How do you build, record and present a polished WJEC A-Level performance that meets the time limit and rewards control, accuracy and musicality?
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.
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What this dot point is asking
Component 1 is the Performing part of WJEC A-Level Music. It is non-examined assessment (coursework, marked from a recording rather than a written exam), and it asks you to present a recorded recital of 10 to 12 minutes on one or more instruments or voice. The marker rewards accuracy, technical control, interpretation and communication. This overview maps the route, the options and how to prepare a strong submission.
The answer
What you submit
The recital is a recording of 10 to 12 minutes of performing. You may perform on any one instrument, on more than one, or as a vocalist, and you may combine solo items with accompanied or ensemble items within the programme. The recording should capture each piece continuously and without edits, in a space and with a microphone placement that captures a clear, balanced sound. Programme notes or a track list usually accompany the submission so the marker knows what is being performed.
How it is marked
A performance is judged as a whole, so consistency counts: a single secure, musical run-through of the programme is the goal. The hardest passages are where accuracy is tested most, but the easy passages are where musical shaping and control are most visible, so neither can be neglected.
Difficulty and programme choice
Choose pieces that contrast in style, tempo and character, so the recital shows breadth (for example a lyrical slow movement against a brisk, articulate one). Place the most demanding item where you are warmed up but not tired, and pace the programme so stamina holds across the full window.
Examples in context
Worked example (programming a 12 minute recital). A clarinettist might open with a secure, lyrical Romantic piece to settle nerves and show tone, follow with a faster Classical movement that displays articulation and finger technique, and close with a contrasting jazz or folk-influenced number that demonstrates style and communication. The total is timed to sit inside 10 to 12 minutes, an accompanist is rehearsed in advance, and the whole programme is recorded in one session in a room with a clear acoustic. The result shows accuracy (clean technique across three styles), interpretation (different shaping for each), and range, which together reach the higher bands.
Try this
Q1. How long must the Component 1 recital be? [2 marks]
- Cue. Between 10 and 12 minutes of performing.
Q2. Name the two main strands the recital is marked for. [2 marks]
- Cue. Accuracy and technical control, and interpretation and communication.
Q3. Why might a secure performance of moderately difficult pieces score better than a flawed attempt at very hard ones? [6 marks]
- What the marker wants. An explanation that the top bands need demanding repertoire delivered securely, so accuracy and musical control across the whole programme outweigh raw difficulty that breaks down.
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 marksA candidate plans a 12 minute clarinet recital. Outline how the marker rewards accuracy, technical control and interpretation, and how programme choice affects the mark.Show worked answer →
Performing is non-examined coursework, so there is no written paper. The "marks" here describe the assessment grid a visiting or recorded-submission examiner applies.
Accuracy and technical control: the examiner rewards correct notes and rhythms, secure intonation, clean articulation and reliable technique sustained across the whole programme, not just in easy passages.
Interpretation and communication: shaping of phrases, control of dynamics and tempo, stylistic awareness (so a Mozart movement and a jazz standard are shaped differently), and a sense of performing to a listener.
Programme choice matters because more demanding repertoire allows access to the highest marks only if it is delivered securely. A clean, musical performance of moderately difficult pieces usually scores better than a flawed attempt at very hard ones.
A top answer notes the 10 to 12 minute window must be met, that the programme can mix solo and accompanied items, and that the recording must be unedited and continuous within each piece.
WJEC NEA12 marksExplain two decisions a candidate should make early when preparing the Component 1 recital, and why each affects the final mark.Show worked answer →
A short planning question testing understanding of how the recital is built and assessed.
Decision one, repertoire and difficulty: choose pieces that show range (contrast of style, tempo and character) but can be performed accurately. Over-ambitious choices that break down lose more marks than secure, musical performances of slightly easier works.
Decision two, timing and order: the total must fall between 10 and 12 minutes, so pieces are chosen and ordered to fit the window and to pace stamina, often opening with something secure and placing the most demanding item where the performer is warmed up but not tired.
Strong answers add that an accompanist or backing should be rehearsed in advance, that the recording space and microphone placement affect captured sonority, and that one clear recording of the whole programme is submitted.
Related dot points
- 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.
- 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.
- The development of the symphony 1750 to 1900: the rise of the four-movement Classical symphony, sonata form, the growth of the orchestra, and the move towards the larger, more expressive Romantic symphony, the compulsory Area of Study A context for the WJEC set works.
A WJEC A-Level Music study of the development of the symphony from 1750 to 1900: the four-movement Classical plan, sonata form, the growing orchestra, and the shift to the larger, more expressive Romantic symphony, the context for the Haydn and Mendelssohn set works in Area of Study A.
- Jazz area of study: the features of jazz including swing rhythm, improvisation, the head-solos-head structure, extended and altered chords (sevenths, ninths), the walking bass and comping, blues influence, and the main styles, recognised in listening extracts.
A WJEC A-Level Music study of the Jazz optional area of study: swing rhythm, improvisation, head-solos-head structure, extended and altered chords, walking bass and comping, the blues influence and the main jazz styles, 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)