Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Music- Achieving the A
-
11-03-2012 9:26pm#1
Comments
-
I'm no expert on the topic, but I'll give a few things that my teacher's always saying to do, if that helps!
For the Listening paper, what she always says is that the clue is in the name - it's a paper to test your listening abilities. In my class for example, people will know that at one point in Romeo and Juliet, the Love Theme is played by the cor anglais and viola. So if they hear the Love Theme, they'll write that down, even though if you were to listen, you'd clearly hear that that time it's played by the flute and oboe. In other words, it's all well and good learning some things off, but you really have to have good listening skills as well. But do make sure you know the works inside out!
For the essays you need to make sure you give specific musical examples. The idea behind them is that you've listened to the music, not just learned off notes. Having said that, they're only 10 marks so don't worry about them too much - I got 7/10 for my essay onSean Nósin the mocks simply by writing about features and mentioning a few famous performers.
Give as much detail as you can in your answers, particularly when it says something like "Describe what happens to the music after bar 12." We have a handy mnemonic for music description in school: DIMPAT. It pretty much covers all bases and stands for as follows:
D - Dynamics
I - Instruments
M - Metre/Mood
P - Pitch/Period
A - Atmosphere
T - Tempo/Tonality/Texture/Timbre
Be familiar with different styles and eras of music for Q6, be able to recognise what style the excerpts are. Usually it'll ask you to relate it to one of your set works too, so make sure you can find the link.
For the melody composition, has your teacher given you a structure to follow? What follow a specific structure for each bar in class and it really helps. Make sure you don't have any huge leaps in the music, or that you don't stick around the same few notes either. Know what notes go together and which ones don't sound good together. Vary your rhythm around, and NEVER use syncopation. Basically, be creative but don't go mad
Know how to do upbeat melodies and minor melodies (we haven't done minor melodies yet so I can't help there). And make sure you can pick a suitable instrument and add phrasing and dynamics (again, we haven't done dynamics yet so I can't give advice on that specifically)
For the backing chords, make sure you can identify cadence points and insert suitable chords at those points. But don't worry if you can't make a cadence, sometimes it won't work out like that. Know which chords sound good going together, and remember rules like 2 can't go to 1. Know good chord progressions (I - vi - IV - V, I - vi - ii - V, etc) Use first inversions if necessary, or just to add a bit of variety, but never double the third (i.e., using the chord A/C for example, if the note in the bass is C). Make sure you add in a suitable bass. If you find that hard, just do a simple bassline that matches the chords - you'll get most of the marks.
The main thing to focus on though is the practical, because that is the most important part. Be able to do your pieces and your technology blindfolded and you'll be fine, also don't neglect the unprepared test. I don't know how many marks it's worth, but there's no point losing out on them when it's relatively easy.
Like I said, this is just what my teacher recommends, I'm not saying that I do all of these things or that I get perfect grades or anything (Got a B2 in the mock), but it is good advice nonetheless! :P Sorry for the gigantic post.0 -
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
With the chords question, forget all the rules for the chord progressions that you know. Try your very best to use nothing but chord I, IV and V. They are the primary chords and those 3 in any format will sound good.
With the base, just remember to follow the pattern that is given as closely as possible, but the note of the chord in the base, be careful about passing notes and make sure that your notes don't clash (that the note in the melody and the bass aren't a 2nd apart eg A and B at the same time)
With the melody, it's pretty much been said. Get a good simple structure down. Have the progression for the last bar worked out before (Mi-rey-doh stuff) Remember to put in your phrase marks, dynamics and pick a good instrument (try for violin if it's there). With the content of the melody, make sure that it has a good shape (moves from low to high), a few nice leaps (I like to throw in a few 5ths and an octave somewhere but you have to move by step after that) and really really make sure that you get some height, get up to one ledger line.
I got a B2 in my mock, but an A2 in my composing section
Hope this helps 0 -
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
As far as I'm aware you're allowed to copy and paste? Advertisement