MusicQ&A by dot point

The A2 test of aural perception and unprepared score study: advanced recognition of harmony, modulation, cadences, texture and devices by ear, dictation, and the analysis of an unfamiliar score, identifying chords, keys, structure and stylistic features without prior study, as examined in the A2 Unit 3 listening paper.

Area of Study: Music for Orchestra in the Twentieth Century. Twentieth-century orchestral styles including impressionism, neoclassicism, nationalism and modernism, the techniques composers used (new harmony, rhythm, timbre and form), the set works studied for this area, and how to identify and analyse twentieth-century orchestral music in the listening and written paper.

Area of Study: Sacred Vocal Music (Mass and Requiem). The structure and texts of the Mass and the Requiem Mass, the development of settings from Renaissance polyphony to later styles, choral and orchestral forces, word setting and text expression, and the set works studied for this area, as examined in the listening and written paper.

Area of Study: Secular Vocal Music (1600 to the present day). The development of secular song and vocal music across the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and modern eras, including aria and recitative, the Lied and the art song, word setting and the voice-accompaniment relationship, and the set works studied for this area, as examined in the listening and written paper.

The performing coursework (AS Unit 1 and A2 Unit 1): a recorded solo recital plus viva voce, the AS Grade 4 and A2 Grade 6 standards, the assessment criteria, and how to prepare a programme that secures marks for technical control, interpretation and communication.

The composing coursework (AS Unit 2 and A2 Unit 2): one free-brief composition submitted as a recorded performance with an optional score, the freedom of style and resources, and how to develop musical ideas, structure and texture to meet the assessment criteria.

The AS test of aural perception: identifying intervals, chords, cadences, keys, metre and rhythm by ear, melodic and rhythmic dictation, recognising instruments, textures and devices, and spotting errors against a printed score, as examined in the AS Unit 3 aural paper.

The musical elements and harmonic language underpinning Responding to Music: the elements (melody, harmony, tonality, rhythm, metre, texture, timbre, dynamics, articulation, structure), diatonic chords and Roman-numeral and figured-bass labelling, keys and modulation to related keys, common devices, and reading a score, as applied across the Areas of Study.

Area of Study: Music for Orchestra 1700-1900. The development of the orchestra and orchestral genres across the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods, including the concerto grosso, the symphony, sonata form, the growth of the orchestra, and the stylistic features that identify each period in a listening and score-based exam.

Area of Study: Sacred Vocal Music (Anthems). The English anthem and related sacred choral music, the distinction between verse and full anthems, word setting, the use of choir, soloists and accompaniment, and the textures, harmony and text expression examined in the listening and written paper.

Area of Study: Secular Vocal Music (Musicals). Music for the stage musical, including song types and structures (verse-chorus, the thirty-two-bar AABA form, ballads and up-tempo numbers), the role of song in drama, ensemble and chorus numbers, accompaniment and orchestration, and the stylistic features examined in the listening and written paper.