Music
A Level Music provides plenty of opportunity for pupils to perform, compose and learn about musical analysis and harmony, whilst also building up their aural skills. The aim of the course is to enable candidates with a genuine interest and enthusiasm for Music, to thrive and establish themselves as confident musicians.
The Music Department has achieved excellent results from its students at A Level. We have celebrated 100% A*- C pass rate for the last few years.
In addition to lessons delivered in class, students will also have the opportunity to work with experienced performers and composers in 1:1 tutorials and workshops. We encourage all our A level musicians to explore music in a wide variety of contexts. Our A Level students support the school’s extensive extracurricular program, and provide our younger students with role models as well as developing their own musicianship skills. Students have many opportunities to bring music to the wider community with recent opportunities including performing in the ‘Piano and More’ Concert Series in St Peter and St Paul Church, performing in the Tring Spring Fayre, Aldbury May Fair, Tring Carnival and Tring Christmas Fair.
Tring School Music Development Plan can be found in the folder at the end of this page.
Exam Board |
Edexcel |
Minimum GCSE Grade Requirements |
Grade 5 in Music and a strong performing skill on an instrument or voice |
Future Opportunities
Many of our A Level students have continued their studies at a broad range of Further Education Establishments, ranging from universities such as Leeds and Oxford Brookes to more instrument-specific conservatoire studies such as Berkeley in New York. At Tring, students have the opportunity to meet and work with multiple people within the music industry such as touring performers, choral directors, sound engineers, composers, and peripatetic musicians. Music can offer such diverse pathways and has proven to be an invaluable asset to all those who have studied it at A Level at Tring School.
"Joining A-level music will enable you to surround yourself with a variety of amazing and inspiring musicians in the school. It gives you a chance to grow and learn as a musician in all kinds of areas from performance to the history of music. Music A-level allowed me to really boost my confidence, not only with the support of the wonderful teachers, but also with the endless amounts of performance opportunities that were presented to me. Being the older side of the music department will mean you’ll have a lot more responsibility within it, such as running and being key members of extracurricular clubs which can really help with CV and personal statement writing. Tring School’s music department will become your home for sixth form as you’ll be completely immersed in music." Ella Year 13
Course Content & Assessment
Course Content
The A Level course is a two year experience comprising:
Component 1: Performing (30% - 60 marks)
- This is externally marked but recorded in school time to an audience.
- The coursework consists of a recital of a minimum duration of 8 minutes, made up of one or more pieces.
- Performance can be playing or singing solo, in an ensemble, improvising, or realising music using music technology.
- Performances are recorded between March and May in Year 13.
Component 2: Composing (30% - 60 marks)
- Students complete a total of two compositions, one to a brief set by Pearson issued at the start of Year 13 and one linking to the compositional techniques used by Bach.
- The brief composition carries a weight of 40 marks and must be at least 4 minutes in duration.
- The compositional technique composition carries a weight of 20 marks.
- Total time across both submissions must be a minimum of 6 minutes.
Component 3: Appraising (40% - 100 marks)
- This is a 2 hour written and listening exam sat at the end of Year 13.
- It should demonstrate the students’ application of knowledge through the context of six areas of study they have looked at over the course of the two years. These include:
- Vocal Music
- Instrumental Music
- Music for Film
- Popular Music and Jazz
- Fusions
- New Directions
- Students are also required to write in depth about unfamiliar pieces of work and will demonstrate their analytical skills by producing extended essay.
Assessment
60% controlled coursework and 40% written examination
Enrichment & ExtraCurricular
Beyond the classroom, the extracurricular opportunities at Tring School are varied and all inclusive. Many of our Sixth Form enjoy being part of an array of extra curricular clubs, with some even running smaller ensembles and choirs. Trips and study tours to Europe and London are always well attended and add to the richness of the Music A Level course. Music is a very well thought of at Tring School. Concerts and festivals are very well attended by members of the school community as well as the residents of Tring and the surrounding areas, and the various choirs sing regularly in the local churches.
Music Department
| Subject Leader | |
| Mrs J Chalmers | |
| Mrs R Georgiades - Deputy Headteacher | |
| Performing Arts Technician | Mrs C Goodman |
| Subject Documents |
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| Tring School Music Development Plan |