A-LEVEL Music

A-LEVEL

Music is a subject with numerous transferable skills, popular with universities and employers alike. On this course you will compose, perform and analyse music to broaden your understanding of how music works. There are a great variety of performance . Students may also apply for our Music Academy and follow a special programme alongside their normal studies; a weekly timetabled Academy session covers all instruments and voices in Classical and other idioms.

Subject requirements

Minimum GCSE of 5 in Music + Grade 5 on an Instrument + Grade 5 in Theory

Teacher to contact/Music Area Coordinator - Miss C Law 
Music Curriculum Assistant - Mrs E Ure
Music Curriculum Assistant - Mrs H Razzell

Course Content

Eduqas Music covers a wide variety of styles. In Year 12 we will build on our composing and performing skills from GCSE and start learning about the development of the symphony through the study of two set works. We will learn about the compositional devices of the Western Classical Tradition and how to integrate these into our own compositions in increasingly creative and sophisticated ways. We will also be studying the development of Jazz music from early Ragtime and Dixieland through to Bebop and Cool Jazz. In Year 13 we will study two set twentieth-century set works and explore a wide variety of modern and contemporary music through analysis and practical workshops.

Assessment Criteria

Year 13 assessments are undertaken as follows:

Performing and Composing (60% combined)

You can adjust the balance of both components to suit your strengths and interests: one must be 35% and the other 25% of the qualification. Candidates may perform solo or as part of an ensemble for either 6 or 10 minutes, and submit either two or three compositions across a range of genres.

Appraising (40%)

Assessed in one listening exam comprising questions on our set works as well as unseen extracts.

Exam Board: Eduqas A660QS

Are you interested in:

• Performance?
• Composition?
• Analysis?
• Listening?
• Understanding music?

Leading to a career in:

• Performance
• Teaching
• Music Production and Management
• Publishing and Journalism
• Arts Administration