Ten elements, thirty seconds

Your specification lists the musical elements you may be asked about, and there are ten of them. Instruments and timbre. Pitch and melody. Rhythm and metre. Tempo. Dynamics, expression and articulation. Texture. Structure, phrasing and cadences. Harmony and tonality. Repetition, sequence and imitation. Ornamentation. Most students read that list and treat it as a checklist. Learn all ten, and when an extract is played, go through them. ⚠️⚠️ YOU CANNOT DO THAT. NOBODY CAN. AN EXTRACT LASTS UNDER A MINUTE, YOU HEAR IT A SMALL NUMBER OF TIMES, AND YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD IT BEFORE. By the time you have worked out the metre, the texture has changed twice. ⭐⭐ SO THE TEN ARE NOT A CHECKLIST. THEY ARE A MENU. AND THE SKILL BEING ASSESSED IS CHOOSING WHICH TWO OR THREE ARE ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING IN THIS EXTRACT, AND DELIBERATELY IGNORING THE OTHER SEVEN. Nobody tells students they are allowed to ignore things, so they try to cover everything and produce an answer that covers nothing. Here is what that looks like. The tempo is moderate. The dynamics vary. The texture is quite full. There is a melody with accompaniment. ⚠️ EVERY ONE OF THOSE IS ACCURATE, AND TOGETHER THEY ARE WORTH ALMOST NOTHING, BECAUSE THEY WOULD ALSO BE TRUE OF SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS OF OTHER CONCERTOS. ⭐⭐ WHICH GIVES YOU THE TEST TO PUT EVERY SENTENCE THROUGH BEFORE YOU WRITE IT: WOULD THIS BE TRUE OF ALMOST ANY CONCERTO? IF IT WOULD, IT IS NOT YET AN ANSWER. An observation earns its place when it separates this extract from most others. The soloist plays alone for a long stretch with the orchestra completely silent. The same short figure climbs three times in a row. One line enters with a tune another line has just finished. Those are choices somebody made, and that is exactly why they are worth writing about. ⭐ AND IT TELLS YOU WHERE TO LOOK FIRST, WHICH IS THE MOST USEFUL THING IN THIS MODULE. THE LAST TWO ITEMS ON THAT LIST OF TEN, THE DEVICES, ARE THE MOST LIKELY TO BE DISTINCTIVE. Repetition, sequence, imitation and ornamentation are deliberate compositional decisions. Tempo and dynamics are closer to weather: present in everything, rarely remarkable in any of it. One practical note before you start. This module works from written descriptions of extracts rather than recordings, so what you are rehearsing here is the DECISION about what is worth saying. Do that thinking with real listening in class as well, because the decision is the same either way.

Three kinds of observation

Everything you could say about an extract falls into one of these. Only the third reliably earns marks.

Tap the two that distinguish

Tap the TWO observations that would separate one extract from most others, rather than being true of almost any concerto.

The orchestra falls completely silent and the soloist continues alone for a long stretch
The same short figure is repeated immediately at a higher pitch, three times in a row
The tempo is moderate and stays fairly steady throughout
There is a clear melody supported by accompanying parts

True of almost every concerto

A student writes four sentences about an unfamiliar extract: the tempo is moderate, the dynamics vary, the texture is quite full, and there is a melody with accompaniment. Everything is correct. Why does it score so little?

Because none of it separates this extract from most others, so it shows nothing about what was actually heard
Because the musical terms have been used incorrectly
Because four observations are too few for the marks available
Because the student has not named the period the extract comes from

Five terms for describing texture and device

Five terms, each defined by what it is. The middle three are the devices most likely to be worth writing about.

Match each device to what makes it noticeable

A short idea repeated immediately at a higher pitch, and then higher again
One part entering with a tune another part has only just finished
Rapid decorative notes threaded around the main notes of a line
The full orchestra answering a passage the soloist has just played
A passage coming back unchanged after contrasting material

The ear hears one shape climbing, so the repetition registers even at speed
Two lines carry the same material a moment apart, so the entry itself becomes the event
Adds nothing structural and displays the player, which is why it gathers where the soloist is exposed
The sudden difference in weight marks a boundary a listener hears without counting bars
Gives the listener a landmark, which is how shape is perceived rather than worked out

Two that follow from choosing

Select the TWO statements that follow from the ten elements being a menu rather than a checklist.

Deliberately saying nothing about seven of the ten is the right decision, not an incomplete answer
The devices are worth reaching for first, because they are deliberate choices rather than properties present in everything
An answer covering all ten elements will always score more than one covering three
Using the correct technical term is by itself enough to earn the mark

Choosing what to write about

You may already have met the idea that an unfamiliar extract can be placed in time by what you hear in it. ⚠️ THIS IS THE NEXT DECISION: ONCE YOU ARE LISTENING, WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY WRITE DOWN? ⭐⭐ FIRST HEARING, DO NOT WRITE. LISTEN FOR WHAT IS UNUSUAL. Something that makes you notice it. A silence, a sudden change of weight, a figure that keeps coming back, a stretch where one player is exposed. That is your material, and hunting for it beats working through a list. SECOND HEARING, NAME IT PROPERLY. ⭐ THE RIGHT TERM IS WORTH REAL MARKS AND COSTS ONE WORD. Sequence rather than the tune goes up. Imitation rather than they copy each other. THEN SAY WHAT IT DOES. ⭐⭐ THIS IS THE CLAUSE MOST ANSWERS LEAVE OUT AND IT IS USUALLY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HALF MARKS AND FULL ONES. A DEVICE PLUS ITS EFFECT IS A COMPLETE OBSERVATION. A DEVICE ALONE IS A LABEL. THEN CHECK IT AGAINST THE TEST. Would this be true of almost any concerto? If it would, cross it out and use the space on something that would not. AND THEN STOP. ⚠️ TWO OR THREE OBSERVATIONS THAT DISTINGUISH THE EXTRACT BEAT TEN THAT DO NOT, AND THE MARK ALLOCATION WILL TELL YOU HOW MANY ARE WANTED. ⚠️ THREE HABITS THAT COST MARKS HERE. ⚠️ THE FIRST IS THE FULL SWEEP. Writing one sentence about each of the ten elements guarantees that most of your sentences are the safe kind that say nothing. ⚠️ THE SECOND IS THE NAKED TERM. Naming a cadence, a texture or a device and moving straight on. The term is correct and the observation is unfinished. ⚠️ AND THE THIRD IS GUESSING A PIECE OR A COMPOSER. ⭐ THE SUGGESTED REPERTOIRE ON YOUR COURSE IS EXPLICITLY NOT EXAMINABLE, AND THE EXTRACT MAY COME FROM OUTSIDE IT ENTIRELY. NAMING A WORK EARNS NOTHING EVEN WHEN THE GUESS IS RIGHT, AND IT SPENDS TIME YOU NEEDED FOR LISTENING. One reassurance. There is rarely one correct thing to notice. Two students can pick different features of the same extract and both score full marks, provided each names what they heard and says what it does.

One extract, two answers

Here is a description of a short extract, written out rather than played. It is constructed for practice and is not taken from any particular work. A solo instrument is playing a tune. The orchestra is supporting underneath, quietly. The tune uses a short rising figure, and that figure comes back immediately a step higher, and then a step higher again. Then the orchestra stops altogether. The soloist keeps going alone, with fast decorative notes threaded around the main notes, for a good stretch. Then the whole orchestra comes back in at full volume with the same tune the soloist started with. ⭐ NOW TWO STUDENTS WRITE ABOUT IT. THE FIRST WRITES: the tempo is moderate. There is a solo instrument with orchestral accompaniment. The dynamics change during the extract. There are fast notes in the solo part. ⚠️ ALL FOUR SENTENCES ARE TRUE, AND THE ANSWER COULD HAVE BEEN WRITTEN WITHOUT LISTENING TO ANYTHING. RUN THE TEST ON THEM: EVERY ONE WOULD BE TRUE OF ALMOST ANY CONCERTO EXTRACT EVER PLAYED IN AN EXAM. ⭐⭐ THE SECOND WRITES THREE SENTENCES AND STOPS. The opening figure is repeated immediately at a higher pitch and then higher again, which builds tension without introducing anything new. The orchestra then stops completely, leaving the soloist exposed, which is why the decoration is concentrated there rather than earlier. The full orchestra returns with the soloist's opening tune, which marks the end of the solo passage and gives the listener a landmark they recognise. ⚠️ THREE SENTENCES AGAINST FOUR, AND THE SECOND ANSWER IS WORTH SEVERAL TIMES THE FIRST. ⭐ LOOK AT WHY, BECAUSE IT IS NOT THAT THE SECOND STUDENT KNOWS MORE WORDS. Every sentence names something specific that a listener could point to. Every sentence then says what it achieves. And every sentence would be FALSE of plenty of other extracts, which is precisely what makes it evidence of listening. ⚠️⚠️ AND NOTICE WHAT THE SECOND STUDENT NEVER MENTIONED. TEMPO. METRE. TONALITY. KEY. INSTRUMENT FAMILIES. ARTICULATION. SEVEN OF THE TEN HEADINGS, LEFT ALONE ON PURPOSE, BECAUSE NOTHING REMARKABLE WAS HAPPENING IN ANY OF THEM. ⭐ THAT IS THE DECISION THIS TOPIC IS REALLY TESTING, AND IT IS A DECISION ABOUT WHAT TO LEAVE OUT.

Order how to listen under time pressure

Put these six moves into the order that turns a first hearing into an answer worth marks.

On the first hearing, write nothing and listen for whatever makes you notice it
On the next hearing, name what you noticed with the correct technical term
Say what that thing achieves, since a device without its effect is only a label
Test each sentence: would it be true of almost any concerto?
Cross out anything that fails the test and spend the space on something that passes it
Stop once you have two or three that distinguish the extract, rather than covering all ten elements

Build the observation that earns marks

This is the shape a complete listening observation takes. Assemble it.

The musical elements run

Five questions on choosing what to say about an extract. Three lives.

Complete the elements and devices facts

How many musical lines are sounding at once, and how they relate to each other, is the _____. A short musical idea repeated immediately at a higher or lower pitch is a _____. One part copying an idea that another part has just played is _____. Decorative notes added around the main notes of a melody are _____.

texture sequence imitation ornamentation a cadence dynamics articulation tonality

Which element is doing the work

Partway through a different extract, a second line enters with the same tune the first line has only just finished, and the two continue together. A student is deciding what to write. Which observation is worth the space?

That one part enters with material another has just played, so the listener follows two voices carrying the same idea a moment apart
That there are now two lines playing instead of one
That the texture becomes fuller at this point
That both players must be equally skilled

Three descriptions to make specific

Three students write about the same described extract. Each has heard something real, and each stops one step short of the marks.

A student writes one sentence about each of the ten elements. Everything is accurate and the answer fills the space. Why does it score poorly?
A student writes that the texture is polyphonic and that there is a perfect cadence at the end of the phrase. Both are correct and specific. What is missing?
A student is fairly confident they recognise the piece and spends part of the answer naming the composer and the work. How would you advise them?

Explain what to listen for and why

A friend says they always run through all ten musical elements when an extract is played, and always get low marks. Explain what they should do instead, and why it works better.

Explain why running a checklist through a short unfamiliar extract produces observations that say very little
Give the test a sentence should pass before it is written down, and explain what it is checking for
Explain why the compositional devices are usually worth reaching for before tempo or dynamics
Describe the two-part shape a complete observation takes, and say why half of it is so often missing
Explain why deliberately ignoring most of the ten elements is the right decision rather than an incomplete answer
Say why naming the piece or the composer earns nothing, even when the guess happens to be correct
Finish with what you would do on a first hearing, and why writing nothing at that point is deliberate

Musical Elements and Devices in the Concerto

Justify the choices, the way you are assessed

What you'll cover