A Level Music at Warwick School provides a rigorous and enriching study of performance, composition and musical understanding.
MUSIC AT WARWICK
Designed for committed musicians seeking to develop advanced skills, the course combines academic depth with extensive practical opportunities. Pupils benefit from specialist tuition, high-quality ensembles and state-of-the-art facilities, preparing them for further musical study or a wide range of professional pathways.
Course Specification – A Level
Composition: Pupils will submit two pieces of work at the end of their A Level course; one composition (which can be either ‘free’ or set to a ‘brief’) and a Bach Chorale paper (which is conducted under controlled conditions around Easter of Year 13). Composition looks to develop textural control and harmonic language, as well as general creativity, whilst the Bach Chorales is a means through which to develop analytical skills as well as control of texture and developing an understanding of the rules that underpin Western Classical Music. The total submission time for both coursework elements in combination is 6 minutes; given that Bach Chorales can vary in length and are set by the exam board each year, we recommend boys compose a piece of music that is at least 4.5 minutes when working on their own composition.
A collection of short compositions is worked on at the start of L6, with a more detailed work created as ‘coursework’ for the end of Year 12; most pupils start work on their proper composition in Year 13, having developed their skills further in Year 12.
Performance: Most of our pupils score close to full marks for this area of the course, and this is achieved through dedicated practice and good preparation in conjunction with their 1:1 instrumental teacher. In Year 13, boys are required to submit a recording of a recital, lasting at least 8 minutes. Boys are provided with an accompanist, where required, and Miss Hooker is outstanding at ensuring candidates are calm and prepared for their final performance when it comes around at the end of the Easter Term in Year 13.
Listening & Appraising: The list of repertoire for analysis at A Level is extensive and varied, with composers ranging from Bach to Saariaho, via the Beatles, Danny Elfman and Anoushka Shankar. The written paper consists of 3 listening questions based on works from a studied Anthology of Music, with one dictation to follow and then two essay questions, comprising half of the marks in the paper. One essay is based on an entirely unfamiliar piece of music, whilst the final essay is based on one of the set works, though requires a detailed contextual knowledge of other contemporaneous music; pupils are well prepared for this through essay practice, analysis and wider listening in academic lessons, and though challenging, this is a really exciting part of the course that provides stretch and detail, as well as a host of transferable skills.
If you are interested in pursuing A Level Music please do contact Mr Mann (music@warwickschools.co.uk) for further information.
