Music exam strikes the right chord for candidates

MOST Leaving Certificate music students had already accumulated up to 50% of their marks from the practical element in March.

Anne Maxwell from the TUI said the CD for yesterday morning’s listening exam included a lot of helpful information. For example, it told students how long they had to complete tasks between hearing each excerpt.

She said there were no problems in the listening section of the higher or ordinary level papers, which had a balance between theory and aural questions. She said this gave them a chance to use the information they learned in class.

The ordinary level paper had some difficult questions, such as the aural recognition of a cadence in the first question.

Higher level students were glad to see Bach’s Chorale in the first question as it is quite a long work, and were also pleased with a question on Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, which is a set piece on the course. She felt part of question 6 was very challenging as there were a lot of questions about a piece they only heard three times.

The afternoon composing paper for ordinary level was very student friendly and very straightforward. Ms Maxwell said the higher level paper was much nicer than last year, and students had plenty time to finish it, unlike a year ago.

She said the three choices of melody writing question each had challenging aspects but nothing too difficult. The backing chord questions were all on major keys, which was a relief to many students who find minor keys difficult.

The Junior Certificate classical studies papers yesterday morning contained nothing too tough, according to ASTI spokesperson Michael Barry.

However, he felt the use of the same questions in parts A and C of each topic on both papers, as in previous years, needs to be addressed by the State Examinations Commission. In effect, 48 of the 80 marks for each question were available for the same thing to higher and ordinary level students. Mr Barry said there should be two more distinct papers in future, as the main concern is about the language being difficult in places for ordinary level candidates.

He also felt there should have been more internal choice within questions, particularly in b and c parts. However, students were pleased with the quality of illustrations, including a still showing Paris and Helen from the recent Troy movie.