Music

Assessment

Component 1: Performing (30%). A total of eight minutes of solo or ensemble performance, recorded in school and moderated by external examiners. A total of 60 marks is available with 12 of these allocated to the difficulty of the piece. Component 2: Composing (30%). Two compositions/tasks. One is a composition of own choice or to a brief set by EDEXCEL in September of the second year on the course. The piece must last for at least five minutes. The second task assesses technique. There is a choice of task: either harmonising two hymn tunes in the style of Bach or creating an arrangement of a given melody (often a folk song). For the Bach option, the soprano line is given, and candidates are expected to add the Alto, Tenor and Bass line in the appropriate style. One tune is likely to be in a major key and the other in a minor key. The folk arrangement is normally for an ensemble of three or four instruments. A total of 60 marks is available, 40 for composing and 20 for the technique’s questions. Component 3: Appraising (40%) Terminal Exam. Pieces of music will be analysed from six Areas of Study: Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, Music for Film, Popular Music and Jazz, Fusions, New Directions. The final exam lasts for 2 hours 10 minutes and has 100 marks available. The exam will include unseen music which needs to be compared with works studied during the course.