Music Production: Skills Roles and Your First Portfolio
16 assessed work items are mapped below. Use the lesson title or activity ID to find the work, the evidence to keep, and the criteria used to assess it.
Suggested learner fit
About 14–18; early creative work can suit a prepared younger group.
Priority skills: Song and session planning; collaboration; recording, arranging and mixing; accurate credits.
Prior skills: Can keep a project file and give a reason for a musical choice.
Equipment: Computer with a DAW or recorder, headphones, a sound source, and a shared project folder.
Expected time: 48 class meetings; length follows the local class period.
Teacher guidance: Teacher guides roles, collaboration, recording access, feedback, and the final portfolio.
MU:Cr1.1.T.Ia · National Core Arts Standards — Music Technology Generate musical ideas
Work to do
1. Read the Open Door brief above and identify its listener. 2. Create two different four-beat patterns using safe classroom objects, a voice, body percussion or an instrument. 3. Record each twice, or perform it for the teacher while a partner writes a rhythm grid. 4. Choose a pattern and explain the choice. 5. Save the patterns as C01_ideaA and C01_ideaB.
Assignment
E01: A six-stage production map; two recorded or notated rhythmic ideas; one sentence explaining the selected idea and its audience.
Evidence to keep
Keep the editable digital sketches as well as listening copies. Identify a rhythmic, melodic or harmonic difference between the alternatives.
Assessment criteria
Retain distinct rhythmic, melodic or harmonic ideas and explain how the digital tools helped produce them.
c2 · c2
2 Who Does What in Music Production
1.7.c · ISTE Standards for Students Contribute to a project team
Work to do
1. Form groups of up to four. Assign producer, performer, engineer and organizer. 2. Record a ten-second idea. 3. Each person writes one action taken. 4. Rotate roles and record a second pass. 5. Compare the result without voting for a favorite person. 6. Complete the role record in W02.
Assignment
E02: Two role records for each learner, a shared pair of takes and accurate contribution credits.
Evidence to keep
Keep an individual role record alongside the shared project. Describe one contribution, one handoff and how the group checked the result.
Assessment criteria
Record each person’s responsibility and contribution and show how the group completed the shared task.
c3 · c3
3 Where Production Skills Can Take You
MU:Cn11.0.T.Ia · National Core Arts Standards — Music Technology Connect music and its setting
Work to do
1. Choose two settings from the opening paragraph. 2. List audience, deliverable and two constraints for each. 3. Make two short balances of the supplied stems, or direct live performers to change their balance. 4. Identify one specific difference. 5. With teacher-selected source material, compare how a musical example's original setting affects its meaning.
Assignment
E03: Two setting cards, a pair of balances or performance directions, and a sourced context note.
Evidence to keep
Identify the intended setting and audience. Explain how those circumstances affect a specific musical or production decision, using a sourced example.
Assessment criteria
Explain a specific relationship between the music, its use and the people or setting involved.
c4 · c4
4 Find Your Interests and Set a Goal
MU:Cr1.1.T.Ia · National Core Arts Standards — Music Technology Generate musical ideas
Work to do
1. Complete W04 with audience, mood, available tools and scope. 2. Make a rhythm, pitched phrase and harmonic idea. 3. Record or notate the alternatives. 4. Select ideas that fit together and name one rejected option. 5. Ask a partner to restate your goal. Revise it if the partner cannot tell what you will make.
Assignment
E04: Project brief, three musical ideas, selected combination, rejected option and personal learning goal.
Evidence to keep
Keep the editable digital sketches as well as listening copies. Identify a rhythmic, melodic or harmonic difference between the alternatives.
Assessment criteria
Retain distinct rhythmic, melodic or harmonic ideas and explain how the digital tools helped produce them.
c5 · c5
5 Listen Like a Producer
MU:Re9.1.T.Ia · National Core Arts Standards — Music Technology Judge a musical result
Work to do
1. Listen to compare_masked.wav and compare_clear.wav. 2. Mark a time or bar where the difference matters. 3. Describe rhythm, texture or balance using evidence. 4. State which version fits Open Door and why. 5. Compare two drafts of your own idea and complete W05, including one uncertainty.
Assignment
E05: Two listening comparisons with located evidence, criteria, interpretation and a proposed test.
Evidence to keep
Name the musical aim and two listening criteria. Mark the exact passage supporting your decision; explain one benefit and one cost of the chosen version.
Assessment criteria
Name the musical purpose, compare the same passage fairly, and support the decision with audible details.
c6 · c6
6 Plan a Session and Work with People
1.4.b · ISTE Standards for Students Plan within project limits
Work to do
1. Complete W06 with a fifteen-minute plan. 2. Assign each action and agree on a stop signal. 3. Test a short capture and playback. 4. Run the session. 5. Record one piece of feedback and the response. 6. Compare the plan with what actually happened and identify one improvement.
Assignment
E06: Session plan, two logged takes, feedback response and individual contribution record.
Evidence to keep
Keep the plan in a digital document. Include the intended result, resources, timing and a response to one likely change.
Assessment criteria
Use a digital plan to connect the intended result to available time, equipment, people and a workable fallback.
c7 · c7
7 Set Up and Record Safely
8.1 · Tennessee A/V Production I — C11H01 Capture a planned performance
Work to do
1. Draw your signal path on W07. 2. Complete the teacher-observed setup check. 3. Record ten seconds of a safe sound. 4. Check the file for the intended source and a complete beginning and ending. 5. Compare two microphone distances at similar playback loudness. 6. Save and reopen the selected capture.
Assignment
E07: Signal diagram, two capture tests, teacher setup observation and verified playback note.
Evidence to keep
Keep the original recording, setup details and playback check. A proposed setup or supplied recording does not demonstrate your own capture skill.
Assessment criteria
Select and connect the equipment, record the planned material, and replay it to verify the capture.
c8 · c8
8 Capture a Performance
8.1 · Tennessee A/V Production I — C11H01 Capture a planned performance
Work to do
1. Select a short original phrase from E04. 2. Rehearse and record a prepared version. 3. Improvise a variation using the same material. 4. Compare both with the brief. 5. Apply one rehearsal strategy and record again. 6. Repeat with a contrasting classroom piece or brief supplied by the teacher and describe the change in context.
Assignment
E08: Prepared and improvised performances, rehearsal note, selected take and a comparison across two contrasting purposes.
Evidence to keep
Keep the original recording, setup details and playback check. A proposed setup or supplied recording does not demonstrate your own capture skill.
Assessment criteria
Select and connect the equipment, record the planned material, and replay it to verify the capture.
c9 · c9
9 Build and Edit an Arrangement
MU:Cr2.1.T.Ia · National Core Arts Standards — Music Technology Develop an arrangement
Work to do
1. Draw an AB or ABA map. 2. Arrange your original rhythm, melodic and harmonic ideas. 3. Save a baseline. 4. Make one purposeful edit or entrance change. 5. Compare the same passage before and after. 6. Describe one improvement and one tradeoff. 7. Reopen the unedited source to verify it is preserved.
Assignment
E09: Section map, original arranged draft, baseline and revised excerpt, and an edit decision record.
Evidence to keep
Retain the editable arrangement and its starting ideas. Explain how their placement or combination establishes the larger musical form.
Assessment criteria
Show which musical ideas were selected and how their order, combination or development creates a larger work.
c10 · c10
10 Mix for the Listener
MU:Re9.1.T.Ia · National Core Arts Standards — Music Technology Judge a musical result
Work to do
1. Make a balance-only mix. 2. Name a problem using a time or bar. 3. Test one level, EQ, dynamics or space change. 4. Compare with bypass or a saved baseline at similar apparent loudness. 5. Check on a second available system or a teacher-provided alternate playback. 6. Save the choice and describe a remaining limitation.
Assignment
E10: Baseline and revised mix, controlled comparison record and two playback observations.
Evidence to keep
Name the musical aim and two listening criteria. Mark the exact passage supporting your decision; explain one benefit and one cost of the chosen version.
Assessment criteria
Name the musical purpose, compare the same passage fairly, and support the decision with audible details.
c11 · c11
11 Review Revise and Deliver
9.1 · Tennessee A/V Production I — C11H01 Organize and preserve session files
Work to do
1. Exchange one located feedback note. 2. Test and document your response. 3. Export the revised mix. 4. Complete W11 with exact filename, version, format and contributors. 5. Play the entire export outside the session. 6. Open the copied archive and verify its media. 7. Record any repair and repeat the failed check.
List the working files and their purposes. Reopen the saved or transferred copy and record the playback result.
Assessment criteria
Identify each file’s purpose, preserve the source material and verify that the transferred or reopened project works.
c12 · c12
12 Credits Permission and Responsibility
4.2 · Tennessee A/V Production I — C11H01 Research permissions and attribution
Work to do
1. List every sound and musical source in your project using W12. 2. Mark original contributions and outside material separately. 3. Record the intended audience and evidence for permission. 4. Identify one unresolved item and propose replacement or teacher review. 5. Write accurate credits. 6. Check the exported file and portfolio for unnecessary personal details.
Assignment
E12: Complete source/credits record, sharing decision and repair of any unresolved material before presentation.
Evidence to keep
Keep a permissions and credit record with the assignment. Cite the relevant source, identify who can approve the intended use, and name any missing permission before sharing.
Assessment criteria
Identify the material, rights, permitted use, credits and unresolved permissions; support the clearance decision with sources.
c13 · c13
13 Time Money and Working Agreements
1.4.b · ISTE Standards for Students Plan within project limits
Work to do
1. Recalculate the example on W13. 2. Plan a version within $180 that includes recording, editing and a stated reserve. 3. Respond to a request for an extra recording hour. 4. State exactly what must change. 5. Prepare your final-project schedule with owners and a recovery plan for one missed session.
Assignment
E13: Itemized practice budget, checked total, scope-change response and realistic project schedule.
Evidence to keep
Keep the plan in a digital document. Include the intended result, resources, timing and a response to one likely change.
Assessment criteria
Use a digital plan to connect the intended result to available time, equipment, people and a workable fallback.
c14 · c14
14 Explore Careers and Further Learning
1.3.b · ISTE Standards for Students Evaluate digital information
Work to do
1. Complete W14 for two roles. 2. Use two named sources, or the teacher's supplied source extracts and an approved guest transcript. 3. Identify duties, skills, preparation and one unresolved question. 4. Write three respectful interview questions. 5. Choose a next step available through school or a guardian-approved setting. 6. Explain how your own classroom evidence informed the choice.
Assignment
E14: Two-role comparison, source records, interview questions and a specific next-step plan with an access alternative.
Evidence to keep
Record the digital source’s author or organization, location and date. Explain why it answers this question and what it leaves unresolved.
Assessment criteria
Identify the source, check its authority and relevance, and distinguish a verified fact from an unanswered question.
c15 · c15
15 Build Your First Production Portfolio
11.2 · Tennessee A/V Production I — C11H01 Document skills in a portfolio
Work to do
1. Select the four required entries on W15. 2. Check every link or filename from the saved portfolio location. 3. Write 40–60 words (middle school) or 80–120 words (high school) or an equivalent recorded explanation for each. 4. Identify one unsuccessful test and what it taught you. 5. Ask a partner to locate the evidence without help. 6. Repair the portfolio before final presentation.
Assignment
E15: Four-entry portfolio index, annotations, working files and individual contribution evidence.
Evidence to keep
Add a brief annotation to each selected item: your role, the task, a decision you made, the result and one skill to develop next.
Assessment criteria
Select relevant work, identify individual contributions, and explain the process, result and next learning step.
c16 · c16
16 Complete Your Production and Present Your Work
11.2 · Tennessee A/V Production I — C11H01 Document skills in a portfolio
Work to do
1. Run the final checklist in W16. 2. Submit the final WAV, recoverable session or agreed reconstruction package, portfolio, source record and evaluation. 3. Take the cumulative written exam. 4. Present a three-minute evidence-led explanation. 5. Answer one teacher question. 6. Repair any missing completion requirement and record your next step.
Assignment
E16: Complete final production package, evaluation, presentation and verified completion record.
Evidence to keep
Add a brief annotation to each selected item: your role, the task, a decision you made, the result and one skill to develop next.
Assessment criteria
Select relevant work, identify individual contributions, and explain the process, result and next learning step.
Teacher assessment guide
Assess the work named in each row. Record the file or portfolio entry, the criterion, the result and the next action. Use a practical observation for equipment operation. Give feedback on the learner’s decisions as well as the finished result.
Score
Evidence
3
Criterion met, with independent verification or a successful application in another situation.
2
Criterion met: the required work is complete, accurate and supported by evidence.
1
Some relevant work is present, but the intended result has not been demonstrated.
0
The required evidence has not been submitted or demonstrated.
Record each criterion and the next action. Practical equipment work needs an observed demonstration. Use the course grading plan for the final result.
Self-guided completion
Read the evidence requirement before starting. Save the work, check each criterion and revise any missing or unsuccessful part. Use a peer or instructor for tasks that require feedback or a witnessed practical demonstration.
2.5.b · ISTE Standards for Educators Design a practical technology lesson
Prepare and teach “1 How a Recording Gets Made.” Demonstrate the task, then have learners complete it independently.
Submit: A teaching plan, demonstration or teach-back, and learner work showing the result.
Assess: State the learning objective, teach a workable activity and show how the resulting student work demonstrates the objective.
2.5.a · ISTE Standards for Educators Adapt a lesson for learner needs
Adapt one practical assignment for a learner with limited equipment, a different way of accessing instructions, or a different way of presenting the result.
Submit: The original task, the adapted route and the shared assessment criteria.
Assess: Name a specific access or learning need and provide a usable alternative that preserves the intended skill.
2.7.c · ISTE Standards for Educators Use assessment to guide teaching
Use “16 Complete Your Production and Present Your Work” to assess the learner’s decisions and finished work. Plan feedback and a second attempt for one unmet criterion.
Submit: An annotated rubric, specific feedback, revised work and a brief comparison.
Assess: Score the work against stated criteria, identify the misconception and provide feedback and a suitable next activity.