Year 11 Revision check list: General Music theory
Area of Study/Topic
Staff notation (stave, score, treble and
bass clefs, bar, double bar line, repeat
sign, pitch names, sharp, flat, time
signatures, note values).
Chords: (single-finger chords, triads,
chord symbols, arpeggio/broken chords).
Cadences: (perfect, plagal, imperfect,
interrupted).
The elements of music/DRSMITH:
(Dynamics, rhythm, structure, metre,
melody, instrumentation, texture,
timbre, harmony, silence, pitch).
Melody: phrasing, articulation (staccato,
legato, tenuto, accents,
consonant/dissonant), ornaments.
Dynamics
Instruments: groups of instruments
(including the piano) and which
instruments are transposing
instruments, voices/choirs (including
vocal ranges)
Tempo: (Italian words for different
tempi, e.g. rall, rit, a tempo etc…)
Tonality: (major, minor, modal, scales and
tones/semitones, pentatonic, chromatic
and atonal)
Structure: (ternary, binary form, rondo
form, verse-chorus from, through
composed)
Musical/rhythmic devices:
(ostinato/riff; syncopation, triplets,
dotted rhythms, swung rhythms)
Keys and key signatures: (modulation to
related keys, transposition)
Texture types: (monophonic, homophonic,
polyphonic, heterophonic)
Intervals: (octaves, 3rds, 4ths, 5ths,
etc.)
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Things to revise
Year 11 Revision check list: Area of Study 1: Western Classical Music
1600-1899
Area of Study/Topic
Set Work 1: Handel: Chorus
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Things to revise
‘And the Glory of the Lord’ from
the oratorio Messiah (devices
used, e.g. pedal, imitation, hemiola,
sequence)
Features of the Baroque period
and what an oratorio is.
Set Work 2: Mozart: 1st
movement from Symphony No.
40 in G minor (Sonata Form and
the symphony)
Features of the Classical period.
Set Work 3: Chopin: Piano
prelude No. 15 in D flat major
(ternary form, piano techniques
and ornaments)
Features of the Romantic period
and what a piano prelude is.
Year 11 Revision check list: Area of Study 2: Music in the 20th century.
Area of Study/Topic
Set Work 4: Schoenberg:
‘Peripetie’ from Five Orchestral
Pieces (atonal)
Features of
Expressionism/Serialism
Set Work 5: Berstein:
‘Something’s Coming’ from West
Side Story.
Features of the musical/20th
century music; augmented
th
4 /tritone and other intervals;
jazz chords; riff/ostinato.
Set Work 6: Reich: 3rd
movement (fast) from Electric
Counterpoint (ostinato/loop)
Features of Minimalism
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Things to revise
Year 11 Revision check list: Area of Study 3: Popular Music in context
Area of Study/Topic
Set Work 7: Miles Davis: ‘All
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Things to revise
Blues’ from Kind of Blue -
rhythmic devices: dotted rhythms,
syncopation, swung rhythms and
triplets.
- 12 bar Blues
- Chord substitution and
seventh chords (extended
and altered chords).
The origins, types and features of
jazz.
Set Work 8: Jeff Buckley:
‘Grace’ from Grace
-
Guitar playing techniques
‘Sus’ chords
The history and musical
features of pop and rock
music
Set Work 9: Moby: ‘Why Does
My Heart Feel So Bad?’ from
Play
-Music technology (sampling, FX,
synthesisers, drum machines, PCs,
multi-track recording and
overdubbing); repeating chord
sequences.
The origins and features of club
dance music.
Year 11 Revision check list: Area of Study 4: World Music
Area of Study/Topic
Set Work 10: Capercaillie: ‘Skye
Waulking Song’ from ‘Nadurra’
Scottish folk music-features and
instruments; tradition of waulking;
pentatonic scales.
Set Work 11: Rag Desh
Indian music features and
instruments.
Set Work 12: Koko: ‘Yiri’
African music features and
instruments.
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Things to revise