Music A Level

TO MAKE AN APPLICATION TO MERCIA SCHOOL PLEASE APPLY VIA THE MERCIA WEBSITE https://www.merciaschool.com

The deadline date for applications is 31st December 2022 (more information is available on Mercia School website)

Music has been the way humans have responded creatively to the world around them for centuries. Whether it be used to express emotions or to pass down cultural traditions and customs, it is uniquely intertwined with our sense of identity as individuals, nations and global citizens.

Music at A Level requires scholars to perform, compose and appraise music from a wide variety of styles, genres and cultures. It allows them to more deeply appreciate and experience some of the highest forms of creativity from great composers, performers and improvisers. As they inherit and gain knowledge of the structures, patterns and conventions of the past, they forge their own identity as artists in their own right, understanding their own crucial role in this constantly evolving art form. Through exploring performance and composition at a high level, scholars are able to shape their own identity as musicians. A Level Music is respected as a challenging, rigorous course by both employers and top universities due to the wide-ranging skills and knowledge it requires of them. It teaches self-discipline, confidence, independence, how to innovate, and the value of practise and skill.

Exam Board: Edexcel

The course has three main components: Performance, Composition and Appraisal. Performance (30%) Over the two years of the course, scholars will develop a recital on their chosen instrument that demonstrates their abilities as a performer or improviser in close consultation with their instrumental teacher. The recital will be a minimum of 8 minutes long and musicians can choose to perform as a soloist or as part of an ensemble. Marks are awarded for difficulty and a minimum performance level of Grade 6 is required. Composition (30%) During the course, scholars will have lessons in more complex compositional skills such as Bach Chorale Harmony. Scholars will submit one composition that is related to a brief set by the exam board, demonstrating one of these compositional techniques. Their final composition will be an extended project developing your own style as a composer and composing an extended piece (minimum of 4 minutes in length). Both composition and Performance are course work aspects of the A level and as such will be submitted prior to the final examination.

At least a grade 7 at GCSE, or a music grade in instrument/voice of at least grade 7

Studying Music at A Level will support further study in all areas of the curriculum and provides a good step towards degrees in a wide range of subject areas including sciences, mathematics, languages, humanities and arts.