EuraStudy
RevisionRevision / N11UK · A-Levels
Music
A-Level Music is the study of music as a performer, a composer and an informed, analytical listener. It rests on a single shared language - the elements of music (pitch and melody, rhythm, metre and tempo, dynamics, timbre and sonority, texture, structure, harmony and tonality) - which is used to describe, analyse and create sound across every style and period. The course is set against the Department for Education GCE AS and A level subject content for music and is delivered here through the AQA A-level Music specification (7272). Its three components carry the whole subject: Component 1 Appraising is a written examination testing aural perception, analysis and contextual understanding through listening excerpts, score-based analysis and essays; Component 2 Performance is a non-exam assessment in which a candidate performs a programme of at least ten minutes as an instrumentalist, vocalist or via music technology; and Component 3 Composition is a non-exam assessment of two original compositions - one written to an externally set brief and one free composition - with a combined minimum duration of four and a half minutes. The listening and appraising work is organised into areas of study: Area of study 1, the Western classical tradition 1650-1910, is compulsory, and candidates choose two further areas from six options (pop music, music for media, music for theatre, jazz, contemporary traditional music, and art music since 1910). Because these notes cannot play sound or reproduce staff notation, they teach the language, the process and the analytical method of music: how each element works and is manipulated for effect, how music is built and structured, how to listen analytically and write about what is heard, how the creative process moves from an idea or a brief to a finished composition, how to prepare and communicate a performance, and the characteristics, contexts and techniques of the styles and traditions across the areas of study.
0/55 Texts11 Chapters~272 min total
AQA 7272 Component 1 (Appraising)DfE GCE Music subject contentAQA 7272 Component 1 (elements of music)AQA 7272 Component 1 Section A (Listening)AQA 7272 Component 1 Section B (Analysis)AQA 7272 Component 1 Section C (Essay)+50 moreFoundationStandardAdvanced
Table of contents · 11 ChaptersT·11
- Appraising music (listening and analysis)
- Area of study 1: Western classical tradition 1650-1910
- Area of study 2: Pop music
- Area of study 3: Music for media
- Area of study 4: Music for theatre
- Area of study 5: Jazz
- Area of study 6: Contemporary traditional music
- Area of study 7: Art music since 1910
- Performance
- Composition to a brief
- Free composition
- Component 1 - Appraising music (written exam)
- A written examination of 2 hours 30 minutes, marked out of 120 and worth 40% of the A-level. It tests aural perception, analysis and contextual understanding across the areas of study and is normally divided into three sections: Section A - Listening (questions on unfamiliar extracts and on the studied set works, testing aural recognition of the elements of music, worth the largest share of marks, around 56); Section B - Analysis (detailed questions on the compulsory Area of Study 1 set works, answered with the help of a printed score or skeleton score, around 34 marks); and Section C - Essay (two extended essays, around 30 marks, one on Area of Study 1 and one that compares or connects music across an area of study). Recorded extracts are played to candidates during the exam.
- Component 2 - Performance (non-exam assessment)
- A performance of a minimum of ten minutes as a solo and/or ensemble performer on an instrument, as a vocalist, in music production, or through realisation using music technology. Marked out of 50 and worth 35% of the A-level. It is a non-exam assessment: the performance is recorded and externally marked by AQA against published criteria (accuracy of pitch and rhythm, technical control, expression and interpretation, and sense of continuity, style and communication). The difficulty (demand) of the chosen repertoire is taken into account, so programme choice matters.
- Component 3 - Composition (non-exam assessment)
- Two compositions with a combined minimum duration of four and a half minutes, marked out of 50 in total and worth 25% of the A-level. Composition 1 is a response to an externally set brief released by AQA (a set of briefs, some linked to the areas of study). Composition 2 is a free composition in a style and idiom of the candidate's own choosing. Both are non-exam assessments, submitted as a recording plus a score, lead sheet, written account or annotation as appropriate to the style, and are externally marked by AQA.
- Areas of study and set works
- The appraising content is organised into seven areas of study. Area of study 1 - Western classical tradition 1650-1910 - is COMPULSORY for all candidates and covers three strands: the Baroque solo concerto, the operas of Mozart, and the piano music of the Romantic era. Candidates then choose TWO further areas from the six options: 2 Pop music, 3 Music for media, 4 Music for theatre, 5 Jazz, 6 Contemporary traditional music, and 7 Art music since 1910. Each area carries named artists or composers and set works chosen by AQA; because AQA rotates these across specification cycles, these notes teach the style, techniques and analytical method of each area rather than committing to particular set-piece specifics.
- Nature of assessment and grading
- The A-level combines one written examination (Appraising, 40%) with two non-exam assessments (Performance, 35%, and Composition, 25%), so the majority of the marks are for practical, creative work. Performance and Composition are recorded and externally marked by AQA; Appraising is sat as a terminal written paper. The A-level is graded A*-E (U below E). The three components together assess a candidate as listener, performer and composer, and the elements of music form the shared vocabulary that connects all three.