A Level Academic Music

Kings Ely sixth form

Academic

A Level Academic Music

A significant percentage of the course is dedicated to solo or ensemble performance.

 

Studying Music in the Sixth Form gives you the opportunity to engage with a wide variety of music, including classical, popular, jazz, film, and music for the theatre.

Specific set works from these musical genres are studied across the year, both from an analytical perspective and also in terms of wider musical and historical context.

You might learn about the building blocks of a successful musical, or why the shower scene in Hitchcock’s Psycho was made so effective by Bernard Herrmann’s score.  

You will gain a greater understanding of core Western Classical Music and the influence it has had over the centuries, with focus on genres such as Baroque concerto, comic opera, and Romantic piano repertoire.

A significant percentage of the course is dedicated to solo or ensemble performance, with a further unit focusing on composition or compositional techniques, and this broad range demonstrates a skill set that is always in great demand by employers and educational institutions.

Prerequisite

GCSE Music, grade 5 Theory, and an instrument/voice to at least grade 6.
Topic Overview

 

Appraising

A written examination paper sat in the Summer, containing questions that assess listening, analysing and essay-writing skills.

Performance

A portfolio of performances, including solo and/or ensemble, instrumental and/or vocal, lasting at least 10 minutes in total, is performed and recorded in school during the Spring and sent away to the exam board for external assessment.

Composition

Completion of a Composition Portfolio, which includes one free composition and one responding to a chosen Brief, which is set by the Board each year.  This is created and recorded in school and sent away to the exam board for external assessment.
Assessment

 

Appraising
  • 40% of the marks 
Performance 
  • 35% of the marks
Composition 
  • 25% of the marks 

Music A Level Exam Specification

 

Meet the Director of music 

Neil Porter-Thaw

OptimizedImage,Optimized

EMAIL NEIL PORTER-THAW

 
HEAD of ACADEMIC music 

Helen Briggs

OriginalImage,Original

EMAIL HELEN BRIGGS

 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I’ve really enjoyed the comradeship of the group as the class has been small. I have also enjoyed it when we played the set works as a group. In addition, when analysing it was great to hear parts of the music which I wouldn’t have heard before and I’ve been able to transfer that when I listen to my own music”.
King's Ely Student 

 

eXPLORE Sixth Form Academic

A JOURNEY THAT IS

Uniquely King's

Admissions

  • PURPOSE
  • PRACTICE
  • PLACE
  • PEOPLE

To prepare each individual to live positive, productive, successful and fulfilled lives, for the betterment of themselves and the world around them.

Find out more

To ensure every child feels that they are known, and receives an excellent academic education that inspires curiosity and intellectual adventure. 

Find out more

To give a sense of place and belonging to all our pupils, and to celebrate our unique environment and make the most of its ecological, historical, artistic, spiritual and economic resources.

Find out more

To create a genuinely diverse community, outward and forward-looking and with a shared purpose. To bring into this community the best teachers, pastoral and support staff and students, and to be a source of friends for life. 

Find out more