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Programme Notes

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Programme Notes

Uploaded by

Mike Williams
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WJEC GCSE Music

Programme Notes

Enw: _________________________________ Dosbarth: ____


UNIT 1: Writing a Programme Note

General information

You will be expected to write a programme note for one of your performance pieces that
is linked to an area of study. You must use your appraising skills to:
➢ evaluate the piece and
➢ make critical judgements about the piece.

Note:
a) You are not required to evaluate your own performance of the piece.
b) Quality of written communication is assessed in this piece of work (SPAG)
c) The completed programme note must be between 500-1000 words

INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:


• The name of the composer (biography is not required)
• Explanation of the link between the piece and the AoS (including contextual details
such as audience, time and place of original performance)
• An explanation of how three or four of the most important and prominent musical
elements are featured and used in the piece. For example you might comment on the
structural features of the piece, or types of chords used in the piece and recognise
harmonic features e.g. cadences, simple chord progressions, use of dissonance etc.

• Evaluation of the technical performance demands of the piece. This includes the
instrumental and/or vocal techniques required to perform the music. You are not
expected to write about your own strengths and weaknesses in this section.

There is no limit on the length of time you may spend on completing the programme
note, and it does not need to be completed in class. Your teacher may provide guidance
and support via general verbal advice. Teachers must see one draft of the programme
note, but written feedback is not allowed. The programme note is marked out of 12, and
is assessed according to the assessment grid.

2
Programme Note Assessment Criteria

Band AO4
Use appraising skills to make evaluative and critical judgements about
their own and others' music
4 ➢ An in-depth explanation of how musical elements are used within the piece
➢ An in-depth explanation of the style and context of the piece including how the music links to
10-12 the area of study
➢ A detailed evaluation of the technical demands of the music demonstrating a high level of
marks understanding of the instrument/voice/technology used
➢ The programme note is well organised and presented in a highly appropriate manner. Accurate
and appropriate use of subject terminology, with accurate grammar, punctuation and spelling.

3 ➢ A general explanation of how musical elements are used within the piece
➢ A general explanation of the style and context of the piece including how the music links to the
7-9 area of study
➢ A general evaluation of the technical demands of the music demonstrating a good
marks understanding of the instrument/voice/technology used
➢ The programme note is mostly organised and presented in an appropriate manner. Generally
accurate and appropriate use of subject terminology, with accurate grammar, punctuation and
spelling.

2 ➢ An inconsistent explanation of how musical elements are used within the piece
➢ Some explanation of the style and context of the piece including a partial link to the area of
4-6 study
➢ An inconsistent evaluation of the technical demands of the music demonstrating some
marks understanding of the instrument/voice/technology used
➢ The programme note is partly organised. Some use of subject terminology, with reasonably
accurate grammar, punctuation and spelling.

1 ➢ A limited explanation of how musical elements are used within the piece
➢ A limited explanation of the style and context of the piece with limited understanding of how it
1-3 links to the area of study
➢ A limited evaluation of the technical demands of the music demonstrating little understanding
marks of the instrument/voice/technology used
➢ The programme note shows limited evidence of organisation. Limited use of subject
terminology with errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling affecting clarity of
communication.

0 ➢ No explanation of how the musical elements are used in the piece


➢ No explanation of style and context or obvious link to the area of study
0 ➢ No evaluation of the technical demands of the music or understanding of the
instrument/voice/technology used
marks ➢ No accurate use of musical terminology.

3
[Exemplar programme note]: WJEC GCSE Music
'The Entertainer' is a composition by Scott Joplin, the leading ragtime composer, if not the actual ‘inventor’ of ragtime.
St. Louis was a busy port on the Mississippi river and the home of ragtime. The style emerged from poor and mostly uneducated
musicians who performed their music in the lowliest of saloons to liven up an otherwise hard-working life. This was the situation
that Scott Joplin found himself in–until in 1898, a publisher called John Stark from St. Louis, Missouri agreed to publish one of
Joplin’s compositions called Maple Leaf Rag, which eventually sold over a million copies. Following the success of this piece,
Joplin gave up performing in the nightclubs and became a respected teacher while still composing.
There seems to be no record of where ‘The Entertainer’ was first performed, or who the first audience was. The music was
described as a ragtime two-step, (a type of dance popular at the start of the century).

Many years later, it caught the imagination of a new public through its use in a gangster film set in the 1930s, called ‘The Sting’.
Also, in the 1990s, Giovanni de Chiaro, an Italian guitarist transcribed and recorded many of Joplin’s rags for the guitar, including
‘The Entertainer’. This piano solo is linked to Music for Ensemble. Ragtime was recognized as one of the main influences on the
early development of jazz, along with the blues. In this piece, the musical elements combined to produce a folk-like and
syncopated style in the following structure:

Intro 1 A A B B A C C Intro 2 D D

The distinctive features of ragtime style are the harmonic progressions, the melodic lines and the style of the rhythm and metric
patterns.

The MELODY of the music is ‘catchy’ and distinctive, with tuneful ideas reminiscent of the ‘cakewalk’dance, negro folk songs and
banjo-based style. It is in a happy mood, and very well balanced throughout. The composition contains four distinct sections, all
typically 16 bars in length. Each is divided into four four-bar phrases, arranged in patterns of repeats. It contains a number of
musical ‘motifs’ which are repeated throughout the composition in various forms. There is conjunct and disjunct movement,
and the opening interval of a minor 6th at the start of section A is an important feature. Some of the melodic motifs include
chromatic movement, with the opening of the first three phrases in each section beginning in the same way (e.g. bars 4, 8 and
12 in section A). The melody is section D feels sadder than the other melodies.

One of the most important features of the RHYTHM is that of syncopation (the word Ragtime means "syncopated time"). The
main characteristic is the ‘ragged’ rhythm where the left hand keeps a regular beat of alternating bass notes and chords, while
the right hand plays the syncopated tune mostly in semiquavers. The left-hand pattern of bass notes have the single lower notes
on beats 1 and 3, with the chords on weaker beats i.e. 2 and 4. The line is in steady quavers throughout the piece, except for
semiquavers at the start of bar 14 (section C), and a syncopated chordal pattern followed by a rest in section D bars 7-8. The
piece is in 2/4 with ‘foot-tapping’ rhythms. At times, the melody seems to be avoiding the strong beats of the accompaniment
by emphasising notes that either anticipate or follow the
beat. Scott Joplin described this effect as 'weird and intoxicating', advising to "play slowly until you catch the swing".

The HARMONY in this piece is mainly diatonic and typical of the style, with some use of 7ths (including diminished chords). As
was usual in many ragtime pieces, the first two sections were in the tonic and another was in the subdominant i.e. section C.
Section D begins on a D minor chord (hinting at the supertonic minor), but ends back in the tonic key. Towards the end of each
section or phrase note some rising bass lines, chromatic movement, and some accidentals to add colour to the cadence points.
Each section ends with a perfect cadence. There are also modulations in each section: to the dominant key of G major in
sections A and B, and to G minor and A minor in section C.

The TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE DEMANDS of the piece are quite challenging for a pianist, as this is the original and not a
simplified version, and covers a wide range of the piano keyboard. Even at a steady pace, the semiquaver rhythms for the right
hand need to be carefully controlled. The octave chords with an added third (such as in bar 2 of section A) were probably meant
to be imitating mandolin chording, but are difficult to play with an equal touch accurately on the piano, particularly when the
dynamics change. The disjunct nature of the left hand part needs considered placing – it’s easy to miss out some of the bass
notes and chords, and the movement in octaves is tricky to perform with accuracy and equal control. The delivery needs to be
fluent with the rhythmic syncopations cleanly in place.

4
ELEMENT PLANNING NOTES
MELODY
conjunct, disjunct, diatonic/atonal,
pentatonic, chromatic, scalic,
sustained, phrase lengths, sequence,
fragmented, ornamentation, resultant,
NOT word setting

STRUCTURE /
FORM
Sonata form, ternary form,
coda/codetta, verse/chorus, head
arrangement, free rondo, binary, non-
standard form

RHYTHM / METRE
Syncopation, hemolia, cross rhythms,
polyrhythms, dotted, ostinato, swung,
triplets, 4/4,2/4,12/8, etc..

TEMPO
Fast/slow (and musical words to
describe this!), ritenuto, accelerando

TONALITY
KEY, modulation(s), tonal, modal,
atonal, help define structure (ex:
sonata form)

TEXTURE
How many lines and how they work
together. Homophonic, contrapuntal,
monophonic, layered, start thin, gets
thicker

DYNAMICS
How loud (forte) or quiet (piano) the
music is. How the piece/excerpt starts
and ends.
Fades out, crescendo, decrescendo.
Be able to discuss how the dynamics
change.
HARMONY
Consonant, dissonant, diatonic,
chromatic, pedal notes, cadences
(perfect, imperfect, plagal), added
note chords, substitution chords,
static harmony, chord progressions
for songs,

INSTRUMENTATION
Instruments and HOW they are used.
Example – Handel – strings support
the voices by playing what they sing

WORD SETTING
Melisma, ornamentation, syllabic,
rubato, vocal range, word painting

5
Programme Notes – Sentence Starters
Paragraph 1 - Introduction
Context of the Piece
(Title)………………….is a composition by (composer)…………….., who composed this piece in
……….. S/he was famous for writing such pieces as ……………….., ……………………. and …………..
His/her most famous works were notably …….
(Title) was first performed in ……………… (place) in ……..(date). Interestingly, ………..
This piece is linked to (area of study) as it ……..
The scoring is for (number and types of instruments).
In (Title), the musical elements are combined to produce a ………. style in the following
structure:…………….
This piece of music is structured in X movements. It is in a … (form).

Paragraphs 2& 3
Describe, in detail, the way the piece uses 3 or 4 elements.
The piece uses……………………
The melody of the music is ……………………….
The composition contains …….. distinct sections, all typically …. bars in length. Each is divided
into ……………….
One of the most important features of the rhythm is that of ……………………….
The most significant change in rhythm occurs when… and the effect is to…
The dynamics are varied in the piece by …………………………
The opening tempo is………………… which is then varied……
As far as tonality is concerned, (title) is written in the key of ……… However, there are some
interesting changes to key at …….which have the effect of ............
I think the most dramatic moment in this score is at bar Y because….....
Other interesting moments are ........
The harmony in this piece is mainly (diatonic) and typical of the style, with some…….

Paragraph 4 - Closing paragraph


What are the technical demands of this piece?
What are your overall thoughts of the piece?
The technical performance demands of the piece are…….. The most difficult section of the piece
is during bars …. to …. where …….
The best aspect of this composition in my opinion is …. because…
Other comparable works by this composer are … and … as they all feature…

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