Music

Assessment

Component 1 (40%) Appraising Music is by written examination. This includes general listening to unfamiliar music and several analysis questions chosen from three areas of study encompassing the Western Classical Tradition; The Baroque Concerto, Mozart Operas, and Romantic Piano Music. Further unfamiliar listening to music and an essay question is then chosen from two other subareas; popular, media, musical theatre, jazz, contemporary traditional & art music since 1910. Although we take pupil experience and strengths into account, we currently choose to focus on musical theatre and jazz. Component 2 (35%) Performing coursework is externally moderated. The maximum level of demand, scoring the highest marks, is grade 8 and the final submission, recorded at the end of the course, must be at least ten minutes of solo music. Component 3 (25%) Composing coursework is externally assessed. Here, students get the opportunity to learn how to harmonize and compose two pieces of music of at least 4 and a half minutes duration; one in response to several set briefs and one free composition