Music

Course summary

The Edexcel course leads on naturally from GCSE and has the advantage that many of the musical activities undertaken by Harrow musicians will count towards their examination. However, the course is very broad and much more than simply an extension of instrumental study. The A-level develops skills in analysis and close listening, harmony and counterpoint, and free and stylistic composition. An extremely wide range of music is studied and boys develop the confidence and ability to engage maturely and intelligently with unfamiliar works and styles. As a serious and rigorous subject that is highly regarded by top universities, A-level Music helps to develop not only musical awareness but also other core academic skills such as essay writing and independent research. The subject combines well with both humanities and sciences in this regard. Although an A-level in Music demonstrates a wide range of abilities to admissions tutors across all subjects, many boys discover while studying Music that they would like to pursue it further at university. In recent years, Harrovians have been awarded choral and organ scholarships to prestigious Oxbridge colleges and achieved outstanding first-class degrees in Music.