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The Prescribed Works

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do I analyse the prescribed work movement by movement for the structured Section B questions?

A movement-by-movement method for analysing the prescribed work: its structures and key schemes, themes, instrumentation and harmonic devices, prepared in the detail Section B's structured listening questions demand.
A focused answer to analysing the prescribed work for OCR A-Level Music Section B. Covers a movement-by-movement method (structure and key scheme, themes, instrumentation, harmony and signature devices), worked through Haydn's Symphony No. 103, so you can answer the detailed structured listening questions and recognise extracts by ear.
16 min answer →

How do I tackle the dictation and score-completion questions on the prescribed work in Section B?

The dictation and score-completion tasks in Section B (completing missing melody, rhythm or harmony on a printed extract from the prescribed work), and a reliable method for hearing and notating pitch and rhythm under exam conditions.
A focused answer to the dictation and score-completion questions in OCR A-Level Music Section B. Covers what the tasks ask (completing missing notes, rhythm or chords on a printed extract from the prescribed work), and a step-by-step method for hearing intervals, contour, rhythm and harmony and notating them accurately within the set number of playings.
15 min answer →

How do I relate the prescribed work to the wider Classical style and to unfamiliar extracts in the exam?

Relating the prescribed work to its Classical context and to unfamiliar Section A extracts: using the set work as a reference point to identify and compare the style, structures and devices of Classical music heard cold.
A focused answer to placing the prescribed work in context for OCR A-Level Music. Covers using the set work as a reference point for the Classical style, distinguishing its typical and distinctive features, and applying that knowledge to identify and compare unfamiliar Section A extracts and to argue Section C essays on Classical instrumental music.
15 min answer →

What is the prescribed work in OCR A-Level Music, and how does Section B examine it?

The prescribed work for Area of Study 1 (a named Classical work studied from the score, currently Haydn's Symphony No. 103 'Drum Roll'), what it requires, and how Section B of H543/05 examines it through structured listening and dictation.
A focused answer to the prescribed work in OCR A-Level Music. Explains what a prescribed work is, the current set work (Haydn's Symphony No. 103, the Drum Roll), why it changes on a published cycle, what you must know about it from the score, and how Section B of the Listening and Appraising paper examines it through structured listening and dictation.
15 min answer →