from the sale of their published works, and in the 20th century also from the royalties from recordings made of their works.
In past decades, young musicians learning a piece of music would always buy that piece of music. It would be the same situation as playing tennis. For example, if you wanted to play tennis, you would buy a racquet and other equipment. Nowadays, photocopying machines have arrived on the scene, and their presence can be potentially very damaging. If we want to play a piece of music, we can easily go to the machine, press the magic green button and take the property of a composer, arranger and publisher without thinking about it - we can have the piece without paying for it. The effects of this worldwide can be disastrous - composers and writers are no longer able to make a living from writing works, publishers less and less able to take on new composers and produce new music books, albums and individual pieces.
DIFFERENT COPYRIGHTS IN A PIECE OF
SHEET MUSIC
A piece of sheet music may have a number of separate copyrights. There will be copyright in the musical work itself, and if that has been arranged, for example another composer has written an accompaniment for the tune or written the work for different instruments, then there will be a separate copyright in the arrangement. There will usually also be copyright in the words (i.e. of a song, anthem etc.) and also in the translation if they have been translated. There may also be copyright in the published edition, or typesetting of a work. This copyright may still apply even when copyright in the music, lyrics and arrangement have all run out.
HOW LONG DO THESE COPYRIGHTS LAST?
The copyrights last for different time periods. Copyright in the music lasts from when it was first written down or recorded until 50 years after the death of the composer. For the lyrics it is until 50 years from the death of the person who wrote the lyrics. If the music has been arranged or if the lyrics have been translated, then those copyrights will last until 50 years from the death of the arranger or translator, as the case may be. Copyright in the typesetting lasts for 25 years from first publication of that edition.
PERMISSION
Under copyright law, you cannot copy sheet music without permission unless all of the copyrights have run out or a special exception to infringement applies. Permission is usually given by a music publisher. It is only when all of the four copyrights listed above have run out that the sheet music is out of copyright. This is sometimes called "in the public domain" and can be copied without permission.
Copyright laws says you can make a "fair dealing" with music for your own research or study without needing to get permission. Copying up to 10% of a musical work for research or study is allowed under the law. However, in most cases you will want to copy an entire work. If you can purchase this piece, then it would not be "fair" to copy it, even if it is for research or study. If you want to use the piece for performance at a concert or in an eisteddfod, then you would not be able to rely on this "fair dealing" provision. You would have to use the original (not photocopied) sheet music that you had purchased or borrowed. If you or your music teacher cannot buy or borrow the original music, then you may need to contact the music publisher for permission to make a photocopy. The publisher may charge a fee for this.
Most primary and secondary schools have permission from the music publishers through AMCOS to allow the school to make a limited number of photocopies from original sheet music which the school has purchased ("a licence"). The licence does not cover your instrument teacher who gives you private lessons, even though these lessons may be held at school. In your school you may have seen copies marked with a stamp saying that they were made under the AMCOS licence. These copies belong to the school and can be used for educational purposes, such as use in the classroom, orchestra and choir. The original sheet music and the copies with the stamps on them can be used for practice and performance. Remember that these copies are owned by the school and must be kept for other students to use.
