Is it just me or is the listening and analysing paper in AS music really difficult??? I can't get to grips with the some of the listening questions like aural recogniation and comparison of performances. Plus how on earth do you revise all the effects and key terms for music for large ensemble??

Does anyone have any tips????

I empathise

For the aural part you have to keep practicing cadences/keys/chords. It is hard, but practice makes perfect. But saying that I'm really unconfident with the A2 listening paper this year.

Comparison of performances - look a lots of mark schemes and see what they look for. State the obvious. It sounds stupid but sometimes you can get marks for stating instruments. Try and do as my papers as possible.

Tips from a teacher and marker!

Listening: the comparison of performances there are lots of correct answers to the last question about commenting on differences. Remember to compare features, as sometimes a statement about each gets a mark for each, e.g. Performance A is homophonic, Performance B is meldoy and accomp etc. Also, be specific, eg perf A is faster at the start/end/middle whatever.

For the analysis, I get my pupils to list each feature on a post-it note and stick to the music. Then, on a sep piece of paper write out a concise and succinct definition for each one. Now that most of the questions have been repeated at some point already over the last 6 years, the edexcel mark schemes provide very concise meanings. Failing that, the rhinegold dictionary of music is good, but a little wordy. Usually the first couple of sentences make sense.

Best piece of advice, you'll only learn where the features are through constant listening with the music in front of you. Once a week after you've covered each set work is a minimum.

Hope thats helpful.

Thanks very much, where do i find edexcel's old mark scemes and are there any past papers which are on the internet which i could practise on??

Guilmant - do you have any tips for A2 students?

Talierema - your teacher should have some.

Rather disappointingly, I thought the mark schemes would be on the website, but they're not. The examiners reports are and they do make some reference to the definitions. Try

http://www.edexcel.org.uk/quals/gce/music-mt/adv/9501

Your teacher will have past papers, again sadly edexcel don't put them on the website. You can order them from edexcel (at a cost), but they aren't allowed to sell the cds, which is a bit useless for the listening. Rhinegold do some very good practice questions and you can buy a cd from them.

As for A2, use the time wisely. Question 1 shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes and it should be a good confidence builder at the start. I advise my students to do Q3 next, as half the marks for the exam are on that question. Listen to it once all the way through just following the music and listening, it gives you a much better overall view of the piece. I'll admit its a difficult exam (its supposed to be, its A2), but by not panicking, you shouldn't run out of time. Rhinegold do practice papers for the A2 as well, two books, so if you haven't done them in class, you can do them at home.

Lol...

I have my AS Music listening paper in a couple of weeks... Although I find it easy!

The one I find hard is the Anthology paper, where you have to answer questions on the pieces you've studied in class...

Thanks, yes Edexcel are rubbish for past papers and markschemes.

I have some past papers and markschemes, but the written paper *touch wood* should be much better than the listening paper.

Is q3 the aural perception one, which I can't actually do.

I do have the Rhinegold listening tests, and would love more, but at £25 per CD and £9 (!?) per book, it gets rather expensive.

How do you go about revising composers etc?

The thing is, I always look for the complex things in the comparisons question...

ARGH.

I hate the comparison question. You get two incredibly different pieces to listen to, and then it says "Name the differences". I always end up sitting there, thinking "Well - where do I start?!"
And then I miss out all the obvious things, etc, etc....
Oh dear!

The other thing I just can't get to grips with is identifying types of voices. I don't know why, I just can't hear the differences, and I end up working it out from the range rather than the type of voice, and even then I'm usually wrong! Any hints?

I'm generally okay on the listening - melodic dictation etc is much easier with perfect pitch (though the last question is still hard!).

As for anthology, I hate the essays, or, rather "essays", but I do find it pretty easy to get most of the marks just by rambling. You don't need quality writing, just lots of points!

For anybody who's done last year's Edexcel listening test... How hard was that question with the Irish singer??

I know!

I had NO idea what it was (bear in mind this was my actual AS exam)

If you want to know, it's a song from Guys and Dolls - musical. But, I didn't even think of that.

For the anthology paper - use bullet points - saves SO much time, and good for making sure you don't waffle.

For A2 anthology paper you have to write 5 essays in 2 hours...rahhhhhhhh.

I give up.

I know - my teacher told me was from Guys and Dolls afterwards...

Doesn't sound anything like stage music to me!

Question "What kinda of Voice is this?" I put "Irish"... "Name the Original Composer" - "Anon"...


It was impossible!

I can't remember what I put, apart from my answers were wayyy out.

Was one of the questions how you could tell it was Irish?

I did last year's paper the other day and got 6 1/2 out of12 for that question... How were you supposed to know it was from a musical?

I have no idea. I don't know anyone who got good marks for it, unless they knew the song!

Yes...

And the mark-scheme says it was Irish coz it was in compound time!!


I only got 4/12 for it in my mock... Which p1ssed me off coz I was one mark off an "A" grade in that mock!

I remember putting down:
- in compound time
- use of flute? (at least I am sure there was - but this was a lonnnng time ago

Yes...

And those were the right answers!!

Although how those things make it Irish I don't know...!
The only thing I can think of is that James Galway is Irish and it might've been him playing??

Nope, definitely WASN'T James Galway

I did the melodic dictation for that one, but I remember thinking I'd have been tempted to put "Irish accent" as one of my reasons

It made it Irish because:

- Irish folk songs are often based on 6/8
- Irish folk uses a lot of flutey/pipes things

I'm not looking forward to my As listening after half term

I think there is an article in the latest edition of Classroom Music for tips on the comparison question at AS in the listening. Worth asking your teacher for a copy, or just to read it, you never know what you might pick up.

cello case? were you referring to the AS listening comparison or the A2 one? I know they always seem like completely different pieces (they are!), but actually there are always lots of things in common. I know at AS its the tune that is the same, but at A" they choose things that still have plenty in common. Looking back over previous papers, that could be:

-pieces written in the same period (but different genres)
-pieces in same genre, but different periods
-pieces written by same composer etc

That always gives teachers plenty to go on when coming up with practice material.

Hope this is helpful. Enjoy the AS exam and go in positively and confidently.

I'm worried about both the oral and the anthology papers for AS; I can't do either! In the oral, I always end up having to resort to totally guessing most of the answers! So, these exams are going to be fun!!!

[quote name='nicki_flute' date='May 19 2007, 05:09 PM' post='515524']
[quote name='Manek' post='515521' date='May 19 2007, 05:07 PM']
For anybody who's done last year's Edexcel listening test... How hard was that question with the Irish singer??
[/quote]
I know!

I had NO idea what it was (bear in mind this was my actual AS exam)

If you want to know, it's a song from Guys and Dolls - musical. But, I didn't even think of that.


Would you believe I had just performed in Guys and Dolls in our local youth operetta group a couple of months before taking that AS paper?! I knew the song straight away and thought I had done really well ....but Edexcel 'lost' my paper. They supposedly looked for it for a month (they had definitely received it) with no joy and then gave me an aegrotat mark which left me a couple of marks below an A. I'm now resitting the AS listening paper but have had to pay £20 for the pleasure of doing so. Hopefully I will push my marks up, but more importantly, hope they don't lose the retake paper or indeed the A2 listening paper!! Edexcel has a very bad name within our music department so I hope nobody else has a similar experience this year.

What! How did they decide which mark to give you?

They looked at the marks I had for the other modules, and then at everyone around the country who had simlar marks and then took an average of what those particular people got for the music listening paper - or something like that! Either way, they didn't take into consideration that all the modules are so different in their requirements that it really wasn't right to give me a mark based on what others got. I've got over the anger and annoyance now but I just hope it doesn't happen to anyone else.

It didn't help that my head of music didn't warn me that the level of music we did for the performance during course module should only be at a grade 6 ish level. I had passed Grade 8 distinction flute a few months before the tape was submitted, but Edexcel gave me a high B. Then my music teacher marked me at 100% which we now realise he shouldn't have, as they automatically downgrade you if your teacher gives you that mark. It was a comedy of errors from start to finish!

They can't do that! They can't discriminate you because you're good. I got 100% for performing throughout the course for AS, and my grade didn't get marked down. This year I got 24.5/25 for performing throughout this year from my teacher.

If you read the examiners report on the Edexcel website, it says something about it, can't remember what exactly as ages since I looked at it. Anyway, the A2 recital has been recorded and hopefully sent and received, and a recording done for the A2 performance - learnt a Grade 7 piece really quickly just to appease the exam board! - so we will see what happens when the results come out.

I did Faure Fantasie as one of my recital pieces - I think I read somewhere that you did too. It's a diploma level piece but we won't get any credit for that fact so I hope we performed it beautifully!! I'm sure mine wasn't upto the correct speed but I'm past caring! Hey ho!

I got 100% for my performances last year too, and that didnt bring my grade down!
Not sure what I got for my A2 one....dreading my recital marks, I've heard Edexcel mark really harshly, although all the staff at college said it was a great recording and that I'd do really really well

eeeeeeek, dreading the AS papers more than the A2 I think!!!!

xoxox

oooh, yes I did

I also did:
Bach E major movements 1+2
Hummel A major sonata movement 1
Bozza Aria

What about you?

Sounds good,
I did the Faure and
Mozart concerto No2 1st movement
York Bowen flute sonata 2nd movement
Bach Sarabande from Partita in A minor

Glad it's all over.
Congrats on the competition win btw!

That's a good programme. Thankyou

Hopefully the examiners will think so - I organised the pieces so they showed development of flute music through time - starting with the Bach obviously! Took my Physics A2 practical this morning, got biology practical tomorrow so off to do some revision now! Happy fluting!

On the subject of marking the performances, my advice for A2, whether you do the recital or not, is make sure you can play the pieces really well. Even if you have passed Grade 8, you're still more likely to play a grade 6 piece (the standard) or a grade 7 piece (more difficult, marks scaled up) to a higher standard. I've put a number of pupils through who have passed grade 8 and we have put together a recital programme of grade 6/7 pieces which they can play really, really well.

Another tip (for next year if you've just sat AS), is to make your recorded solo the piece you can play best. That way, (assuming your teacher can mark it accurately, and if you play it well, marking it is easier) they are less likely to scale down your other marks. It also pays to make your recorded solo the shortest piece you perform.

I'm doing the AS one. I know objectively there are few differences, but they have such different feels that it always throws me!
Thanks for the advice though - very helpful.

For the comparisons it helps to remember the phrase "I'd Rather Make Hot Donuts Than Sticky Muffins" Which stands for...

Instruments
Rhythm
Melody
Harmony
Dynamics
Tempo
Structure
Mood

And then there's time, texture and tonality on top of that, the 3 Ts.

If you write those down, even just the letters to jog your memory next to the question before you tackle it, then you'll remember a range of topics to look out for, and mention one or two points on each one. If it's a direct comparison (and not just tell them featurs of it) you could say, Instruments: what they are, same or different in pieces A and B, and work down the list doing the same thing.


Helped me all the way through my GCSE and A level...might get me through my degree too! Hope this helps you! And good luck! I found with listening, that a lot of it is trying to keep a cool head in the exam and stay calm so that you can actually listen out for things.

jess-flute, that's a brilliant way of remembering it. Did you come up with it or was it your teachers? Just goes to show the forums are two way information exchanges. I'll be teaching that to my pupils. Thanks!

Oooo thanks a lot

jessflute - that's really helpfull!!
I have my As music exams soon.....eek.

Me too... Haven't started looking at the anthology questions yet

what are your two areas of study?

mine are: music for large ensemble + Sacred vocal music (college choice.....obviously ).

Mine too....LOVE the stravinsky.

yeah

I like the Debussy too (maybe because it has a flute motif in)

i all the sacred vocal...except the strav....people think i'm weird lol.....

like the MFLE (and the brahms from the second year stuff hehe)

my only problem with it......I WISH THE ANTHOLOGIES CAME SEPERATELY FOR EACH SECTION SO I DIDNT HAVE TO CARRY HUNDREDS OF PAGES AROUND LOL!!!!



mind you that prepared piano piece looks fun!!!

xoxox

grr...to the anthology. Too heavy ....especially when I bring my tenor sax. in to college.
photocopies would do me.

exactly!! and never leave it in the cupboard....someone WILL steal it, and leave you a rubbish one with zilch notes in or pages missing!!!
hooray for my car's boot to store anthologies in!!

Oooh, we had a right giggle listening to 20th century art music - the random singing piece - is that the Strav? is soo funny.

I'm doing pop/jazz and then the Brahms piano quintet ()

My revision for it is going SO badly though. ARGH.

I'm doing film music and keyboard music. We have photocopies, but our teacher photocopied them with the edges cut off and it's SO annoying...!!!

We're doing those too, I don't like any of the major works for large ensemble, but love the sacred vocal stuff, all 7 of them! I'm not at all worried abotu the anthology question, it's really easy to get full marks as long as you keep the points simple and concise, but I've not got about 41/45 on listening yet (that was the 2006 paper) and quite often jusdt have to guess stuff.....I screw up the 2nd question every time!

Are most people going to do the dictation or the history short questions for the third question?