91272 - GROUP PERFORMANCE

EXEMPLARS OF STUDENT WORK

EXCELLENCE EXEMPLAR

For Excellence, the student needs to demonstrate ensemble skills by performing a substantial piece of music convincingly as a member of a group.

This involves the individual performer’s contribution to the group’s performance being sustained and assured.

The exemplified student is the violinist on the right, wearing a white shirt.

This student’s contribution to the duo’s performance is generally sustained and assured. The technique is well-developed for this curriculum level, and her part contributes to a convincing performance overall.

For a more secure Excellence, the student’s control of articulation and tone need additional nuance to demonstrate an assured contribution. Greater interaction and awareness between the two performers is needed to support an overall convincing ensemble performance.

MERIT EXEMPLAR

For Merit, the student needs to demonstrate ensemble skills by performing a substantial piece of music effectively as a member of a group.

This involves the individual performer’s contribution to the group’s performance being confident, consistent and musically responsive.

The exemplified student is the drummer in the group.

This student’s contribution to the group’s performance is confident, consistent and musically responsive. The playing is fluent and the pulse is sustained.

To reach Excellence, and deliver an assured performance, the student would need to show further variety of technique and style, reflecting a fourth year of lessons. The musical and technical demands of the piece need to demonstrate more variety to be considered ‘convincing’.

MERIT EXEMPLAR

For Merit, the student needs to demonstrate ensemble skills by performing a substantial piece of music effectively as a member of a group.

This involves the individual performer’s contribution to the group’s performance being confident, consistent and musically responsive.

The exemplified student plays the double bass.

This student’s contribution to the group’s performance is on the whole confident, consistent and effective. The intonation is secure, and the playing is generally accurate.

For a more secure Merit, and for the performance to be fully effective, the articulation could be crisper. This would create more rhythmic light and shade, and allow for a musically responsive contribution.

ACHIEVED EXEMPLAR

For Achieved, the student needs to demonstrate ensemble skills by performing a substantial piece of music as a member of a group.

This involves the individual performer contributing to the cohesion, balance, intonation, feel, style, and accuracy of the group’s performance. Students must select music to ensure ensemble skills are required of all performers being assessed. The ensemble skills should be appropriate to at least a fourth year of instrumental study through group itinerant tuition.

The exemplified student plays the lower part of a piano duet.

This student’s performance contributes to the cohesion, balance, intonation, feel and style of this substantial piece. There is a nice bounce to the playing and a reasonable sense of ensemble awareness.

For a more secure Achieved, the student could improve the accuracy of their chord shapes and melodic line.