The exam board is Eduqas.

Parts of the exam:

Performance - 30%. One x solo (with backing track), 1 x ensemble. Both recordings submitted with the sheet music on google classroom. To be completed by Easter.

 

Composition - 30%. 1 x free composition, with written account. 1 x composition written to a brief set by the exam board, with written account. Each composition should be at least 2 minutes long. To be completed by Easter.

 

Listening (written) paper. 40%. 12 questions, including 1 question each on two set works - Bach Badinerie and Toto's Africa. In the questions, you are asked to use musical words to describe what you can hear.

 

Continue to listen to these podcasts as much as possible and ensure you have understood the key words mentioned. Please list the keywords under each heading, so you know which category they are in. For example - homophonic comes under texture. You need to be logged in to google to access them. You should be able to hear the sound of a trumpet and know it is a trumpet. You should be able to hear a particular tempo and know it is moderato, or presto.

 

1. Instrumentation - the names of instruments and what they sound like.

2. Rhythm and Tempo

3. Different voice names and types

4. Keywords to describe a melody

5. Texture keywords - the layers in music

6. Ornamentation in music - the bits that add to the music - trills etc

7. Time signatures  - such as 4 crotchet beats in a bar

 

Preparing for a listening exam

Rhythm

Syncopation (stress on weak beats)

Dotted 

Even notes

Swung (in jazz, long short long short)

Off beat (in jazz/snare rock beat 2&4)

On beat (crotchets)

Triplets (3 notes equally divided into a crotchet - or other subdivisions)

pedal notes/inverted pedal

One note per bar 

Anacrusis (upbeat)

 

Tonality and harmony

Major and minor

5ths

Octaves

3rds

7ths

6ths

Dissonant

Sus chords

Dominant 7ths

Diminished

One chord per bar/beat

 

Dynamics

Fortissimo (ff)

Forte (f)

Mezzo forte (mf)

Mezzo piano (mp)

Piano (p)

Pianissimo (pp)

Crescendo (<)

Diminuendo (>)

Sforzando (stab chords) (sfz)

 

Texture

Homophonic (all instruments playing one melody - church choir)

Monophonic (one line of music)

Melody and accompaniment (musical theatre)

Polyphonic (romantic classical)

Contrapuntal (basically polyphonic but a more classical term)

 

Tempo

Largo-very very slow

Andante- slow

Lento- very slow

Moderato- moderate

Allegro- quick

Presto- make you want to die fast 

Vivace- very very fast

Ritenuto- slowing down

Ritardando- slowing down

Accelerando- getting faster

Rubato- pulled time

 

Cadences

Perfect (most common) 5-1

Imperfect 1-5

Plagal 4-1

Interrupted anything else

 

Playing techniques

Pizzicato (strings)

Tremolo (strings)

Col legno (strings)

Strumming (guitar)

Arco (strings)

Palm muting (guitar)

Crash choke (drums)

Distortion (guitar)

Slide on guitar (guitar)

Mutes (brass, strings)

Vibrato (wind, Strings)

Pitch bend (guitar, wind)

Portamento (strings)

Glissando (all but especially harp)

Flutter tonguing (wind and brass)

Falsetto (voice)

Acapella (just singing by itself)

Spoken (e.g lyrics before song)

Parlando (expressive) 

Double stopping (strings)

Con sordino (strings)

Reverb (guitar)

Pavillon en l’air (brass)

 

Ornamentation

Trills

Acciaccatura

Appoggiatura

Turns

Mordence

Grace notes

Describing a melody - what to describe

Rhythm

Pitch

Instrument

Playing techniques

conjunct/disjunct

ascending/descending

diatonic/chromatic

arpeggios/scales

Sequences

Ornamentation (trills, turns etc)

Anacrusis (upbeat) 

 

Describing a melody - what NOT to describe

Tonality

Dynamics

Cadences

Accompaniment

Texture

Time signature

Describing an accompaniment- what to describe

broken/block chords/alberti bass

Rhythm

Instrumentation

Texture

ascending/descending

chromatic/diatonic

scales/arpeggios

Pedal notes

 

Describing an accompaniment- what NOT to describe

Tonality

Dynamics

Cadences

Melody

Texture

Time signature

Compositional devices

Repetition

Sequence

Imitation

Texture

Cadences

Tonality

countermelody

Ostinato 

 

What does a 2 mark question mean?

A 1 mark question with an added mark for naming a change and where it happen from a certain bar.

List 2 key terms

 

What does a compare and contrast question mean?

similarities and differences

Relevant listening to two pieces of music 

If you are asked to describe instrumentation, how should you do this?

List the instruments you can hear

What is the instrument(s) playing (e.g melody & rhythm keywords, techniques etc)

What it suggests within the music

The instruments following and making the melody