Listening and Analysing

The purpose of this component is to assess students’ listening and appraising skills through the study of music across a variety of styles and genres. The content is grouped into four areas of study, each of which contains two set works. This component gives students the opportunity to reflect on, analyse and evaluate music in aural and/or written form. To achieve these objectives students need to use their knowledge and understanding of musical elements, musical contexts and musical language to make critical judgements about the repertoire and context of music within the areas of study. These critical judgements will require the use of attentive listening, aural perception and specific music vocabulary associated with a particular style or genre. These areas of study also provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their contextual understanding of music when performing and composing. Students will learn the content of musical elements, musical contexts and musical language through four compulsory areas of study. The areas of study and set works are:

The pieces selected as set works provide a good representation of instrumental music from the period 1700–1820. The Bach Brandenburg Concerto no. 5, 3rd movement includes a study of fugue in a Gigue dance movement. General features of Baroque music can be analysed in this piece. The Beethoven Piano Sonata no. 8 in C minor is chosen as an example of solo instrumental music. It is a dramatic romantic work in sonata form.

The suggested wider listening works provide a good background and context to the set pieces. The Handel Concerto Grosso complements the Bach work and the Vivaldi Winter from the Four Seasons provides further study of the solo concerto form. The Classical piano sonata movements by Mozart and Haydn provide a good historical introduction to the piano sonata as a genre and prepare for the extended Beethoven sonata movement.

This is a large topic area and the set works represent both ends of the time frame from the Baroque setting by Purcell of ‘Music for a While’ to the twentieth-century Queen song ‘Killer Queen’. However, the principle remains the same: they are both settings of words for solo voice with an accompaniment.

This diversity of musical styles is present too in the selection of suggested wider listening pieces. Some Handel and Bach solo arias are juxtaposed with Beach Boys and ABBA songs. There are opportunities to widen the selection to include solo songs from the Classical and Romantic eras too.

This is a varied topic and the two set works are representative works from the musical and film music genres. The song ‘Defying Gravity’ from Wicked presents opportunities to study this popular piece of West End musical theatre. The Star Wars films are well known and the study of the main theme from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope will give an understanding of how film music is composed as sound to picture.

The four pieces of suggested wider listening provide further examples of both the musical and film music. These pieces provide more background to the topic and enhance the study of the set works.

The emphasis here is on how two or more musical cultures are combined to create a fusion. Some fusions have become genres in their own right such as Bhangra and Salsa. The core understanding is for students to examine how the separate musical elements are treated in a fusion work. The two set works provide contrast. The Afro Celt Sound System: ‘Release’ and ‘Samba Em Preludio’ by Esperanza Spalding are designed to explore how fusions create new, popular styles.

The suggested wider listening pieces cover African, Celtic, Afro-Cuban Jazz and Latin American styles, showcasing the variety and uniqueness of different fusion styles.