You can apply for A/S and A2 Music as a separate course or alongside other Junior Conservatoire courses. Our A level course follows the AQA syllabus and is taught either as a part of the Saturday programme or as an evening class on Wednesdays during term-time. There are six units or modules (three for A/S and three more for A2) covering three general areas: ‘Understanding Music’, ‘Composing’ and ‘Performing’. Detailed information is available on request. You will receive 3½ hours of tuition a week.
Your progress is assessed continuously throughout the course with feedback given in tutorials and written feedback given after the end of the first term.
Content
Unit 1: Understanding Music (Coursework)
Area of Study 1: The Western Tonal Tradition, 1700-1850
Area of Study 2: Change and Development in a Musical Genre, Style or Tradition
Assessment: Assessed through a 2½ hour listening and written paper.
Unit 2: Composing
You will complete two compositions, at least one of which must be stimulated by the music studied in Unit 1, and at least one of which must be in a recognisably tonal idiom.
Assessment: Completed work is submitted for external assessment by AQA examiners.
Unit 3: Performing
A performance of ensemble music and a realisation of one of the pieces composed in Unit 2.
Assessment: Performances will be centre-assessed and recorded for moderation by AQA.
Unit 4: Understanding Music (Coursework)
Area of Study 3: Musical Genres and the Musical Setting of Text in the 20th and 21st Centuries
Assessment: Assessed through a 2½ hour listening and written paper.
Unit 5: Investigation, Report and Composition
Area of Study 4: Origins and Developments of the Western Tonal Tradition, 1700-1850
Assessment: Submissions will be centre-assessed and moderated by AQA.
Unit 6: Performing
You will give a performance of solo music on one instrument/voice of between seven and 10 minutes, followed by a brief viva voce to comment on the music.
Assessment: Both elements for this unit are assessed by a visiting examiner.