CCEA A-Level Music Unit 1 Performing and Appraising: a complete overview of the recital, viva and how it is marked

What this unit demands

Unit 1 Performing and Appraising is the practical heart of CCEA A-Level Music, examined as coursework rather than by a written paper. You record a solo recital and then discuss it in a viva voce with a visiting CCEA examiner. The unit tests two linked things: that you can perform musically and reliably at the expected standard, and that you understand the music well enough to talk about it. Performing runs across both years, at about Grade 4 standard at AS and about Grade 6 at A2.

This guide explains the format, the standards, the marking criteria and how to plan and prepare a recital that scores well. Because performing is judged by your own playing rather than by a body of examinable facts, it has a single overview dot point; the listening and harmony content that can be tested in writing sits in the AS 3 and A2 3 Responding to Music modules.

The format: recital plus viva

The performance is a single continuous solo recital on your chosen instrument or voice, recorded as the assessed evidence and marked by a visiting examiner. After the recital comes the viva voce, a short spoken discussion in which the examiner probes your understanding: the style and composer of each piece, the interpretative decisions you made, and the technical challenges you met. The viva is why learning notes alone is not enough; you must be able to explain your music.

The standards: Grade 4 and Grade 6

CCEA describes the expected difficulty in graded-music terms. AS should be at a standard equivalent to about Grade 4, and A2 at about Grade 6. These are guides to the technical demand of the repertoire you choose, not a requirement to have sat those exams. The standard itself is assessed, so pitching too low caps the technical-demand marks and pitching too high risks insecurity. The art is to select repertoire at or just above the target that you can still play musically and reliably.

The assessment criteria

The marks reward four linked qualities in the recital, plus understanding in the viva:

• Accuracy. Correct notes and rhythms, and secure intonation, which matters most for singers, string and wind players.
• Technical control. Fluency, evenness, control of tone and command of the techniques your instrument demands.
• Interpretation. Tempo, dynamics, phrasing and articulation chosen to suit the style and the composer's markings.
• Communication. A genuine sense of performing to an audience and projecting the music's character, not just getting through it.
• Musical understanding (viva). Talking accurately and knowledgeably about your pieces and your choices.

How to plan a recital

Performing rewards early, deliberate planning.

1. Choose contrasting repertoire at the standard. A lyrical slow piece and a faster, more brilliant one let you show tone, phrasing, fingerwork and articulation, demonstrating more of the criteria than a single mood does.
2. Secure accuracy first. Practise slowly to lock in notes, rhythms and tuning before you polish expression.
3. Shape the interpretation. Decide tempos, dynamic shaping, phrasing and articulation that suit each style, and mark them in.
4. Record early and run it through. Hear what the examiner will hear, especially intonation, and build reliability with full performance run-throughs.
5. Prepare the viva. Be ready to discuss each piece's style, your interpretative decisions and the technical problems you solved.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall and applied questions on the performing unit. Plan your answers, then check them.

1. State the two components of CCEA Unit 1 Performing. (2 marks)
2. What standard of repertoire is expected at AS and at A2? (2 marks)
3. Name the four qualities the recital marks reward. (4 marks)
4. Explain why choosing pieces below the target standard limits a candidate's marks. (2 marks)
5. What does the viva voce assess, and how should a candidate prepare for it? (3 marks)
6. Why does the single continuous recording reward reliability over individual polish? (2 marks)