Year 11 Transition to A-level Music
I have put together some tasks for you to complete before you start your A level music course. There are some history, listening, composition and research tasks for you to have a go at.
Please ensure you have completed the performance task, composition task and at least one other task of your choice.
Performance
Make sure you don’t neglect your playing during this break. I suggest you do at least some of the tasks below to keep yourself in practice:
Polish up a piece you are already working on and video it. You could then share it with your friends and family. You can even send it to me at elle.jackson@queenswood.org if you want. You might find a recorded accompaniment on Youtube for pieces that are very regularly played for grades etc.
Resurrect an older piece that you really enjoyed. You will be able to play it better now you are a bit more advanced. Listen to some performances of the piece on Apple Music/Spotify/Youtube. What do you like about these performances? Is there anything you can incorporate. Again, you could video your performance.
Look at the graded lists for the level at which you are currently playing. Listen to the pieces and choose one to learn from scratch. You can use recorded performances to help you learn the piece and decide how to play it.
You will be expected to play a piece as an assessed performance within the first few weeks of term. The key is to play a piece which you can play well, with accuracy, technical prowess and expression. Please prepare this.
Composition
Composition 1: 8 bar melody
Write an eight-bar melody in the Classical style that is like the extract below. Either write it for string quartet in Noteflight, or on paper, or write it for a melody instrument with piano chords. Notice that the harmony is quite simple, the melody sticks closely to the chords with just simple decorations, bar 3-4 and 7-8 are cadences. You can look at the notes here if you want some technical tips:
haydnop64n5ivperiod.mp3Basic Theory
It is important that your basic theory is up to scratch before starting the course. On the following (external) page you should be familiar with the topics in the following sections:
The Basics – all sections
Rhythm and Metre – all sections
Scales and Key Signatures – all sections
Intervals – all sections
The first two lessons from Chords, Diatonic Chords and the first from Chord Progressions would be a bonus
Music History
Read through and listen to the material on Tom Pankhurst's Short History of Music pages and then complete the worksheet below. You can either print it off and complete by hand or fill it in as a word documents and then print them off/email them to your teacher:
Listening and Describing
As in GCSE we will need to get really good at describing music using appropriate technical terms.
I would like you to review all the terms in this GCSE Keywords.
Exercise 1 – Western Classical
Listen to this Beethoven String Quartet extract and answer the questions on the worksheet. You will need to print out the worksheet and then listen play the video so you can see to which parts of the music the questions refer. You can watch the video as many times as you wish and pause it where you need to do so. You should also refer back to the GCSE Keywords to make sure you are talking about the right things and using correct language.
beethoven-sq-listening-exercise.mp4Exercise 2 – Musical Theatre
Listen to this Extract from Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods and answer the questions in the worksheet. Print out the worksheet single sided. You can listen as many times as you like. Some of the short questions are easy and some are pretty hard. Just do your best!
05-last-midnight.mp3Last Midnight from Sondheim’s Into the Woods
Composition 2: Create a composition in ternary form titled ‘The Storm’.
It can be for any instrument/group of instruments or voices. It should have a melody and harmony.
Plan your piece carefully – remember to include interest by thinking about the friendly feline and DEVELOPMENT.
Even more tasks...if you are bored
If you are looking for other things to keep you busy, pick a selection from the following tasks.
Reading
Sion, Colborne, Gardiner, Pankhurst et al (2017) Eduqas AS and A Level Music Study Guide, London: Rhinegold (Amazon link) [covers the background information needed for the course – useful but not essential to read before the A level starts]
Winterson and Harris (2014) Music Theory: The Essential Guide London: Faber (Amazon link) [ if your basic theory is a bit ropy then this is good for making sure you know up to Grade 5 theory stuff]
Stuff to watch on Youtube
Some really simple explanations of basic music theory building blocks at 12tone, Starts with some ludicrously basic stuff but moves on to go over basics that you might be rusty on.
Good basic introduction to the symphony by Howard Goodall from the BBC
A much longer video on the symphony by Howard Goodall (this is the first of a series)
An introduction to Debussy, again from Howard Goodall at the BBC
Anything on the LSO Youtube Playlist
Composition 2
Can you write a pentatonic piece? You can read the notes here to help you if you wish. Write for any combination of instruments.
Research Tasks
Research the life and music Franz Josef Haydn. You can use the Oxford Music Online Haydn, Haydn Wikipedia article, Classic FM, Philharmonia Haydn introduction, Naxos, BBC introduction, BBC Composer of the Week and Howard Goodall on Haydn. You can then present your work in any way you like. Online, as a poster, a booklet or a leaflet.
Research the biographies and key works of any of the following musical theatre composers: Richard Rodgers, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Claude-Michel Schonberg, Andrew Lloyd-Webber or Stephen Schwartz.