A Level Music is made up of, one written examination paper and two externally assessed components. It is designed to develop the student’s musical competency over 3 key areas. Performance 30%, Composing 30% and Appraising/ Analysis 40%. The first assessment component is based on the student’s ability to perform on their chosen instrument. The students are required to perform at grade 7 level and must have an ability to read and analyse music. A recital programme of at least 8 minutes performing time is required. For the composing component, each student will develop 2 compositions. One, set to a brief provided by the examination board and one must be from a list of briefs assessing compositional technique. The compositions must be a minimum of 6 minutes in duration. The 3rd and final component focuses on a student’s knowledge and understanding of musical elements, contexts and language. The music studied is broken up into 6 areas of study, each with 3 set works. The focus is on Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, Music for Film, Popular Music and Jazz, New Directions and Fusions. This work will be assessed by a 2 hour listening examination that takes place at the completion of the 2 year course.