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AS Unit 3 Responding to Music

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What aural skills does the AS listening test demand, and how do you hear and notate music accurately?

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.
A CCEA A-Level Music answer on the AS test of aural perception: recognising intervals, chords, cadences, keys and metre by ear, taking melodic and rhythmic dictation, identifying instruments, textures and devices, and detecting errors against a printed score, with the listening strategies the AS Unit 3 aural paper rewards.
12 min answer →

What musical vocabulary, harmony and score-reading skills underpin the listening and written 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.
A CCEA A-Level Music answer on the musical elements and harmonic language behind Responding to Music: melody, harmony, tonality, rhythm, metre, texture, timbre, dynamics and structure, diatonic chords with Roman-numeral and figured-bass labelling, keys and modulation to related keys, common devices, and how to read a score and apply this vocabulary across the Areas of Study.
13 min answer →

How did orchestral music develop from the Baroque to the Romantic, and what features identify each period?

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.
A CCEA A-Level Music answer on the Area of Study Music for Orchestra 1700 to 1900: how the orchestra and its genres developed across the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods, the concerto grosso, the Classical symphony and sonata form, the growth of the orchestra, and the stylistic features used to identify period and date music by ear and from a score.
13 min answer →

What is an anthem, and how did sacred choral music for the church develop in style and texture?

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.
A CCEA A-Level Music answer on the Area of Study Sacred Vocal Music (Anthems): what an anthem is, the difference between verse and full anthems, word setting and text expression, choral textures from homophony to polyphony, the role of soloists, choir and organ, and how to describe and identify sacred choral music in the exam.
13 min answer →

How is music used in musical theatre, and what features identify songs and numbers from the musicals?

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.
A CCEA A-Level Music answer on the Area of Study Secular Vocal Music (Musicals): the music of stage musical theatre, song types and structures including verse-chorus and thirty-two-bar AABA form, ballads and up-tempo numbers, how song carries character and drama, ensemble and chorus writing, accompaniment and orchestration, and how to describe and identify musical-theatre numbers in the exam.
13 min answer →