Music
Centre
John of Gaunt School
Content
This subject provides opportunities to perform as a soloist and/or in ensembles. Any instruments and/or voices are acceptable as part of a 5-6 min. assessment performance. It encourages the development of compositional skills leading to the creation of a 3 min. piece from a chosen brief. A CD sleeve note will be created to explain how other pieces of music have influenced this final piece of work. The course involves listening to music and understanding how it works through the study of set pieces. Students use a score to identify harmonic and tonal features and apply this to the completion of a short and simple passage for SATB voices.
In A2 students extend their performance skills during a 12 - 15 min. assessed performance which can be as a soloist or as part of an ensemble. The students develop their compositional skills, culminating in a 3-min, composition chosen from a brief. They then study a harmonic pastiche and complete a passage in this genre. Different pieces from The Anthology of Music are studied, looking at specific elements of music. They learn how to compare and contrast excerpts, contextualize music and identify harmonic and tonal features.
Entry
A good understanding of music harmony, composition and performance.
Preferable: GCSE Music Grade C, Grade 4 Practical, Grade 5 Theory.
Attendance
One year to AS plus one further year to complete the full A Level.
Assessment
This is through a combination of exam board assessed and centre assessed coursework and examinations.
Moving on
Music is useful for anyone entering teaching as a career and particularly as a subsidiary subject for those working in primary and middle schools. It is virtually essential for anybody seeking any sort of musical career and it proves valuable for work in broadcasting and the media in general.
