Nat 5 UM May Revision 4: BIG DAY TOMORROW!

In preparation for the exam tomorrow, please look at 

a) all the posts on music@chs (see below or search for concepts on the right). Posts go back to Jan 9th - click on 'Post archive'
b) your Google Classroom posts.
c) the N3-N5 grid and booklet - click here and here. Make sure you know the definitions of each concept.
d) the prezis (click here)
e) the past papers (click here)
f) the audio excerpts (click here and here)
g) the Understanding Music videos (click here)

h) the Music Literacy videos (click here) 

The Nat 5 exam is at 11.30am in the Music Department. Please arrive in plenty of time. Look for your name on the list to tell you which Music classroom to go to.

See you tomorrow. 

Higher UM May Revision 4: BIG DAY TOMORROW!

In final preparation for the exam tomorrow, please look at 

a) the '3 and 4 days to go' posts on music@chs
b) all the other posts
c) the N3 - Higher grids (click here and here). 

d) the definitions booklets (click here and here). Make sure you know the definitions of each concept.
d) the prezis (click here for link)
e) the past papers (click here for link)
f) the audio excerpts (click here and here)
g) the Understanding Music videos (click here)

h) the Music Literacy videos (click here)


The Higher exam is at 9am in the Music Department.  Rooms and names are displayed in the Music corridor.  

See you tomorrow. 

Advanced Higher UM May Revision 4: BIG DAY TOMORROW!

Your Understanding Music exam is tomorrow (Friday 5th May) at 1.00 in the Music Department.  

Spend the remaining time looking at the previous posts on music@chs. 

In addition, check:

a) the N5 - Advanced Higher grids (click here and here)

b) the N3 - Advanced Higher booklets (click here, here and here). Make sure you know the definitions of each concept.
c) the prezis (click here for links), especially the one on Advanced Higher concepts (link here)
d) the past papers (click here)
e) the audio excerpts (click here and here)

f) the Understanding Music videos (click here)

g) the Music Literacy videos (click here) 

See you tomorrow

Nat 5 UM May Revision 3: 2 days to Go! - GENERAL ADVICE

There are 2 days to go until the Nat 5 Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.


Please use the remaining time to

a) look over the Nat 5 countdown posts below. Scroll down - there is a lot of information here.

b) look over your Google Classroom posts.

c) make sure you know are familiar with the concepts grid, here

d) make sure you know the concepts, the definitions and how they sound, here, here, here, here, here

Don't worry - all of these are just different ways of looking at the same thing!

e) try the homework tasks, here

f) try the past papers - here

Higher UM May Revision 3: 2 days to Go! - GENERAL ADVICE

There are 2 days to go until the Higher Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.


Please use the remaining time to 

a) look over the previous posts on music@chs. Scroll down - there are loads of them.

b) pay close attention to the 3 days to go and 4 days to go posts as these concepts are frequent flyers. 
 
c) look over the prezis (click here for links)

d) try the past papers (click here) 

e) make sure you know the contents of the concept grids for every level up to and including Higher (N3-N5 here, Higher here)

f) make sure you know what the concepts mean (N3-N5 booklet here, Higher booklet here)

g) look over the Understanding Music and Music Literacy videos, here and here.

Advanced Higher UM May Revision 3: 2 days to Go! - MUSIC LITERACY

There are 2 days to go until the Advanced Higher Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.


Here is a reminder of the literacy content at Advanced Higher. Please make sure you are secure with this.

Here is a link to the Music Literacy videos at Advanced Higher. 

Nat 5 UM May Revision 2: 3 days to Go! - NOTATION / QUIZZES / UNDERSTANDING MUSIC VIDEOS

There are 3 days to go until the Nat 5 Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

If you have to write musical notes, remember to put the stems of the notes on the correct side, going up or down as appropriate. If the note is above the 3rd line, the stem goes down, on the left like this -

If the note is below the 3rd line, the stem goes up, on the right like this -   

Notes which appear above or below the stave like this -

or this -

make use of ledger lines. These are extra, short lines which are used when the music is moving up too high or down too low for the existing stave.

Make sure you know what middle C looks like - 

It is the same note at exactly the same pitch in both clefs.

Try to imagine that there is another line between the bass clef and the treble clef - middle C sits on this line. D sits on the 'space' above this line and B sits on the 'space' below.

b) Try the quizzes - if needed, the password is music17.

c) take another look at the Understanding Music videos. Click here. 

Higher UM May Revision 2: 3 days to Go! - Things They Ask About a Lot Part 2

There are 3 days to go until the Nat 5 Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

Things They Ask About a Lot Part 2

Strophic

Through composed

Melismatic

Syllabic

Suspension

Walking bass

Alberti bass

‘Describe the tonality’ – major, minor, atonal

Gospel

String quartet

Chamber music

Obbligato

Passacaglia

‘Describe the texture’ – polyphonic, homophonic

‘Describe the form’ – AB (binary) ABA (ternary), rondo, theme and variations, middle 8


Some more things to know about -


If you are asked about the texture of a piece of music you are being asked if it is polyphonic or homophonic.

If you are asked about the tonality of a piece of music you are being asked if it is major, minor, atonal or modal.

If you are asked to describe a playing technique, e.g. on a string instrument, the answer could be arco, pizzicato, harmonics, con sordino, tremolando.

On a brass instrument, a playing technique could be flutter tonguing (also possible on a flute) or con sordino (using a mute).

If you are asked to identify a type of scale, this could be major scale, harmonic minor scale, melodic minor scale, pentatonic scale, chromatic scale.

If you are asked to identify a type of chord, this could be major, minor, dominant 7th, diminished 7th, added 6th.

If you are asked to identify a cadence, this could be perfect, plagal, imperfect or interrupted. 

Advanced Higher UM May Revision 2: 3 days to Go! - ORATORIO / MUSIC LITERACY VIDEOS

There are 3 days to go until the Advanced Higher Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

a) Oratorio

b) Music Literacy videos - click here.

Nat 5 UM May Revision 1: 4 days to Go! - TEMPO and LINKS TO DEFINITIONS

There are 4 days to go until the Nat 5 Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

a) These terms are all to do with tempo. 

Definitions here - 

b) Make sure you know all N3 to N5 concepts - here

c) Listen to how they sound - here and here

d) Booklet here

Higher UM May Revision 1: 4 days to Go! - Things They Ask About a Lot Part 1 / QUIZZES

There are 4 days to go until the Higher Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

a) Things They Ask About a Lot Part 1

Soul

Jazz funk

Concerto grosso, also concertino and ripieno

The difference between concerto and symphony

Minimalism

Music concrete

Italian terms for tempo – adagio, andante, allegro, moderato

Changes in tempo – rallentando, ritardando, accelerando

Instrumental techniques –  arco, pizzicato, flutter tonguing, tremolando, harmonics, con sordino  

Rhythmic features –   syncopation, rubato, anacrusis, dotted rhythms, cross rhythms, irregular time signatures, compound time

Lied

Basso continuo

Key signatures – one flat is F, one sharp is G, no sharps or flats is C or A minor

Intervals

Coloratura

Plainchant

Cadences

Reel and jig

Ornaments

Time signatures

- the definitions are here and here and here


b) Try the quizzes - if needed, the password is music17.

Advanced Higher UM May Revision 1: 4 days to Go! - CLICK HERE

There are 4 days to go until the Advanced Higher Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

Try the quizzes. If needed, the password is music17.

Nat 5 UM April Revision 30: 5 days to Go! - LITERACY

There are 5 days to go until the Nat 5 Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

Click here for a link to all National 5 Music Literacy videos. 

Higher UM April Revision 30: 5 days to Go! - VOCAL CONCEPTS / DYNAMICS / CONCERTO GROSSO

There are 5 days to go until the Higher Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

a) Here are some concepts to do with voices.

              

Definitions here.

b) dynamics - volume. Make sure you know these.

c) concerto grosso - an instrumental composition from the Baroque era in which the full orchestra (called ripieno) contrasts with a smaller group of instruments (called concertino). 

In the youtube excerpt above, you can see that the concertino group is the small group of soloists (recorder, oboe, violin, trumpet) standing in front of the larger ripieno. 

This comes up a lot in Higher papers. Please take a few minutes to be clear about concerto grosso, ripieno and concertino.

Advanced Higher UM April Revision 30: 5 days to Go! - LINKS TO ALL PREZIS / MUSIC LITERACY VIDEOS

There are 5 days to go until the Advanced Higher Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

Here is a link to all of the prezis. 

Here is a link to all of the Music Literacy videos.

N5 UM April Revision 29: 6 days to Go! - CONCEPTS and DEFINITIONS

There are 6 days to go until the Nat 5 Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

Click here for a link to the N3 - N5 concepts booklet and here for a link to the concepts grids.

Higher UM April Revision 29: 6 days to Go! - LINKS TO CONCEPT GRIDS AND DEFINITIONS / HIGHER STYLES PREZI

There are 6 days to go until the Higher Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

a) Click here for a link to the N5 and Higher concepts grid, here for the N3-N5 concepts booklet and here for the Higher booklet.


b) Click here for a prezi on Higher styles.

Advanced Higher UM April Revision 29: 6 days to Go! - LINKS TO GRIDS and BOOKLETS

There are 6 days to go until the Nat 5 Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

Click here for a link to the N5 and Higher concepts grid, here for the Advanced Higher concepts grid, here for the N3-N5 concepts booklet, here for the Higher booklet and here for the Advanced Higher booklet.

N5 UM April Revision 28: 7 days to Go! - PREZI ON SCOTTISH MUSIC

There are 7 days to go until the Nat 5 Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

Click here for a link to a prezi on Scottish music.

Higher UM April Revision 28: 7 days to Go! - VARIOUS CONCEPTS / YOUTUBE HIGHER RHYTHM and TEMPO CONCEPTS

There are 7 days to go until the Higher Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

a) Some more concepts from various levels.

canon - a type of imitation. One part plays a tune, which is quickly played by other parts in turn.

cross rhythm - a rhythmic effect occuring when, for example, groups of 2 notes are heard simultaneously with groups of 3 notes. 

recitative - found in opera or oratorio. Solo singer, sort of like rhythmic speech. The accompaniment will be fairly simple, offering chordal support of the soloist. Don't confuse with aria which, although also found in opera and oratorio is a song - longer, usually more going on in the accompaniment. In this example, we hear a recitative followed by an aria. Listen for the simple accompaniment (just sustained chords) during the recitative, then the more animated piano during the aria which starts at 0.50. Notice the perfect cadence just before this which usually signifies the end of a recitative. 

sitar - a string instrument used in Indian music. The drums heard in the excerpt are called tabla. 

harmonics - high pitched effect created on a string instrument by lightly touching the strings at certain points. Guitar harmonics. Violin harmonics. 


b) Click here for a video on Higher RHYTHM / TEMPO concepts.

Advanced Higher UM April Revision 28: 7 days to Go! - ALL CONCEPTS

There are 7 days to go until the Advanced Higher Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

Another way of looking at the concepts 

Nat 5 UM April Revision 27: 8 days to Go! - REEL and JIG / TIMBRE and DYNAMICS (YOUTUBE PLAYLIST)

There are 8 days to go until the Nat 5 Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.


Today, we'll have a look at the difference between a reel and a jig, as well as a youtube playlist of some TIMBRE and DYNAMICS concepts.

a) Listen to Nellie the Elephant. The chorus starts around 0.28. Sing along! All together now .........

Nellie is in 6/8 time. Jigs are also in 6/8, which is an example of compound time. This is a jig. 

Look at this music. Notice how each beat in the bar (there are 2) divides into 3 quaver notes (e.g. in bars 1, 2, 3 and 4, etc.) or the equivalent of this (e.g. the 1st note in bar 5 is a dotted crotchet, which is equal to 3 quavers) or the first half of the 1st time bar (a crotchet and a quaver = 3 quavers).

A reel, though, is in simple time and has 2 or 4 beats in a bar. Each beat divides into groups of 2 or 4, like this. Listen to the music. Here is another reel. And another.

Try to listen to them often enough that you can easily tell the difference. Remember that it has nothing to do with tempo - a reel and a jig could be at exactly the same speed. It's the internal workings of them which make the difference, i.e. whether the beats break down into 3s (jig) or 2s or 4s (reel).

Reel is a Nat 3 concept and Jig is a Nat 4 concept. They come up regularly, however, in Nat 5 questions, so make sure you can recognise them and tell the difference between them. 


b) Click here for a youtube playlist on N5 TIMBRE and DYNAMICS concepts. Click through the videos on the right hand side.

April UM May Revision 27: 8 days to Go! - THE GRID QUESTION / CHORDS

There are 8 days to go until the Higher Understanding Music paper on Friday 5th May.

a) One of the questions in the Higher paper will consist of a       grid (see example below).

You will have a minute to prepare for this question. In this time, make sure you read through the concepts and know what they mean. 

You are asked to listen to 2 excerpts of music and identify concepts which appear in the music. 

You will be ticking in 3 columns. 

• Column A is for Excerpt 1 - place ticks in column A when you hear concepts in this excerpt.
• Column B is for Excerpt 2 - place ticks in column B when you hear concepts in this excerpt.
• Column C is for concepts which appear in both excerpts. THIS IS THE ONLY COLUMN WHICH WILL BE MARKED!

You should place 5 ticks in Column C. This means that there are 5 concepts which appear in both excerpts of music.

The grid will look something like this - 

	Concepts	Column A Excerpt 1	Column B Excerpt 2	Column C 5 features common to both
Melody / Harmony	Major key
	Tierce de Picardie
	Trill
	Diminished 7th
Rhythm	Augmentation
	Diminution
	Rubato
	Time changes
Styles	Symphony
	Sonata
	Chamber Music
Timbre	A cappella
	Coloratura
	Tremolando
				5 marks

b) Here is some info on chords. Listen and learn to                     recognise. This always comes up.

diminished 7th chords - listen to the chords at the start, from 0m 06s to 0m 12s.

added 6th chord - listen to the final chord, at 3m 07s.

Another added 6th chord - listen to the final chord here, at around 2m 16s.

dominant 7th chords - the vocals at the start of this song, until 0m 09s, form the notes of a dominant 7th chord.

dominant 7th chords - it happens again here, from 1m 39s, when the first 4 'ahs' are the notes of the dominant 7th chord.