Download Help with analysing in listening tests

A level Music
Questions you should ask yourself when having to describe, compare or analyse an
extract of music in a listening test.
Melody
 Is it conjunct or disjunct?
 Is it phrased regularly or irregularly?
 Is it treated in sequence, repeated a lot, developed in a cellular way?
 Does it feature any particular intervals (eg tritone)
 Is it varied in pitch, instrumentation etc?
 How is the melody structured?
 Is there a countermelody?
 Any imitation?
Harmony/Tonality
 Is it diatonic or chromatic?
 Does it use mainly primary chords? Is it ‘functional’?
 Are different harmonic progressions used when passages are repeated?
 Are there modulations? How do they affect the music? Are they to related
keys or not?
 Major, minor, modal, chromatic or atonal? Does it vary?
 Are dissonant passages bitonal or atonal, or just brief chromatic passages
intended to colour the music?
 Is the harmonic rhythm quick or slow? Does it change?
 Use of suspensions or harmonic sequences? Circle of 5ths?
 Pedal notes? Are they in the bass or inverted? Tonic or dominant pedals?
Rhythm
 What is the metre? Is it simple or compound?
 Is there use of dotted rhythms, double dots, scotch snaps (reverse dots!),
triplets, or other notable types of rhythm?
 Regular or irregular rhythms?
 Does rhythm play an important part in the melody/accompaniment?
 Does the composer make use of ostinato?
 Is there syncopation or other sorts of rhythmic interest?
 Any use of polyrhythm or cross rhythms?
Texture
 What use is made of homophonic, polyphonic, monophonic or heterophonic
textures? Is it melody dominated? Is there antiphony?
 How is the texture varied or contrasted?
 Is texture increased or decreased to provide structural points of interest?
Instrumentation
 Are instruments treated individually or as groups? Is one orchestral section
particularly prominent?
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Are melodic ideas shared around instruments or associated with one
instrument?
Tessitura?
Any special combinations of instruments – colouristic effects? Any unusual
instruments?
Don’t forget percussion and voices!
Any specific playing instructions – pizzicato, tremolo, fluttertounging, mutes
etc?
Structure
 If the extract is long enough to ascertain, what is its structure?
 Is there much use of repetition or ABA forms?
 What devices are used to increase or decrease tension?
 Is the piece programmatic
Other
 Any interesting use of dynamics?
 Any other devices not mentioned above?