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NOTES for LMusTCL CANDIDATES
General examination techniques
1.
If you are a ‘normal’ examination candidate, as soon as you open the question paper, you are likely to be engulfed by a feeling of panic. You may not know the meaning of
bisbigliando, you may think you know nothing about the composers or works in section B
of the paper, but, if you have prepared thoroughly and remain in control of yourself, you
can make an attempt at every question. The first ‘helpful hint’ is, therefore: DON’T
PANIC. Take a moment or two to collect yourself before you look at the paper in greater
depth.
2.
Take time to read through the questions – carefully. This serves two purposes: firstly, it
allows any initial insecurity to subside; and, secondly, it allows you to decide on your
choices in all but the opening question. This perusal of the paper should occupy no more
than a few minutes, and may well prevent you from rushing into answers which might not give the best opportunity for you to demonstrate your knowledge.
3.
Make sure you answer all the questions – all the subdivisions in Question 1, but on only
five of the extracts in Question 2. (If you answer more, only the first five answers will be
considered, and you will be wasting time which could more profitably be spent in
answering other questions.) In Section B, be sure to answer only one question on your
chosen set work, and only one on its associated genre. An unanswered question means a
loss of at least 20 marks, severely reducing the chances of gaining sufficient marks to
pass the examination. However, in Section A, the occasional subsection might be able to
be omitted without causing a disaster: to lose a couple of marks because you cannot,
with ease, find a diminished seventh chord in third inversion, for example, could possibly
be offset by using the time it might take to find an elusive chord to supply more detail in
Section B responses.
4.
Do only what the question requires, and answer the question directly. For example, in
Question 2, you are not asked to identify the composers of the extracts; and in essays,
no matter how vast or detailed your knowledge, if your answer is not wholly and directly
related to the question, its likelihood of gaining a high mark will be compromised.
5.
Time management is important: candidates often spend too long on the two questions
carrying 30 marks, with the result that answers to questions worth only 20 marks
(especially the final question) are often hurried or incomplete. Aim to manage your time
effectively: different candidates have varying strengths and weaknesses, and therefore a
single time management plan cannot be appropriate for everyone. However, as a general rule, about 45 minutes is sufficient to provide an adequate response to each question
worth 30 marks, and about 35 minutes for those questions worth 20 marks. This allows
up to 20 minutes for the preliminary reading of the paper, making notes/planning
answers where necessary, and for a final checking of responses before the end of the
examination.
Hints on individual questions
Section A
Question 1
Here candidates may be required to comment on aspects of harmony, style, texture,
scoring, rhythm, melody and structure, ‘and other common analytical matters’. To the
direct questions the aim here should be for answers to be as precise as possible. Keys,
for example, should be identified clearly as major or minor – the use of upper case
letters (or +) to indicate major keys, lower case (or -) for minor keys, is discouraged.
Similarly, chords should be located by bar, and, where necessary, by beat (e.g. ‘bar 19,
third quaver beat’). Any recognised terminology for naming chords is acceptable.
Questions requiring more discursive responses often cause problems, candidates being
unsure of how much to write, or how much detail should be included. Generally questions
requiring comment on the use of rhythm or motif should identify the basic element(s) if
required, and then go on to explain how these features are modified as the music progresses.
Structural analysis should not be over-detailed: identification of the principal formal
sections are, of course, essential, as are the main keys, where required. It is not
necessary to try to contort the given extract into a textbook form, as the examiners are
looking for musical perception rather than regurgitation of a (perhaps artificial)
preconception of what the form should be.
Questions on textures may require one-word responses (such as ‘contrapuntal’) or more
extended comments. The term ‘textures’ can refer to the number of parts (in a
polyphonic composition) or the actual nature of the music (melody plus accompaniment,
chordal, imitative, etc.), and the approach taken must be guided by the wording of the
question. Often it is merely the main textures which are required to be described – as
with any similar question, it is essential to give precise references to the music to
support what is stated so that the validity of the commentary can be evaluated.
The ‘compare and contrast’ type of question is straightforward: harmony, texture, keys,
tessitura, dynamics, and, if appropriate, scoring, are some of the areas which might
merit comment.
Question 2
The requirements of the question are specific: reasons which support the suggested date
need to be given – these may refer to texture, style, scoring, etc. When the
instrumentation is given for an extract, it is pointless to repeat this in the answer –
however, where there the scoring is not given, to state what instrument/s are required could support the suggested date (e.g. whether an extract is for harpsichord or piano).
At least four valid points need to be made for each extract: comments on each extract
are marked holistically.
Section B
Question 1
The responses here require a detailed knowledge of the music: some questions require
factual knowledge (structure, style, keys, word setting, scoring etc.), and others require
a more discursive response (e.g. “How successful has X been in conveying the emotion of
the words?’) In both cases specific references to the music are required to support the points made: these may be either general (e.g. “In the third movement, it may be seen
that ….”) or more precise (“The central section of the third movement …”): some
candidates, particularly when considering longer movements, make use of bar numbers.
These sometimes cause confusion – movements/songs are sometimes interchanged, and
if an edition other than that given in the syllabus is used, the barring sometimes differs.
Any means of indicating exactly which passage is being considered is acceptable.
Question 2
Questions here vary considerably: sometimes a brief history of a genre (perhaps within a
given time span) is required (in which case specific works and their composers must be
mentioned).
Other question types include the contribution of a particular composer to the genre:
specific works must again be mentioned, and, where the question asks for it, an
assessment of the composer’s contribution to the genre must be given: this should place
his output in context and consider its influence on later composers. Such a question
might be also be related to a particular work, or works: this requires a similar approach
to the “write a programme note” type of question, though in this case the approach can
be less academic.