A Level Part A

Part A: Aural awareness (28 marks)

·         30 minutes, including 5 minutes for reading the paper. 2 main questions:

·         Question 1 = compare 2 excerpts of music. They will be played 3 times each (in the order A-B, A-B, A-B) and there will be no score to follow. You will have to answer short questions that will focus on the similarities and differences between the 2 extracts. They are likely to refer to resources (instruments and/or voices) and ask for comparisons in the way they are used. You will then be asked to place the music into its context, by suggesting the type of work from which it is taken, the name of the likely composer and the probable date when it was written.

·         Question 2 will consist of a single extract heard 5 times (with pauses), for which there will be a skeleton score. You will have to:

o   Notate a short section of the music you hear, such as a couple of bars of melody or brass

o   Identify some chords (which could include chromatic chords such as diminished 7^th, augmented 6^th and Neapolitan 6^th)

o   Recognise certain standard chord progressions (such as cadence patterns and the circle of 5ths)

o   Identify one or more modulations to related keys (the relative minor or major, the dominant and its relative minor or major, and the subdominant and its relative minor or major)

o   Again, you are likely to be asked to suggest the type of work from which the extract is taken, and to name a likely composer and date when it was written.

The difference from AS music is that you will be working with unfamiliar music rather than the set works that you have studied. Listening to Radio 3 or Classic FM’s morning and teatime broadcasts will help you! Try and identify the music being played (composer, period and musical characteristics). You can check your answer when the presenter identifies the piece after it has finished.