leaving cert music

Mark2229

hey,
i was thinking about doing music for the leaving cert because i have an interest in it and i know i will work hard in the subject but i didnt do music for the junior cert and i was wondering if its possible to get a good grade without having done it in the junior cert?

also my school doesnt teach music as a subject so i would have to look outside school to do it, anybody know where i could go to check it out?

cheers,
mark

rainbowtrout

well first off, you're nearly half way through fifth year so you would have a lot of catching up to do on the course. Secondly, the practical side of it is worth 50%, can you sing or play a musical instrument, or will you be able to get access to the software to learn the music technology section of the course.

can you read music at all?

Mark2229

hey,
i play guitar, i have been doing so for around a year and i take regular lessons... i can read sheet music, not to a high standard but i am improving everyday. I am also learning music theory

loveandlive

you would seriously seriously need to know how to read music to attempt leaving cert music. to be honest its just not a doddly subject you really do need to know what you are doing.
with regards to theory - its not just as simple as reading music.... you really do study in depth pieces of music during the course.. i did mine a couple of years ago and bohemian rapsody by queen was on the course.. but then there were classical pieces and contemporary classical also.

seriously i would really have a think about it as its not as easy to just go into as it seems. Junior cert music would be advised really if you want a good grade.

donam321

think music is easy if your into it and enjoy it!!:)

Enid.

I went into music in 5th year without doing in in Junior Cert and I didn't find it too hard, but then again I had a good handle on reading music and the like already. I also sing so I have the practical part down

J_E

donam321 wrote: »

think music is easy if your into it and enjoy it!!:)

It's not that easy though, LC Music goes very in depth into long pieces of music, melody writing, understanding of the theory, etc. People seem to have this idea that all you do in Music is play a few tunes and you pick up your A, but it's not like that.

A Neurotic

loveandlive wrote: »

you would seriously seriously need to know how to read music to attempt leaving cert music. to be honest its just not a doddly subject you really do need to know what you are doing.
with regards to theory - its not just as simple as reading music.... you really do study in depth pieces of music during the course.. i did mine a couple of years ago and bohemian rapsody by queen was on the course.. but then there were classical pieces and contemporary classical also.

seriously i would really have a think about it as its not as easy to just go into as it seems. Junior cert music would be advised really if you want a good grade.

This is false. I started learning of the basics how to read music in the summer before 5th year. There's really nothing to it, a couple of handy mnemonics and you're sorted

OP, I was in your position. Having played guitar for around 2 years, I decided to take up music for the Leaving Cert with no prior experience of it. One of the best decisions I ever made.

The majority of the Junior Cert course is based on set works, none of which are in any way useful for Leaving Cert. So you're not nearly as far behind as you think. In fact I can recall very, very little information throughout the course that wasn't new to both me and the people who'd done Music for the JC.

I spent 6th year practicing my four guitar pieces with glee, while thinking of my poor classmates in Geography writing laborious essays for homework every weekend... If you're genuinely interested in learning about musical theory then you'll fly it. The workload is relatively light and hell, enjoyable. I know I preferred listening to this than studying Irish poetry anyway.

In the end, I got an A2. With, frankly, far less work than I put into Irish or English (both of which I got lower grades in) I can't recommend doing Music enough.

Dante

loveandlive wrote: »

you would seriously seriously need to know how to read music to attempt leaving cert music. to be honest its just not a doddly subject you really do need to know what you are doing.
with regards to theory - its not just as simple as reading music.... you really do study in depth pieces of music during the course.. i did mine a couple of years ago and bohemian rapsody by queen was on the course.. but then there were classical pieces and contemporary classical also.

seriously i would really have a think about it as its not as easy to just go into as it seems. Junior cert music would be advised really if you want a good grade.

In all fairness though, you have to do far less in music to get a good grade than in almost every other subject.

ldxo15wus6fpgm

to the lads saying you need to have done jc music:
I'm in 6th year, only started doing music this year, as in i didnt do it at all in 5th year. knew very little theory, just bits and bobs i'd learned while learning to play guitar over the last 3 years.
I can read music but not quick enough to play while reading. while i'm finding it tough to catch up my teacher seems to think i'll be alright so really it's all down to your own work rate.

To TS: if you're willing to work at it to catch up on what you've missed, by all means go for it.