A Level Music Eduqas

The Musical Elements

Structure

• Recognise and understand the form of classical music - fugue, sonata, concerto, symphony.
• Study typical structures such as binary, ternary, rondo and theme and variations.
• Consider how these structures contributed to the development of musical ideas in the Western Classical tradition.

Harmony

• Acquaint yourself with the basis of Western Classical music - tonality.
• Understand how major and minor keys, chromaticism, modulation, and functional harmony are used.
• Notice the use of orchestration, including registers and tonal colours, as all these play critical roles in composing.

Melody

• Understand how motifs, phrases and themes were developed and revisited.
• Explore how composers of the Western Classical period used sequence, repetition and transposition.
• Be aware of contrapuntal writing - where individual lines or melodies interact.

Rhythm and Tempo

• Examine how pulse, beat, syncopation and polyrhythms shape a piece.
• Understand the influence of tempo changes and rubato on the overall pace.
• Get to grips with duple, triple and compound time signatures.

Texture

• Identify monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic and heterophonic textures.
• Understand the use of textural contrast which can enhance expression in a piece.
• Grasp the relationship between texture and musical form in the Western Classical Tradition.

Dynamics

• Understand how crescendo, decrescendo, forte, piano, and other dynamics shape the expressiveness of a piece.
• Recognize terraced dynamics, an instant change without crescendo or decrescendo, an essential part of Baroque music.
• Know how composers use dynamics to highlight structural changes or to delineate thematic content.

Instrumentation

• Recognise the primary instruments used in the Western Classical Tradition - strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion.
• Understand the role these instruments play within an orchestra.
• Gain a general knowledge of each instrument's technical possibilities and characteristic sound.