A2-LEVEL MUSIC & YOU

OUTLINE AND INTRODUCTION

WELCOME BACK!

Introduction
Most students who decide to study music at A-level will have been considerably involved in music for several years. Many will be proficient instrumentalists who have been learning for a few years and have reached a higher grade, perhaps grades six, seven or eight. They will probably play in an orchestra or wind band in, and sometimes out of, school and they will be used to the demands of practicing and performing. They will probably have good sight-reading and aural skills. Some will have found their voice and be well on the way to becoming good singers. Some others will have played guitar or drum kit and been involved in bands and groups and are frequently good musicians with a sensitive ear and have the ability to memorize most of the music they perform, indeed much of it made up or composed by themselves. Many would-be A level students will have also studied GCSE Music (although this is not essential) and be familiar with the requirements of coursework and deadlines for composing and performing. What then does A level music have to offer? Why choose this course and where will it lead? What will you get from it?

The Musician
First and foremost is the opportunity to become a better musician. Forget the exams for a minute education is not just about passing examinations to get a grubby bit of paper it is actually about studying something that really interests you and helps you to develop your talents to prepare you for the future. If you aspire to be a good musician you will, in many cases, wish to be as good a performer as possible. There is so much to be enjoyed in the world of music and the opportunities to develop a love and delight in making music and listening and experiencing music are well worth taking. The more you explore and discover a subject the more interesting and stimulating it becomes.

The Career
You may not necessarily want to take up music as a career. To become a concert pianist or a player in a top orchestra requires the very highest standards of performance. If you are that good go for it! Several of our past music students who have left St. Vincent College in the last few years are now studying music at universities and music colleges and will hopefully go into the profession when they graduate. But there are many other jobs that may require a good working knowledge of music: in broadcasting for example or the recording industry or journalism or concert and artist management or arts organizations or music teaching. The list is long and very interesting.

Welcome Back
Welcome back to the second year of studying music at St. Vincent College. You all already know me, although there will be a few changes this year. Therefore, I would like for us to observe the following: 1. As a class I feel that we should all have a very informal chat about how you got on last year, how you felt that it went and what you would like to improve upon this year. I would like these meetings to be fully structured and be regular through the year. 2. As a class I would like you to tell me what you would like from me. Obviously, you want to get a good grade from your A2, but how about prompt starts to lessons, what type of hand-out would you find useful, and, if any of you have certain issues (such as Dyslexia) would you like the hand-outs printed on different colour paper? Anything really (within reason) that you would like a chat about. 3. In turn, I would like to have a chat about what I want from you! The process that I have outlined above is very democratic, and I am told that Im quite laid-back, but Im not that relaxed when it comes around to doing my job and teaching you: In fact, I am VERY serious about it and, in turn YOU should be serious about turning up to lessons, completing homework, etc. Therefore, I would like you all to complete a learning contract with me. I will go through it in a bit, and anybody who would not like to sign one can have his/her views heard.

4. As you know, I have taught A-Level music before (as well as BTEC, GCSE and undergraduate & postgraduate level) and one of the best aspects of this job is the feeling of us being a Music Department as a whole. In other words, I want you to be able to use these rooms as a space to hang-out, eat your lunch (of course you will clear up), to rehearse, to complete (a high standard of) homework, to talk to your lecturers or just to come in and moan! I would love to see these rooms to be used by us as a Music Department! Overall, then, I want you all to have a good time this year, getting on with your studies and having an odd laugh or two (probably at my expense!)

SPECIFICATION AT A GLANCE

Your A2-Level Music Qualification consists of 3 Units:

UNIT 4 MUSC4 Music in Context 20% of A-Level 2 hours 15 minutes written examination 100 marks

UNIT 5 MUSC5 Composing: Developing Musical Ideas 15% of A-level Externally Assessed Coursework 60 marks

UNIT 6 MUSC6 Performing: A Musical Performance 15% of A-Level 15 minutes Externally Assessed 60 marks

And, in turn, these Units will be divided up into the following:

UNIT 4: Music in Context (Written Paper) This Unit is assessed through a written exam lasting 1 hour 45 minutes and is marked out of 80. The exam will take place in MAY. Section A: Listening As a continuation of the work that you did last year, this is further identification of different elements of music (such as cadences, compositional devices and instrumentation) through analysis of scores and listening. Section B: The Western Classical Tradition This section consists of a full and thorough analysis of Mahlers Symphony No. 4 in G major, and, as with your AS exam, will take the form of a written style question. A score is allowed into the exam Section C: Historical Study: Area of Study 3: Four Decades of Jazz and Blues 1910-1950. Here we will study the development of Jazz and Blues from 19101950, analysing aspects such as the use of voice and instruments, use of melody and texture, and identifying styles such as BoogieWoogie, Swing and Big Band Jazz.

UNIT 5: Developing Musical Ideas This Unit is coursework based, externally assessed and marked out of 60. You will have 20 hours of controlled time in which to complete your composition, and the coursework is to submitted in MAY As with the composition that you worked on last year, your work may be either in the form of a Free Composition or one of Pastiche. However, the main difference for this particular composition is that you will need to compose one piece of music that lasts between 5 and 8 minutes. Your piece can be of any genre and use any combination of instruments, voices or electronic sound sources. The piece can be in a single movement, or can compromise up to three separate but related sections or movements. It is necessary to submit both a recording of your piece and a score or annotation of some kind. If you are reluctant to provide a fully notated score, make sure your annotation has information about how you have controlled all musical elements within your piece, and in particular gives detailed information about the structure of your composition. Aspects to bear in mind There are so many aspects to a piece of music that it is very easy to overlook some of the aspects for which the examiners will be looking. These will include: Is there a clear structure to your piece? Have you explored the potential of your musical ideas through their development?

 Are you in control of the tonality of the music? Does the harmonic language bring character and direction to the music? Have you clearly imagined the resulting sound of the timbres you have employed and the texture you have created with them? Is the writing for each instrument idiomatic and well marked up with performance detail? Are you in overall control of the musical character of your piece?

Unit 6: Performing (A Musical Performance) For this unit you have to offer performances of two or more contrasting pieces in a programme lasting 10-15 minutes. These performances can be: Solo acoustic performances Technology-based performances One solo acoustic performance and on technology-based performance. There needs to be accuracy in your performance, a sense of communication with your audience, and sufficient expressive qualities in the performance to show empathy for the musical character and style of the piece.

YEAH! BIG DEAL!! BUT WHAT DO I HAVE TO

LEARN TO PASS THIS
COURSE?!!

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UNIT 4: MUSIC IN CONTEXT And You

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As with the AS this Unit is divided into three sections: a listening test, an essay writing task on Gustav Mahlers Symphony No. 4 in G Major and an essay writing task on the history of jazz and blues from 1910 to 1950. Therefore, although you will have regular study sessions surrounding the set-work and the music of Jazz and Blues from the early to mid 20thCentury, you will also have regular Aural sessions in order to train your ear to hear certain important elements of music, such as cadences, instrumentation and rhythm.

SECTIONA: LISTENING TEST

Section A requires listening to a recording of musical extracts on which questions are set. This is similar to the AS Music listening test. Once the recording has finished, the remainder of the exam will be conducted in normal exam conditions, so you will have the rest of the time to check your Section A answers and to tackle the essay questions for Sections B and C. You will have to answer one essay from a choice of two for each of these sections. Although you will spend longer in the exam on Sections B and C, each of these is marked out of 20, whereas Section A is marked out of 40. It is well worth remembering this during the course and making sure that you get plenty of regular practice at answering listening questions. Below is an outline of some of the questions you may get asked in this paper. It is best to memorise the terms and musical vocabulary used. TIMBRE/INSTRUMENTATION !What instruments or instrumental group has the composer used - this is the initial question to ask yourself, and although sometimes stating the obvious, it is important to show that you know what instruments are playing. Further, it is also important for you to consider how the instruments are playing - bowed, pizzicato, muted, tremolo, glissando, staccato, legato. You should also know what key the instruments are in so that you dont make any mistakes when writing out the chords. Another aspect to orchestration is an awareness of period and what/how instruments are used. For example in the classical period trumpet parts were often limited to the harmonic series. MELODIC MOVEMENT. You will be asked to describe this and it just means describe the way the tune moves. If you think about it, there are only really 4 things it could do. It could move by STEP, this means that it moves to the note right next to it. It could move by LEAP, this means that it jumps to another note and misses out some in between. It could ASCEND which means go up or it could DESCEND which means go down. I suppose it could also stay on the same note, but then it wouldnt be much of a melody.

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MUSICAL DEVICES. You will be asked to name a musical device being used at a given point in the music. A musical device is not something like a piano, drum kit or guitar (dont laugh I have seen these answers). They mean things that are happening in the music, such as SEQUENCE, PEDAL, IMITATION (See the Glossary at the back for definitions). These also include those technical shenanigagns such as ornamentation, trill, turn, mordent, and technical terms such as appoggiatura, passing note, note of anticipation. TEXTURE. You will be asked to describe the texture at a given point in the music. Texture means the ways that sounds are combined together. I have only seen these 3 in the listening test. MONOPHONIC means 1 single sound; it could be a voice or an instrument. HOMOPHONIC means a single melody (tune) with a background accompaniment, the accompaniment might move with the melody like a hymn, or it might be a rhythmic backing like the um-pa-pa of a waltz. Both are homophonic. POLYPHONIC means lots of different melodies playing at once, it sound like lots of people talking at the same time. MUSICAL FORMS. The FORM of a piece of music is the way the different sections are put together. The first thing you hear is called section A. When you hear something new this is section B and so on. The most common forms are BINARY FORM is in 2 sections. Section A followed by section B. Both are usually repeated. All dances from the baroque suite are in Binary form. TERNARY FORM 3 sections A, B and C. RONDO FORM in RONDO FORM, section A comes back after each new section. Like this, A B A C A. It could go on longer. VARIATION FORM each new section is based on the original section A, and so it is a variation of it. CADENCES. You will be asked to name or describe a cadence at a given point. Cadences are musical punctuation, you can think of them as commas and full stops. There are several kinds but you really need only think of 2. PERFECT CADENCE is a musical full stop. IMPERFECT CADENCE is a musical comma. If you honestly do not have a clue, write PERFECT CADENCE whenever you are asked to name or describe a cadence. TO NALITY. You will be asked to name the tonality of a piece of music. Tonality just means the kind of key that the music is in. MAJOR sounds happy. MINOR sounds sad or can be powerfully dramatic. ATONAL means no key and is usually clashing and unpleasant but not always, it can just sound aimless. PENTATONIC uses a scale with gaps in it and so it can

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sound airy most often it sounds Chinese. It will also ask you if the piece of music modulates in any way, such as to the DOMINANT. SUBDOMINANT or RELATIVE MINOR. Also look at whether a chord is first inversion, root, etc. MUSICAL INTERVALS. You will be asked to name the interval between two different voices or parts. This means you have to recognise the different sounds that this makes. There are 6 intervals. 3rds and 6ths are pleasant sounding intervals and are the most likely in popular music such as pop songs and light classical music like the waltz for example. The theme to Rugrats uses 3rds, if the notes sound a long way apart they are obviously 6ths. 4ths and 5ths sound hollow like monks moaning or they could sound powerful (a power chord in rock is a 5th). 2nds and 7ths sound horrible and clashing and I havent seen one in the listening test yet. For the educated guess, if it sounds sweet go for 3rd if not go for 5th. COMPLETION OF A DIATONIC MELODY In the exam you will also be asked to fill in some notes from what is called a skeleton score. You will have plenty of practice to do this over the coming year. S O WHAT S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS AND THE AS? In addition to revising all these musical features and terms listed above that you met at AS, the A2 listening paper expects you to know a range of further technical details to which we now turn. ADVANCED CHORD IDENTIFICATION In addition to the primary triads and dominant 7th chords that are required at AS, you need to recognise some more advanced chords: Diminished 7th chords Augmented 6th chords Secondary 7th Chords Dominant 7th in third inversion (V7d).

TO NALITY You will already feel confident telling the difference between music in a major or a minor key. The A2 specification also requires you to be able to tell the difference between tonal, modal and various kinds of atonal music, i.e. music that does not have a key. You need to be familiar with four more kinds of musical language:

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Modality Atonality Music based on a whole-tone scale Bitonality

MODULATION At AS you had to be ready to spot modulations (changes of key) from a major tonic to the subdominant, dominant or relative minor. Now these are further possible modulations to look out for: From a major tonic to the tonic minor (C major to C minor) From a minor triad to a minor dominant From a minor tonic to the relative major.

HARMONIC DEVICES The specification expects you to be able to spot four kinds of harmonic device: Pedal notes tonic and dominant Cycle of 5ths progressions Suspensions Sequences

MORE METRES The more common metres have already been covered at AS. At A2 however, you may also meet music with either five or seven beats in a bar. HEMIOLA A hemiola is a rhythmic device consisting of superimposing two notes in the time of three, or three in the time of two. You will be S H ORT GLO S SARY Many of the following terms have appeared in the listening. Many have been relevant more than once and some have been relevant in every one. You MUST memorise them. ACCELERANDO the music gets gradually faster. ACCENT Means that a note is given more emphasis or stress than others. ADAGIO to be performed slowly and in a relaxed manner (just think slow) ALLEGRO fast

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ALLEGRETTO a bit fast, not as fast as allegro ANDANTE quite slow. It literally means walking speed. ARCO a direction for violin players etc. It means to play normally with the bow. ARPEGGIO when the notes of a chord are played one after the other instead of all at once. Like finger style on a guitar. (See also BROKEN CHORD) BROKEN CHORD same as ARPEGGIO. CRESCENDO music gets gradually louder. COUNTER-MELODY another tune which is played along with the main tune. DIMINUENDO music gets gradually quieter. DISCORD clashing sounds, not nice. DISSONANT/DISSONANCE when discords are being used and the music sounds clashing. DRONE note or notes that carry on throughout the music, like bagpipes. DYNAMICS just means the louds and quiets in the music and how they change. This is REALLY IMPORTANT and you would be surprised how many people dont know. REMEMBER IT. GLISSANDO sliding from one note to another like a slide on a guitar with a bottleneck. Trombones and violins etc do this really well. They seem to like this one it has been in every paper recently. IMITATION when one instrument or voice simply copies what another has already done. This can be higher or lower. LARGO music is slow and dignified. NOTE CLUSTER lots of notes really close together, a DISCORD, sounds nasty, like someone leaning on a piano keyboard. They used to like this but I havent seen it recently. OSTINATO a short pattern of notes that is repeated over and over. Called a RIFF in rock. This is a favourite and is always in the paper somewhere. PEDAL a long, LOW note that carries on under the music. It could also be a series of repeated notes but it must be the same note and it must be LOW. If the same thing happens with a high note it is called an INVERTED PEDAL. PIZZICATO a direction to violin etc players to pluck the strings instead of playing ARCO with the bow. PRESTO music is fast. RITARDANDO music gets gradually slower. SEQUENCE when a pattern of notes is played or sung again but slightly higher or lower, usually by the same instrument or voice. Another favourite one this. SFORZANDO When a bit suddenly stands out in the music. STACCATO when notes are played short and detached. Sounds jumpy. SYNCOPATION when the music lies against the beat instead of with it. Most popular music is syncopated, most marches and waltzes, for example, arent. TEMPO how fast or slow the music is and how this might change.

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TRILL moving quickly between a note and the one above it. This can happen in the melody on long notes. VIVACE music is lively.

SECTION B: HISTORICAL STUDY: GUSTAV MAHLERS SYMPHONY NO. 4 IN G MAJOR

Within this section of the booklet you will find out what you need to know in terms of studying Gustav Mahlers Symphony No.4 in g Major. Within the first few weeks of studying this Unit you will have a copy of the score for this symphony, and a recording. It must be stressed that it is essential that you listen to and equate yourself with the piece as much as you can outside of college. WHAT EXACTLY WILL I HAVE TO DO IN THE EXAM? As with AS you will have a choice of ONE essay out of TWO, with the subject matter concerning a musical aspect of the symphony. So, for instance, you may be asked to discuss the form and structure of one of the movements, or Mahlers use of harmony, texture, etc. This essay is worth 30 marks and you will be able to refer to an unmarked score. The questions are likely to ask you to discuss Mahlers approach to one of the main elements of composition: melody, harmony and tonality, rhythm and metre, texture, instrumentation and timbre, and form. It is also advisable to know something of the historical context of the piece. BUT I DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MUSICAL ANALYSIS! Over the next year you will be taught how to analyse a piece of classical music. We have already talked above of the importance of musical terminology in your understanding of the aural aspects of music, and of course this will overlap into your studying of the set work. Therefore, over the next year we will be pulling apart Mahlers symphony bar-bybar: so much so that you will be begging for me to give you a break (and play some Stockhausen!) S O , WHAT NEXT? To gain the most of this Unit I would recommend that you do a little research into the set-work, and I would start with the following: Research the life of Mahler. When was he born? When did he die? How many symphonies did he write? What type of composer was he? Was he a Baroque composer, a Classical composer or a Romantic composer? What type of orchestra did he use in this symphony? What musical Form did he use? Research this Form.

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Who were Mahlers contemporaries? If he lived from this date to that date, who were the other famous composers who lived around these dates?

Good luck in your research! And make sure you return with some interesting answers!

SECTION C: AREA OF STUDY 2: FOUR DECADES OF JAZZ AND BLUES: 1910 TO 1950
You will now read through what you will need for the final Section of this paper: Four Decades of Jazz and Blues 1910-1950. WHAT WILL I NEED TO DO IN THE EXAM? You will have a choice of TWO essays for this part of the exam, in which you need to answer ONE. In the exam you will not have access to scores of the works you have studied, so you will have to memorise aspects of the music, context etc. WHAT PIECES OF MUSIC WILL BE STUDY ING? AQA does not stipulate which pieces to study for each topic. Because of this, the questions will be of a more general nature than those on the Mahler symphony. Nonetheless, you still need to focus on the music itself in your answers in order to get a good mark. WHAT TYPE OF QUESTION S WILL THEY ASK ME? There are essentially two broad types of question the examiners may ask: The first is to ask you to write an informative programme note on, perhaps, two or three pieces you have studied The other is to ask you to comment on how one or more of the main elements of music (structure, melody, rhythm, harmony, texture and the use of instruments) were used in one or more pieces from your chosen topic. IM UPSET BECAUSE WERE NOT S TUDYING THE MUSIC I LIKE! Im afraid that in this study, we cannot cover EVERY jazz/blues musician of this era. However, if you do want us to look at a certain musician then please have a chat with me: Im always open to new ideas (especially if there is a bribe (or two) of a cup of tea in there somewhere!)

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UNIT 5: DEVELOPING MUSICAL IDEAS And You

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Below is a brief outline of Unit 5: Developing Musical Ideas. Much of what has been written here has been drawn from the AQA A-Level Music Specification and Richard Knights A2 Music Study Guide. WHAT EXACTLY HAVE I GOT TO DO? You will be asked to compose one piece of music that lasts between 5 and 8 minutes. Your piece can be of any genre and use any combination of instruments, voices or electronic sound sources. The piece can be a single movement, or can comprise up to three separate but related sections or movements. It is necessary to submit both a recording of your piece and a score or annotation of some kind. If you are reluctant to provide a fully notated score, make sure your annotation has information about how you have controlled all musical elements within your piece, and in particular gives detailed information about the structure of your composition. WHAT COMPO SING EXPERIENCE SHO ULD I HAVE ALREADY? The A2 Music course assumes that you already have some experience of composing, for instance at AS/GCSE level. If you have not composed before, you may find it useful to familiarise yourself with the following skills before beginning a project: 1. Composing a melody and structuring it in phrases 2. Harmonising a melody with simple chords/triads 3. Developing several textures or accompaniment patterns from given chords 4. Structuring you ideas into a simple overall form (such as versechorus or ternary) 5. Using contrast in your music 6. Adding appropriate performance directions to your score 7. Producing a score and set of parts. The first six of these are introduced in the starter project to the GCSE Music Composition Workbook (originally published as Music Composition Workbook Volume 1, Rhinegold 2008). Knowledge of music notation software (such as Sibelius or Finale) and sequencing software (such as Cubase or Logic) might also be helpful, but is no means compulsory. WHAT OTHER MUSICAL SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE DO I NEED? You should be able to read the treble and bass clefs and play an instrument to a standard whereby you can try out musical ideas. It is useful, though not essential, to be able to play a harmony instrument such as a keyboard or guitar, as this will help you work out chords and chord patterns. Remember that you must not compose in isolation from the other units you are studying so also draw upon those musical aspects that we

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have discussed above, such as musical terms, compositional devices and the discussion of Form and Structure, etc. CAN I CHO O SE THE STYLE OF MUSIC I WRITE IN? You should be able to follow the projects in any musical style you like, although some projects will suit certain styles more than others. Examples can be drawn from many AS music compositions written in the past, and these may give you an idea of several of the options available. Check with any of your teachers that the project you choose is suitable for the style in which you would like to compose. You should also check that your chosen style conforms with the AQA specification. DOES MY COMPO SITION HAVE TO BE WRITTEN FOR ACTUAL PERFORMERS TO PLAY? That depends on the performers you have available to you and the type of music you are writing. For styles that normally involve live musicians, you will learn a good deal from working with actual performers, such as what the instruments sound like, what is practical and what works well for an ensemble. Moreover, hearing your music being performed is often a much more rewarding experience than listening to computer playback. However, for practical reasons, you may find that a performance through music software is the only way of giving an accurate account of your piece. WHAT METHOD OF COMPO SING SH O ULD I USE? There are many different ways of composing and if you have written music before, you should have a good idea of what works well for you. The main ways are: Working at an instrument, writing your ideas down on paper, Working at a computer sequencer, playing your ideas into the software (be careful not to be over-reliant on notation software for the actual writing of your pieces, as composing in this way can result in very stiff-sounding rhythms and rather mechanical melodic lines), Using studio-based techniques, where you record your material track-by-track, improvising other ideas over it, and Working away from the instrument, writing your ideas onto manuscript paper. You can of course use more than one of these methods. If you are writing for live performers try not to write entirely at a computer: if you can, try out your music with live performers as you compose, as software can give a mis-leading impression of what is playable. ASPECT S TO BEAR IN MIND

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There are so many aspects to a piece of music that it is very easy to overlook some of the aspects for which the examiners will be looking. These will include: Is there a clear structure to your piece? Have you explored the potential of your musical ideas through their development? Are you in control of the tonality of the music? Have you clearly imagined the resulting sound of the timbres you have employed and the texture you have created with them? Is the writing for each instrument idiomatic and well marked up with performance detail? Are you in overall control of the musical character of your piece?

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UNIT 6: A MUSICAL PERFORMANCE And You

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The final Unit that you study for A2-Music is Unit 6: A Musical Performance. Once again, I have incorporated a helping hand within this outline, most notably Richard Knight and his A2 Music Study Guide. HOW WILL I BE AS SE S SED? For this Unit you have to offer performances of two or more contrasting pieces in a programme lasting 10-15 minutes. These performances can be: Solo acoustic performances Technology-based performances One solo acoustic performance and one performance.

technology-based

LIVE PERFORMING A solo performance should either be: A single instrument or voice without accompaniment A single part that is accompanied by piano, guitar or backing track.

Singers especially should note that if they perform with accompaniment, it should not double their own solo line. There needs to be accuracy in your performance, a sense of communication with your audience, and sufficient expressive qualities in the performances to show empathy for the musical character and style of the piece. TECHNOLOGY-BASED PERFORMANCES There are two categories of technology-based performances that can be submitted for this Unit: Sequencing Multi-track/close microphone recording

Sequencing The requirements for this option are as follows: The piece must be at least 48 bars long There must be six independent instrumental or vocal parts Any style is acceptable In a classical style submission the music should involve a solo part In a pop or jazz style submission the music should involve a vocal part. 24

Your work will need to show the examiner that you can control pitch and rhythm accurately, that you have a good understanding of controlling the timbre, balance and panning aspects of each instrumental or vocal part, that you have shown good attention to the expressive detail of the music and that a clear awareness of musical style emerges from your work. Multi-track/Close Microphone Project The requirements for this option are as follows: The piece must be at least 48 bars long There must be six parts, which must include independent vocal and instrumental lines You should use both time-based and dynamic effects (e.g. reverb, delay, etc.) In the final mix there should be evidence of panning/stereo.

Your work will need to show the examiner that you have achieved a good balance between parts, that you have catered for a wide dynamic range, that you have utilised panning techniques to separate sounds of similar frequencies, and that there is good quality sound recording across a wide range of frequencies. Last year we had a number of students who failed to turn up to individual peripatetic lessons. All of your Guidance Officers will be notified that you MUST BE ATTENDING EVERY INDIVIDUAL LESSON ON A WEEKLY BASIS. THERE IS NO ARGUMENT AGAINST THIS! IF YOU DO NOT TURN UP TO YOUR LESSON YOU WILL FAIL. I HAVE SEEN THIS TIME AND TIME AGAIN. IF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH YOUR TEACHER THEN PLEASE COME AND TALK TO EITHER HAYLEY OR MYSELF.

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Well, thats it! As you can see, the course is very much a development/extension of the AS course last year, so, I dont think you have much to worry about. That said, learning a complete Mahler symphony is A LOT different to learning a few movements from the repertoire of a composer such as Mozart. But hey, put in a bit more work and youll be fine. If, however, you are particularly worried about anything then please do come and have a chat with Hayley, or myself. I want you to have an extremely good, constructive year so if you have any concerns then come and see one of us! In the meantime: GOOD LUCK!!

Mike

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