Download A LEVEL MUSIC FROM 2016

A LEVEL MUSIC FROM 2017
What you will need to do.
The Music course
• Just as with your GCSE Music course at the
moment, there are three components.
• PERFORMING
• COMPOSING
• APPRAISING
• You will have four or five hour long lessons
each week and you will need to continue your
music tuition with your instrumental teacher.
The Music course
• PERFORMING is recorded in the last term of
the Upper Sixth and takes the form of a
recital, but not a very long one at 8 minutes.
The standard level is Grade 7 and there could
be more credit for playing pieces of a Grade 8
standard, depending on how well these are
played.
The Music course
• COMPOSING will involve a free composition or
one to a brief, and a second one that assesses
compositional techniques, usually in the form
of the four-part Bach chorale. Note that at
GCSE you are writing two pieces that fit with
two areas of study, but at A Level, one of them
can be totally free.
The Music course
• APPRAISING is like the set works paper at GCSE,
although you have to develop a knowledge of
other works that are similar to those set. So for
instance, one of the areas is film music and along
with studying Bernard Hermann’s music to
Psycho, Rachel Portman’s music to The Duchess
and Danny Elfman’s music to Batman, you would
need to listen to some other similar film scores.
There are 18 set works altogether and they range
from a wide variety of styles and countries.
Why Take it?
• Here are some key things which might help you decide
whether or not to take the subject at A Level.
• Clear and coherent structure – three engaging
components, assessed through practical performances,
compositions and one externally examined paper.
• Provides a real music focus – the key content of musical
elements, contents and language are taught through the
Areas of Study and set work to show real examples of how
these are used within different types of music .
• Holistic understanding of music – you would investigate,
analyse and evaluate music and its features and use this to
inform your playing composing and listening.
Why take it?
• Breadth and depth – the set works will enable you to conduct in
depth studies into different musical styles and genres, and place
these within a wider context
• Diverse musical heritage – you will learn to perform, compose and
appreciate different types of music, developing critical and creative
thinking, cultural, aesthetic and emotional awareness, and the
ability to make music individually and as part of a group.
• Continuous progression - the content builds on the understanding
developed at KS4, avoiding unnecessary repetition
• Progression to Higher Education – the content will allow you to
develop your knowledge and skills in music, enabling you to
progress into undergraduate music or music related degree courses
The Details
• The next slides are taken from the
Specification and explain in a little more detail
what I have already mentioned, including a
full list of the set works.
• If you have any questions, just ask!
PERFORMING
COMPOSING
APPRAISING
APPRAISING
SET WORKS-these are all available on
Moodle if you want to listen!