How do you write two contrasting WJEC A-Level compositions, one to a set brief and one free, that handle the musical elements convincingly and meet the time and notation requirements?
Composing (Component 2, non-examined assessment): two compositions of 4 to 6 minutes total, one written in response to a WJEC set brief and one a free composition, assessed for handling of musical elements, structure and idiomatic writing, submitted with a score or written account and a recording.
An overview of WJEC A-Level Music Component 2 (Composing): the two compositions totalling 4 to 6 minutes, one to a WJEC brief and one free, how handling of the musical elements and structure is marked, and how the score, written account and recording are submitted.
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What this dot point is asking
Component 2 is the Composing part of WJEC A-Level Music. It is non-examined assessment (coursework), and it asks you to submit two compositions totalling 4 to 6 minutes: one written in response to a WJEC set brief and one a free composition of your own. The marker rewards how well you handle the musical elements, build structure and write idiomatically for your chosen forces. This overview maps the task and how to prepare.
The answer
The two compositions
The brief typically fixes some parameters: it may specify a style, a mood, a set of instruments or voices, or a stimulus to respond to, and it is often linked to an area of study from the Appraising component. The free composition lets you choose everything, which is where personal style and imagination show. Making the two pieces contrast (in style, forces or mood) helps demonstrate range.
What the marker rewards
The brief composition is also judged on how convincingly it answers the brief (does it sound like the required style, use the required forces, capture the required mood?). The free composition is judged on imagination and coherence.
Craft: develop, do not just collect
A strong composition takes a small amount of memorable material and develops it. A motif can be sequenced, inverted, fragmented or reharmonised; harmony can modulate to a related key and return; texture can thicken at a climax and thin elsewhere; rhythm can drive or relax to mark sections. A clear structure (an ABA, verse-chorus, theme and variations, or coherent through-composed shape) gives the listener a sense of journey. Music that is idiomatic and playable scores above ideas that look good on the page but do not sound.
Examples in context
Worked example (a brief plus a free piece). A candidate answers a WJEC brief asking for a piece in a jazz style for a small ensemble by writing a 32 bar swing number with a walking bass, a memorable head, ii to V to I progressions and an improvised-style solo chorus, capturing the required idiom. For the free composition they write a contrasting reflective piece for solo piano in ternary form, opening with a lyrical theme in a minor key, modulating to the relative major for a central section, and returning to the opening transformed. The two together run to about five minutes, contrast strongly, and each is submitted with a score and a recording, showing range and control of the elements.
Try this
Q1. How many compositions are required and what is their combined length? [2 marks]
- Cue. Two compositions totalling 4 to 6 minutes, one to a WJEC brief and one free.
Q2. What extra thing is the brief composition judged on, beyond general craft? [2 marks]
- Cue. How convincingly it answers the brief (the required style, forces and mood).
Q3. Explain why developing material matters more than simply having many ideas. [6 marks]
- What the marker wants. That a small amount of strong material, developed through the elements (sequenced or reharmonised motifs, purposeful harmony, shaped texture) and given a clear structure, produces a coherent piece, while many unrelated ideas sound disjointed.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC NEA18 marksOutline how a candidate should approach the two Component 2 compositions, and explain what the marker rewards in each.Show worked answer →
Composing is non-examined coursework, so the "marks" describe the assessment grid rather than a written paper.
Brief composition: WJEC sets a list of briefs each year, often tied to an area of study or a defined stimulus, style or set of forces. The candidate selects one and writes to its requirements. The marker rewards how convincingly the brief is answered (style, forces, mood) alongside technical control.
Free composition: the candidate chooses their own starting point, style and forces. The marker rewards imagination and a coherent, well-developed piece.
Across both, the grid rewards handling of the musical elements (melody, harmony, tonality, rhythm, texture, structure and instrumentation), idiomatic writing for the chosen forces, a clear sense of structure and development, and accurate notation or a clear written account.
A top answer adds that the two pieces together total 4 to 6 minutes, that each is submitted with a score or detailed written account and a recording, and that contrast between the two pieces helps show range.
WJEC NEA12 marksExplain why developing material matters more than simply having many ideas in a composition, with reference to the musical elements.Show worked answer →
A focused question on craft, testing understanding of development.
Many unrelated ideas produce a disjointed piece. The marker rewards a small amount of strong material that is developed, so motifs return transformed, harmony moves with purpose, and texture and dynamics shape a clear structure.
Reference the elements: a memorable melodic motif can be sequenced, inverted or reharmonised; harmony can modulate to a related key and return; texture can thicken at a climax; rhythm can drive or relax to mark sections.
Strong answers note that structure (for example a clear ABA, verse-chorus or through-composed shape) gives the listener a sense of journey, and that idiomatic writing for the forces (playable, well-voiced) is rewarded over ideas that look good on paper but do not sound.
Related dot points
- Performing (Component 1, non-examined assessment): a recorded recital of 10 to 12 minutes on one or more instruments or voice, assessed for accuracy, technical control, interpretation and communication, with a choice of solo and ensemble routes.
An overview of WJEC A-Level Music Component 1 (Performing): the 10 to 12 minute recorded recital, the solo and ensemble options, how accuracy, technical control and interpretation are marked, and how to choose a programme and prepare a strong submission.
- Melody and harmony: describing melodic features (conjunct and disjunct motion, range, sequence, ornamentation, phrasing, motif), chords and progressions, consonance and dissonance, and the difference between diatonic, chromatic and modal harmony, applied to listening extracts in any style.
A WJEC A-Level Music study of melody and harmony for the Appraising listening exam: melodic features (conjunct and disjunct motion, range, sequence, ornamentation, motif), chords and progressions, consonance and dissonance, and diatonic, chromatic and modal harmony, applied to any style of music.
- Tonality and structure: identifying major, minor, modal and atonal tonality, key relationships and modulation, and recognising musical structures (binary, ternary, rondo, sonata, variations, verse-chorus, head-solos-head, strophic, through-composed), applied to listening extracts in any style.
A WJEC A-Level Music study of tonality and structure for the Appraising listening exam: major, minor, modal and atonal tonality, key relationships and modulation, and the main musical structures (binary, ternary, rondo, sonata, variations, verse-chorus, head-solos-head, strophic, through-composed), applied to any style.
- Rhythm, texture and sonority: describing rhythm and metre (note values, syncopation, dotted rhythms, hemiola, time signatures), texture (monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic, heterophonic, antiphonal), and sonority and dynamics (instrumental and vocal timbre, articulation, tempo), applied to listening extracts in any style.
A WJEC A-Level Music study of rhythm, texture and sonority for the Appraising listening exam: rhythm and metre (syncopation, dotted rhythms, hemiola, time signatures), texture (monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic, heterophonic), and sonority, dynamics and tempo, applied to any style of music.
- Musical Theatre area of study: the song types (solo number, duet, ensemble, chorus), the use of music to convey character and drama, leitmotif and underscoring, the pit-orchestra forces and the conventions of the genre, recognised in listening extracts.
A WJEC A-Level Music study of the Musical Theatre optional area of study: the song types (solo, duet, ensemble, chorus), music conveying character and drama, leitmotif and underscoring, the pit orchestra and genre conventions, for recognising and describing the style in the Appraising listening exam.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC GCE AS/A Level in Music specification (from 2016) — WJEC (2016)