Feedback on the June 2014 paper Unit B354

General Points 1 This unit is now worth 20% Still marked out of 100 The questions are based on Areas of Study 2, 3 and 4 Candidates should be aware of the Language for Learning

General Points 2 In the June 2014 paper some very good answers were seen by many candidates Few papers gained under 20 marks and there was a good proportion above 80. The grade boundaries were close to the notional boundaries

Common Issues 1 There are often problems with single mark answers – Candidates must only write one answer – This candidate has 3 bar numbers that are correct and 2 that are wrong – it they had stuck with their first answer ‘3’ they would have gained the mark – This is also true for tick box or underline answers

Common Issues 2 Candidates should be clear as to how many answers they should write Sometimes candidates write far too many but often they do not write enough Whilst we endeavour to give credit to all that is written it is important that a candidate is aware how many marks the question is worth and then answer appropriately

Common Issues 3 Candidates often lose marks by not reading (or listening) to what is required. For example: Q1ai – Give four features, Q1ci - Underline three features etc. C2c, 2f, 4c, 6b, 7b and 7d all require the candidate to describe but the mark at the end of the question indicates how many points should be made.

Common Issues 4 In this paper there was some confusion by candidates over the composers for Area of Study 4 – They were asked for a composer for both a programme piece, Q3, and a piece of film music, Q7 and many candidates wrote John Williams for both When they are told what the extracts are in the questions it is important for students to be able to distinguish between programme music and film music composers

Terminology It is vital that candidates understand the musical terminology that might be used in the questions On this paper these specific terms were used: Tonality, structure, articulation interval, tempo, glissando and cadence Those that were used in multiples choice questions were quite well answered but the two that required understanding of the terms – cadence and tempo – were not answered as well This was also true for the type of voice in Q4a where a significant number of candidates did not know the names of the voices

Tempo Candidates often use metronome marks to answer questions on tempo when words might be better – words seem to have a wider meaning – For example in question 1ai the answer scheme is this: – MODERATELY FAST / FAST / ALLEGRETTO / ALLEGRO / VIVACE / LIVELY / QUICK / MM – ‘Allegro’ or simply ‘fast’ would have been better

Knowledge 1 As well as the importance of knowing and understanding musical terminology there are a number of questions where background knowledge is essential – Composers and artists – Periods of musical history – Origins of the dance styles – Dance steps

Examples

Knowledge 2 On this paper there were 8 questions that related to knowledge directly – Composers and artists – Dance steps – Country of origin – History period And 3 questions that related to knowledge indirectly – The type of drum used in Irish dance – 1b – Styles of music – a capella – 1c

Specific questions With examples showing problems and some that were excellent

Q1aii This is a very concise focussed answer – Candidates often ‘waffle’ and so waste valuable time

Q1aii continued An answer worth full marks but lots of added detail is given that is not necessary and wastes the candidate’s time

Q1aii continued Typical of an E grade candidate who repeats the answer from question 1ai, has one accurate answer and then uses words that are really about the girl

Question 1cii Candidates seem to find questions about vocal techniques difficult so it is a good idea to spend some time on these A lot of answers were seen that repeated the words from 1ci – call and response and harmony

1cii A very good answer

Question 3 This is often a challenging question for many candidates This year the prose question was an extract from Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite – Sunrise The majority of marks this year were between 3 & 7 Common problems – Too much focus on the story rather than the music – Not enough specific detail – all too general – A lack of chronology (although this is not essential) – Answers often start well and then lose focus

Question 3 continued This question is marked using 3 bands or levels: – 1 – 3 is a limited range of points that may lack organisation – 4 – 6 is several points showing some understanding, some organisation and some links to the programme – 7 – 9 needs a good range of points that show understanding and are clearly expressed Some attention is paid to spelling punctuation & grammar

An answer worth 2 marks

An answer worth 3 marks

An answer worth 6 marks

Notation Question OfQual required there to be Western notation on the paper There will always be a skeleton score question – It does require candidates to be able to follow a melody – They will always have to fill in missing notes – There are often other places in the paper that require a knowledge of notation – Q 6c in this paper

Notation Question continued Most candidates gained some marks In this paper it was marked in the following way – Every correct note gained 1 mark – Every correct shape gained 1 mark – Candidates often gained credit with a mixture of correct notes and shapes:

Notation 3 Even very poor answers often gain some credit 2 correct shapes = 2 marks

Notation 4 On of the biggest problems is that candidates do not always write clearly (of all abilities)

Question 5d There will always be a comparative question The boxes prove very effective for some but others do not answer with any clarity Answers are often too vague, lacking any detail

5di - a poor answer 5di – a lot of candidates wrote what they had been told in the question whilst others simply ignored it what they had been told This answer is far too basic and the candidate does not appear to take into account that they were told that it was the same artist

5di – An excellent answer A very clear comparative answer

5dii This was one of the best answers that we saw. Some ambiguity in the second sentence but clear enough to accept

5dii This candidate like many others assume that a bass guitar always plays a walking bass The second answer repeats one of the questions in 5b – (whilst a long note is heard for a while it is not throughout)

Q7 – Jaws - some really good answers were given to this question 7b from an A* candidate – concise & accurate

Question 7 continued An equally good answer from a C grade candidate

Question 7 continued A similar answer from and E grade candidate

Reminders There are now eight past papers for you to use with your students It is the musical extracts that change form paper to paper, the questions remain quite similar so you are able to see what is expected There is a mixture of questions that focus on the specific styles and others that focus on general musicianship

Teaching the content from the Areas of Study These have remained constant over many years and it is clear that there is some excellent teaching across the country There is quite a lot of it!! Be economical – you do not have to spend hours and hours on each style or genre Use one or two styles to cover a lot of basic principles and then dip into the others with information sheets and some selected listening

One genre or style Listening Paper Performance 1 Group Performance Commentary Log and Evaluation Creative Task Composition 1 Composition 2