do, ray, me, fa, so, la, te... DOH!! (Music)

Member Name: hugnluvable

Product:	Music
Date:	17/03/01 (1358 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun, Social, Chance to develop upon musical skills and talent!

Disadvantages: ESSAYS! Now examined in both years of your course,

Ok here goes, if you really love music and enjoy playing and learning more about it - THEN TAKE THIS COURSE. If you think that taking music is an easier A-Level option that you can sail through I SERIOUSLY ADVICE YOU TO RECONSIDER YOUR A LEVEL CHOICES!!!

Yes, taking A Level music is fun and its probably easier if you can play an instrument well, but YOU NEED TO PUT ALOT OF EFFORT IN! I stayed on at my school sixth form (Leon School - Milton Keynes) and was lucky enough to be taught by a FANTASTIC teacher!

It was compulsory for us music GCSE/A Level students to take part in most musical activities throughout the school, such as the choir/concert band/chamber orchestra, but although it was compulsory we went because we wanted to and enjoyed it! Taking part in such activities bonded our A Level class all together throughout our GCSE and A Level years, so we knew each other before we started the A Level course. There were nine students in our A Level music class and although we weren't best of friends to start with now everyone is friendly with everyone, as we've left sixth form and we always keep in touch with each other.

One word of warning though... although you take a lot of practical skills etc, such as recitals, composition, sight reading etc YOU WILL HAVE TO WRITE LOADS OF ESSAYS! But if you revise all the relevant points and take notice in lessons you should be ok. We could choose certain modules and were examined in the 2nd year at the end of our course. It was compulsory to take:

- Set Works (we studied and opera - Dido and Aeneus by Purcell), at the end you'd have to write an essay on some characteristic or feature of the opera (you can choose what question you want out of 3!)

- Music History (we studied 3 Russian 20th Century Composers - Stravinsky/Prokofiev/Shostakovich and the "Developments upon the Symphony"), at the end you'd have to write an essay on both these subjects. (You can
choose what question you want out of 3!)

-Aural/Listening (no, sorry - you can't choose what questions you can answer on this one!)

Then there were modules that we could choose. We had to choose 3 out of...

- Recital A (A recital on your 1st or 2nd instrument that lasts around 10-15minutes)

- Recital B (A Recital on your 1st OR 2nd instrument that lasts around 10 minutes plus a sight reading test) ~ you can choose both of these recitals but with different instruments!) (This is what I did!)

- Composition (A portfolio of compositions that should last around 15 minutes)

- Project and Report (A bit like a BIG essay that you can write on a musical subject of your choice)

- Practical Musicianship (Things like sight reading, sight singing, transposition, ensemble playing, harmonisation - and you can choose what tests you want to do!)

- Harmony and Counterpoint (Although it is really boring and it can get extremely frustrating, if you want to take your music studies further at university TAKE THIS - TAKE THIS - TAKE THIS!)

If we wanted to do an AS level we had to choose just one module - but in the end it's still the same amount of effort so it's best to take the whole thing!

BUT? now it's all different. The people who are taking A Level music exams this year are the last of the crop to take this syllabus. Now you are examined at the end of each year:
- GOOD! If you decide to give A Levels up in the next year cus you are left with an AS Level, and also you have less exams the next year!
BAD!
- Because 1st A Level year is all about settling in and learning what's expected of you
- Because your musical skills aren't as developed as they would at the end of the course
Also in the first year ? EVERYTHINGS COMPULSORY! These are?
*Performance - (requirements up to Grade5/6 in standard)
*Composition (So if you haven't got the co
mposer's gene and don't enjoy it you still have to take it!)
*History of Music (Essay writing! - but you get to study Beatle's music as well as Beethoven which we never had the chance to study!)
*Listening/Aural

And, you should be aware, that the last sets of exams are indeed harder than the first set!

I really enjoyed A Level music, achieving a Grade B (I should have got an A but because of an exam board ***k up with my compositions? well that's a different story!), and I'm now studying music at Hull University. Don't let the new way of things put you off of taking A Level music because, as our group found out, each person has their own individual good and bad points which all have the chance to be worked upon.

If you enjoy playing, making and learning music then this is the course for you - even if you never ever have anything to do with it when you leave college/sixth form! But a qualification in Music does show an employer or a university various skills, and indeed talent you have that no other course can offer!

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