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Archive | AS Level

Week-by-week record of work in AS Music lessons, with access to copies of worksheets and homework tasks.

22.01.15

Good to get back into things after exams today. We reviewed the exam, including the chorale, all the listening, essays and unseen harmonic analysis. Click here to review the EDEXCEL mark scheme. We also had a chat about how the chorale question builds into a more challenging and longer task in Unit 5 of A2. […]

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11.12.14

Well done, loads to get through in the last formal lesson before the mock exam in January. Use the revision document to do general preparation for the exam. Planning your time is very important, and think carefully about the order that you do everything in. Remember, the listening questions come first and it takes 25 […]

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A-Level Music

04.12.14

Well done, we got through a lot of work today in two hours. We’ve explored minor chorales in preparation for the mock exam, with Chorale 13 and Chorale 14. Chorale answer 12 is here. Remember to use the harmonic minor scale for the chords you write, and the melodic minor version for any passing notes. […]

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A-Level Music

27.11.14

This week’s chorale is again not in G major, and last week’s answer can be viewed here. Tom’s listening examples were: Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell (2000), Bach’s Air on a G String (1732) and Schubert’s March Militaire (1817). The homework’s here. See you next week.

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A-Level Music

20.11.14

We managed to get there with the analysis of the development section of Mozart’s Piano Sonata in Bb, K. 333, first movement, but it is hard going, trying to picky your way through the tonality when it keeps modulating, isn’t it? You must know this information accurately for the exam, so it is important that […]

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A-Level Music

13.11.14

I like the composition ideas that everyone has got, and I am sure that you’re going to write some great pieces. Remember that you are only allowed 15 hours of proper write-up time, but can do as much in rough as possible. The more you do early, the less stressful it will be. Interesting listening […]

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A-Level Music

06.11.14

This week’s chorale is the first one not in G major! Let’s see if that puts you off or not. Remember to prepare and resolve all suspensions and 7ths. Last week’s answer is here. The margin for error here is small isn’t it, as we discovered from the A, C and E grade answers we […]

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A-Level Music

23.10.14

Well done today – the first attempt at listening is tough and it takes time to try and work out what they are after when the question asks you to ‘describe’ for 3 0r 4 marks. They are open-ended questions, which are not easy to grasp… Nonetheless, grasp them we must! I was pleased with […]

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A-Level Music

16.10.14

A good lesson today, focusing on composition to begin with, followed by listening. Start to think more carefully about which of this year’s composition tasks you are going to attempt. There is the opportunity for a local orchestra to perform your pieces, particularly if you are interested in the film task, A River’s Journey. It was […]

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A-Level Music

09.10.14

Well done today, particularly with your harmony work. As we get into it more, the rules that we develop become more flexible in their use. Remember to treat the leading note with care, and avoid parallel fifths where possible. We listened to Corelli’s Concerto Grosso no.4  in D, to compare it to the Bach piece […]

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A-Level Music

02.10.14

It was good to get everyone composing today – try and build on your chord sequence for next week. Also, I can see harmony moving in the right direction too. Any problems with the homework, please email. See you next week.

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A-Level Music

25.09.14

Well done today – more harmony! Working through the method sheet to help you write better harmony and eliminate errors will take a bit of practice, but if we keep trying one a week, then we will get there. Remember, when the question is marked /12, one mark costs you one A-Level grade, so attention […]

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A-Level Music

18.09.14

We’re starting to get into the nitty-gritty of some of the work, and this is where patience and perseverance is needed! Analysing and writing harmony requires you to know key signatures, understand triads, and begin to investigate what sevenths and suspensions are. All of this is a far cry from the basic knowledge required at […]

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A-Level Music

11.09.14

Well done today – three hours of hard work. The quality of the analysis of the Down Ampney harmony was generally very good. We discussed how suspensions, sevenths and modulations embellish the basic harmony, but also make it trickier to analyse. We then discussed how cadences are formed, and there was a cadence sheet to have a […]

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A-Level Music

04.09.14

It was great to meet everyone today, and outline the course to you all. We listened to Handel’s Zadok the Priest, the adagio from Mozart’s Gran Partita for 13 wind instruments, and Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude, in the hope that this reminded you all of GCSE Music work. We also had a go at analysing the harmony of a […]

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