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SingaporeMusic

Listening and Analysis

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do you listen to a recorded extract and accurately identify its key musical features by ear?

Identify by ear the metre, tempo, mode, dynamics, articulation and basic features of a recorded extract, and report them using precise vocabulary
A focused answer to the O-Level Music listening outcome on identifying elements by ear. A reliable order for hearing metre, tempo, mode, dynamics, articulation and instruments, and how to report each precisely, with a step-by-step extract-listening walkthrough.
9 min answer →

How do you compare two extracts and place each in its musical context using evidence from what you hear?

Compare two recorded extracts across the elements, and identify the likely style, period or culture of each using audible evidence
A focused answer to the O-Level Music listening outcome on comparison and context. A method for comparing two extracts element by element, citing audible evidence, and placing each in its likely style, period or culture, with a worked comparison walkthrough.
9 min answer →

How do you describe the melody and harmony of an extract precisely, including its shape, intervals, chords and cadences?

Describe the melodic shape, range and devices of a heard melody, and identify its harmony, primary chords and cadences using accurate vocabulary
A focused answer to the O-Level Music listening outcome on melody and harmony. Describing melodic shape, range, conjunct and disjunct motion and devices such as sequence, plus identifying primary chords and perfect, imperfect and plagal cadences, with a worked listening walkthrough.
10 min answer →

How do you follow the structure of a piece by ear and label its sections using standard forms?

Identify common musical structures such as binary, ternary, rondo, theme and variations and verse-chorus by tracking repetition and contrast across a piece
A focused answer to the O-Level Music listening outcome on form. Tracking repetition and contrast to label binary, ternary, rondo, theme and variations, strophic and verse-chorus structures, and what each looks like, with a worked structure-mapping walkthrough.
9 min answer →

How do you identify the texture of a passage and the instruments or voices that create it?

Identify musical textures such as monophonic, homophonic and polyphonic, and recognise common Western and Asian instruments and voice types by their timbre
A focused answer to the O-Level Music listening outcome on texture and timbre. Monophonic, homophonic and polyphonic textures, instrumental families and voice types, and recognising common Western and Asian instruments by sound, with a worked listening walkthrough.
9 min answer →