Key Stage 5 Music
Music and Music Technology are the options available for those students who wish to study music at Arden Sixth Form. Both of these subjects follow the Edexcel syllabus.
AS Music
Outline
The structure of the course is very much in line with the GCSE course with three units. Units 1 and 2 are completed under controlled conditions.
Unit 1: Performing Music (30%)
Students are required to perform for between 5-6 minutes. The performance could be one piece or a selection of works that meet the time requirement. Students can also perform on more than one instrument.
Unit 2: Composing (30%)
Students are required to compose a three minute work based on one of the briefs which the exam board sets at the beginning of the academic year.
Unit 3: Developing Musical Understanding (40%)
This two hour exam is taken at the end of the Year 12, it is divided into three sections:
- Listening (32 marks)
- Investigating musical styles (28 marks)
- Understanding chords and lines (20 marks)
A2 Music
Outline
A2 builds on the skills introduced at AS and are divided into three units.
Unit 4: Extended Performance (30%)
The same rules and options apply at A2 with the performance lasting between 12 and 15 minutes.
Unit 5: Composition and Technical Study (30%)
Students can complete this unit in a number of different ways; either by writing two compositions or two technical studies, or one composition and one technical study. The exam board set a brief for the composition at the beginning of the academic year. There are three options for the technical study; Baroque counterpoint, chorale or popular song.
Unit 6: Further Musical Understanding (40%)
The A2 exam is sat at the end of the academic year and is divided into three sections:
- Part A: Listening - Comparison and Aural Awareness (28 marks)
- Part B: Music in Context (26 marks)
- Part C: Continuity and Change in Instrumental Music (36 marks)
