MusicQ&A by dot point

The musical elements used to appraise music: melody, harmony, tonality, rhythm and metre, tempo, dynamics, texture, timbre and instrumentation (sonority), and structure or form, together with the technical vocabulary and notation knowledge needed to describe them precisely.

The structure of Unit 3 Appraising: a written listening paper of about one hour worth 72 marks (30 percent), with eight questions, two on each of the four areas of study, including two on the set works, testing aural skills, analysis of the musical elements, musical context and correct terminology.

How film music supports storytelling, atmosphere and character in Area of Study 3: leitmotif and thematic transformation, underscore, diegetic and non-diegetic music, mickey-mousing, the use of tempo, dynamics, instrumentation and tonality to set mood, and techniques such as minimalism and music technology.

The genres and groupings of Area of Study 2, Music for Ensemble: chamber music, musical theatre, and jazz and blues, alongside Welsh ensemble traditions such as cerdd dant, and the typical groupings (string quartet, rhythm section, vocal ensemble) and how parts combine and balance.

The textures studied in Area of Study 2, Music for Ensemble: monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic or contrapuntal, melody and accompaniment, canon, antiphony and heterophony, and how each describes the way the parts in an ensemble combine.

The compositional devices and harmony of Area of Study 1: sequence, ostinato, pedal, syncopation, imitation and canon, together with the harmonic language of the Western Classical Tradition including primary chords, cadences, modulation and major or minor tonality.

The forms of the Western Classical Tradition (about 1650 to 1910) studied in Area of Study 1: binary, ternary, minuet and trio, rondo, theme and variations, and strophic form, and how each is built from repetition, contrast and the return of material.

The Area of Study 1 set work, Anitra's Dance from Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No.1: its ternary structure, light string-and-triangle scoring, triple-time mazurka dance character, minor tonality with chromatic colour, and the use of pizzicato, grace notes and dynamic contrast to paint Anitra's seductive dance.

An overview of the two practical non-examined units: Unit 1 Performing (35 percent), a solo and an ensemble performance with one piece linked to an area of study and a programme note; and Unit 2 Composing (35 percent), two compositions, one free and one to a WJEC-set brief, with an evaluation.

The genres, forms and features of Area of Study 4, Popular Music: pop, rock, soul, hip-hop and fusion styles, the common forms (verse-chorus, twelve-bar blues, thirty-two-bar AABA), and the typical features such as riffs, hooks, sampling, looping, improvisation and vocal techniques.

The Area of Study 4 set work, Everything Must Go by the Manic Street Preachers: its verse-chorus structure, rock-band line-up enriched by strings, its major tonality and anthemic chorus, the use of riffs, layered texture and dynamic build, and how the band create a powerful, uplifting pop-rock song.