The Park School Developing the individual MUSIC Name Class
THE ELEMENTS OF MUSIC
Pitch
Pitch is the quality that makes it possible to judge sounds as”higher” and “lower” in the sense associated with musical melodies.
Timbre
The characteristic quality of sound produced by a particular instrument or voice; tone colour.
Dynamics
Dynamics refers to the volume of a sound or note. Dynamics are relative and do not refer to specific volume levels. They are always written in Italian (forte, pianissimo, crescendo etc).
Rhythm
The pattern of regular and irregular pulses caused in music by the occurrence of strong and weak melodic and harmonic beats.
Structure
Structure in music means the say the piece is built up. The best example of Structure is in a pop song. The different sections (Verse, Chorus, Instrumental, Guitar Solo etc).
Tonality
Tonality refers to specific notes of a scale on which the music is the most stable and at rest.
In general, it works by establishing a major or minor key, then uses chords and notes from this key.
MUS1
NOTES ON THE STAVE F A C E All Cows Eat Grass Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit Good Boys Deserve Food Always
MUS2 ABCDEFGABCDEFGAB NOTES ON THE PIANO KEYBOARD CDEFGABCDEFGABCDEFGAB ABCDEFGABCDEFGAB ABCDEFGABCDEFGAB Low Frequencies High Frequencies C# D���� EFGABCDEFGAB EFGABCDEFGAB EFGABCDEFGAB EFGABCDEFGAB MAJOR SCALE D# E���� F# G���� G# A���� A# B���� C# D���� D# E���� F# G���� G# A���� A# B���� C# D���� D# E���� F# G���� G# A���� A# B����
ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES FOR GCSE MUSIC (AQA)
Component 1: Understanding music
What’s
assessed
• Listening
• Contextual understanding
How it’s assessed
Exam paper with listening exercises and written questions using excerpts of music.
Questions
Section A: Listening - unfamiliar music (68 marks)
Section B: Study pieces (28 marks)
The exam is 1 hour and 30 minutes.
This compoent is worth 40% of GCSE marks (96 marks)
Component 2: Performing music
What’s assessed
Music performance
How it’s assessed
As an instrumentalist and/or vocalist and/or via technology:
Performance 1: Solo performance (36 marks)
Performance 2: Ensemble performance (36 marks)
A minimum of four minutes of performance in total is required, of which a minmum of one minute must be the ensemble performance.
This component is 30% of GCSCE marks (72 marks)
Non-exam assessment (NEA) will be internally marked by teachers and externally moderated by AQA. Performances must be completed in the year of certification.
Component 3: Composing music
What’s assessed
Composition
How it’s
assessed
Performance 1: Composition to a brief (36 marks)
Performance 2: Free composition (36 marks)
A minimum of three minutes of music in total is required.
This component is 30% of GCSCE marks (72 marks)
Non-exam assessment (NEA) will be internally marked by teachers and externally moderated by AQA.
MUS3
WHAT ARE KEY SIGNATURES?
Key signatures are unique sequences of sharps, flats and natural notes in music. A key signature is all the accidentals found in a key’s scale.
Sharps (#)(not to be confused with hashtags) are symbols that represent notes posi tioned a semitone or half-step above another note. For example, a C natural can be bound on a white key on a piano, a C# is located a semitone above C on the black key:
Flats (����) not to be confused with little b’s) function in the opposite way as sharps. For example, A natural is represented by a white key on the keyboard, so A���� would be the black note directly below it.
MUS4
MAJOR CHORDS
How do you forma a major chord on piano?
A major chord is perhaps the simplest chord. It consists of three notes, the root, 3rd and 5th. Its symbol is “Maj”. For instance,
MINOR CHORDS
A minor chord is formed by playing the roof, flat 3rd and 5th of the scale. Its symbol is min. -. or m. For instance.
C Minor D Minor E Minor F# Minor A���� Minor B���� Minor C# Minor E���� Minor F Minor G Minor A Minor B Minor C Major D Major E Major F# Major A���� Major B���� Major C# Major E���� Major F Major G Major A Major B Major MINOR CHORDS MAJOR CHORDS
C G E���� D F A E G B A B F E F C G D A C E B D C# G# E���� G���� B���� A���� B����F# C# A���� E���� B���� D���� F# C# G# F# G# F# A# C# A���� E���� B���� E���� B���� C# D# F# C E G D A E B C D F E# G F A C G B D A E B MUS5