What you'll need

A computer running your school's DAW; GarageBand, Soundtrap, Logic Pro, Pro Tools or Ableton Live all suit this level, since students build each piece from scratch inside the software as their main creative tool.

The built-in loop and sample libraries that come with these programs are generally professional-standard already, meeting the unit's own assessment conditions, which call for "audio loops that have been recorded and created to a professional standard," so there's usually no need to buy anything extra on this front.

A MIDI keyboard or simple pad controller matters too, since most students play parts in rather than drawing them in with a mouse, and that hands-on experimenting is part of what's assessed.

A microphone and a basic audio interface are worth having on hand as well, for the times a piece calls for a student's own voice or an acoustic instrument, and for anything informal, a phone recording brought into the project works just as well.

What you'll need

This is one of the lightest units here in terms of buying anything new, though the DAW you already run for the other units earns its place here too.

A DAW is a genuinely strong tool for this kind of critical listening work, students can isolate a single instrument stem, loop a tricky section to compare phrasing, or mark up a timeline with notes as they identify a style's musical elements, capabilities well beyond just pressing play on a streaming app.

A quiet space to listen properly still matters, and a computer with internet access covers the research side, the unit's own assessment conditions call for access to recorded music across a range of styles and genres, which your DAW, a streaming platform, or your own library can all provide.

Where a student's creative direction leans toward performance, composition or production, they'll draw on whatever your school already has set up for that area.

What you'll need

A MIDI controller or other performance controller is the core piece of gear, paired with software built for live use. Ableton Live is the industry standard here because of its Session View, built for triggering loops and clips live.

A loop pedal, groove box or DJ controller are all reasonable alternatives if they better match what your program already teaches. Students also need at least one piece of outboard equipment linked to the main setup, an effects unit, sampler or drum machine all work.

Outboard equipment simply means physical hardware rather than software, and it's a genuine assessment requirement, installing, connecting and troubleshooting external gear is part of what's tested.

They'll also need a rehearsal space to prepare and practise handling that gear safely, and a performance space to deliver the finished pieces, since performing live is what's ultimately assessed.

What you'll need

For the practical component, students need real microphones and a small mixing desk to practise on, not just software. A dynamic mic (the tough, handheld kind used for vocals and instruments on stage) and a condenser mic (a more sensitive studio-style mic) cover the two main types students need to learn.

A basic wireless mic system is also worth having, since managing a wireless channel without interference is part of what's assessed.

Pair this with a small mixing desk with a couple of spare auxiliary sends (extra outputs you can use to send a separate mix to the stage monitors, not just the main speakers), plus a proper set of cables, stands and a stage box, since a large part of this unit is students learning to set up and pack down a system properly, not just plug something in.

For the PA itself, don't go small. Entry-level powered speakers now start around 300 to 1000 watts each, and this unit is meant to teach real venue-level sound, so aim for that range per speaker rather than one modest box between the two.

A cheap SPL meter (or a free phone app) and a safety switch for outdoor use round out the list, since measuring sound level safely and understanding outdoor electrical safety are both things students are tested on.

What you'll need

Any of the industry-standard DAW software platforms; Soundtrap, GarageBand, Pro Tools, Logic Pro or Ableton Live all suit this level, since the built-in effects and processing cover the editing and enhancement tasks the unit sets.

Reliable monitoring matters just as much as the software itself, headphones or proper studio monitors let students judge their own edit quality and catch problems before they submit, which is genuinely part of what's assessed.

Where source audio isn't already digital, a basic audio interface with 1 or 2 channels, or digital recorder brings it in cleanly.

Enough storage, local drives or cloud both work, covers the logging, backing up and archiving of finished sequences that the unit specifically requires.

What you'll need

A dynamic and a condenser microphone at minimum, so students learn to handle both of the main types they'll meet on the job, along with a proper audio interface and recording software. Soundtrap, GarageBand or similar covers what's needed here, to capture and log test recordings cleanly, and you should have working headphones for all the recording musicians in the room.

This is an assisting role, students are positioning mics on direction, checking levels and running test recordings under a supervisor, so the point is genuine hands-on practice with real gear rather than a simulation. Running and coiling cables properly, the unit specifically names this "cable rolling", and packing equipment away safely afterwards are both part of what's assessed, so it's worth treating that physical routine as seriously as the recording itself.

Basic hearing protection, even a box of foam earplugs, is worth keeping in the room too, protecting hearing while handling audio equipment is named knowledge evidence, not just good practice.

What you'll need

The core skill here is operating live channel controls, faders, mutes, sends, and cueing multiple inputs in real time, in a sequence that can't be paused or undone, the same pressure as an actual live broadcast.

A dedicated broadcast mixing desk is the most direct way to teach this, where a school has one that's genuinely set up and ready for regular use, rather than an older analogue console sitting unused in a cupboard, which is common enough to plan around.

Where that's not the case, a DAW works just as well, provided the exercise is built as a real live sequence: students riding faders, muting and cueing mics, and bringing in pre-recorded content on schedule, all in real time, rather than stopping to fix mistakes after the fact.

What matters for this unit isn't the specific hardware, it's whether students are working under that same real-time pressure.

A quiet space to work in, and a way to talk to presenters without it going out live, talkback on a physical desk, or a simple side channel in a DAW simulation, rounds out either version.

Worth confirming with your school's RTO before settling on either approach, their specific assessment strategy may set expectations beyond this unit's own baseline requirements.

What you'll need

Industry-standard music production software is what students need here; Soundtrap, Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, Ableton or Reason all fit, alongside a loop library and a MIDI keyboard or controller for playing parts in.

A basic microphone and audio interface are worth having too, in case a student's piece calls for recording their own voice, though there's no need to go further than that, this unit is testing composition, not recording engineering, so the budget is better spent on capable software than studio hardware.

A proper keyboard stand and adjustable seating are worth checking as well, students spending extended stretches at a controller is exactly the scenario the unit's own health and ergonomics knowledge evidence has in mind.

A rehearsal or performance space is handy if a student's piece includes a live element.

What you'll need

Hands-on access to a proper PA system in a real performance space is the core of this unit, ideally somewhere students can work at or observe genuine live events, since the assessment specifically calls for real venues across at least three live performances, not a classroom demonstration.

A mixing desk, analogue or digital, with separate outputs for the main speakers and the on-stage monitors (engineers call this a front-of-house and foldback split) is the centrepiece, since running both safely while adjusting for the room's acoustics is central to the unit.

If you're working with an analogue desk, a handful of outboard effects units, reverb, delay, a noise gate and a compressor, patched in separately, covers the processing side, a digital desk usually has all of this built in already.

For microphones, a solid range of dynamic and condenser types across a few different pickup patterns is enough, most live reinforcement work doesn't call for anything more delicate than that.

Round the kit out with the supporting infrastructure that makes a rig actually work on the day, stage boxes, DI boxes, a cable tester, and a full set of cabling and stands.

It's worth keeping backup equipment on hand for critical items too, a spare mic or DI box, say, the unit specifically expects students to have a backup plan ready before a show starts. A basic sound level meter, or a free phone app, rounds things out, useful both for tuning the room and for the safe-noise-level side of the unit that live events genuinely need to manage.

What you'll need

This unit is about the physical process of getting a full sound system installed, aligned, tested and packed down safely, not operating it during a show, so access to a real PA system to work on matters more than any single item on the list.

That system needs to be genuinely professional-standard: a mixing desk (analogue or digital), a set of main speakers with real power behind them, entry-level active speakers now start around 300 to 1000 watts each, and at least one stage monitor so students get practice setting up foldback as well as the main system.

A full set of cabling and connectors carries a lot of the actual task, balanced XLR leads, speaker cable (often Speakon connectors), unbalanced instrument leads and RCA leads, alongside DI boxes in both passive and active versions, a cable tester, and the stands, cradles and mounting hardware, plus gaffer and electrical tape, for a proper bump-in and bump-out.

A handful of microphones rounds out the kit, since fitting them and checking continuity is part of the testing students practise once the system's wired, matching levels and phase, routing test signals, and tuning out feedback.

What you'll need

This unit doesn't lock students into one practical context, they're applying theory, sound propagation, decibels, frequency, dynamic range, to real tasks in whatever area their program already runs, live sound or studio production.

That means there's no separate equipment budget to plan for here, it rides on whatever your school already has set up for the live-sound or production units elsewhere in this program, a PA rig with a mixing desk and outboard effects, or a DAW and proper studio monitors, are both genuine ways to put the theory into practice.

What matters is that students get to test level controls, EQ, compression and reverb on real equipment, hearing what a decibel change or a frequency cut actually does, rather than just reading about it.

What you'll need

A proper small studio setup that supports multi-track recording is the base here, students are laying down more than one instrument or voice and building a mix from real parts, so genuine multi-track capability matters.

A decent range of dynamic and condenser microphones covers the recording side, and headphones for every musician involved matter more than they might seem, part of this unit is students building an actual monitoring mix so performers can hear themselves properly while tracking.

Industry-standard software, Pro Tools, Logic Pro or Ableton Live all fit, carries the project from recording into mixing and mastering.

One detail worth planning for: the unit specifically asks students to test their final mix on speakers matched to its intended use, so access to more than one kind of playback, proper studio monitors alongside something more ordinary like laptop speakers or earbuds, genuinely matters.

A performance space supports the live tracking side of the session, since capturing a real performance is part of the point.

What you'll need

Software that can actually play video with properly synced sound is the starting point, since this unit is about analysing soundtracks against picture, most video editors and DAWs with a video track handle this well, including Soundtrap, Garageband, Logic and Pro Tools.

Beyond that, students need access to a genuine library of soundtrack excerpts to analyse, a good mix of styles and contexts gives them more to work with than a handful of favourites.

The room matters more than any particular piece of gear here, this is a critical-listening unit, so a quiet space with good headphones or studio monitors lets students hear real detail rather than just have something playing in the background.

What you'll need

Software capable of producing a professional-sounding mix is what this comes down to; Soundtrap, GarageBand, Pro Tools, Logic Pro or Ableton Live all qualify, since this unit is entirely about taking pre-recorded multi-track material to a finished standard.

The plugins that come standard with most DAWs, EQ, compression, reverb and the rest, cover the signal processing side well. If your program runs a hardware mixing console instead of software, analogue and digital both satisfy the unit, the assessment conditions name both directly.

An analogue desk won't have that processing built in, so outboard gear, external EQ, compressors and reverb units patched into the desk, takes its place. A digital console usually has the equivalent built in already.

What matters more than any of this is the room: a dedicated, acoustically treated listening space with good studio monitors or headphones, since every mixing decision, balance, tone, how loud something should sit, is only as good as what students can actually hear, and a room with bad acoustics or cheap speakers teaches them to correct for problems that aren't really there.

What you'll need

This unit builds on the general live-sound operating unit, but the knowledge evidence points to exactly where it goes further, digital consoles with moving-fader automation, wireless microphone systems, and even managing spare batteries correctly.

A digital mixing desk with scene recall or automated faders should be the centrepiece here rather than a purely analogue desk, that's the specific skill this unit is built to test.

The same supporting PA infrastructure as the other live units still applies, main speakers and monitors with real power behind them, DI boxes, stage boxes, and a full set of cabling. A wireless microphone system is worth having in its own right too, managing a wireless channel live, without dropouts or interference, is named knowledge evidence on its own.

It's worth keeping a genuine stock of spare batteries of the correct type on hand as well, running flat mid-performance is a real, common failure this unit expects students to know how to plan around.

What you'll need

A proper mixing console with enough channels to matter is the centrepiece, since this unit is specifically about handling a large number of simultaneous microphone inputs cleanly, the kind of setup you'd see mixing a full band or ensemble.

A stage box and a multi-core snake, a single thick cable carrying many mic signals at once, brings all those inputs back to the desk without a tangle of individual cables.

A wide-ranging kit of dynamic and condenser microphones lets students practise choosing the right mic for different instruments and voices, and planning a genuine microphone plot, the term for a documented layout of what mic goes where, which is exactly what's assessed across at least two different productions.

Students also need to practise basic troubleshooting, phantom power for condenser mics, phase issues when multiple mics pick up the same source, and having a spare mic or cable on hand for when something fails mid-rehearsal, planning for signal failure is named knowledge evidence in its own right.

An in-ear monitoring system is a nice addition at this level, reflecting the more advanced monitoring setups students will meet in the industry, but it's not essential if budget doesn't stretch that far.