SONGS
The marks for the songs are made up of three different assessment areas:
| Assessment area | Criteria | Songs 1 & 2 | Song 3 Technical focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fluency & Musical Detail | Sense of pulse, synchronisation with backing track, continuity, rhythm, notes, dynamics, phrasing, articulation | 8 | 8 |
| Technical Control | All instruments and Vocals: balance, tone, sound quality, co-ordination, expressive shaping of phrases, use of instrumental resources |
8 | 12 |
| Bass & Guitar:
bends, slides, vibrato, use of fx pedals and amp |
8 | 12 | |
| Drums:
stick control, rudiments, posture, independence of hands and feet, use of the kit |
8 | 12 | |
| Keyboards:
pedalling, fingering, use of function keys |
8 | 12 | |
| Vocals:
breathing, diction, intonation, use of microphone |
8 | 12 | |
| Communication & Style | Giving a confident performance, being musically engaged, feel and expression, communicating the musical mood and character, demonstrating stylistic awareness in ad libs, fills, improvised bars and solos | 9 | 10 |
| TOTAL | 25 | 30 |
SESSION SKILLS
Candidates choose one of the two Session skills. Each is marked out of 20:
| Component | Criteria | Total mark |
|---|---|---|
| Playback | How accurately and fluently the candidate performs the music | 20 |
| OR | ||
| Improvising | How effectively the candidate creates an original response to a backing track | 20 |
MARK BANDS
| Mark band | Song 1 | Song 2 | Song 3 | Session skills | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL MARKS AVAILABLE | 25 | 25 | 30 | 20 | 100 |
| Distinction | 22 | 22 | 26 | 17 | 87 |
| Merit | 19 | 19 | 22 | 15 | 75 |
| Pass | 15 | 15 | 18 | 12 | 60 |
| Below Pass 1 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 45 |
| Below Pass 2 | below 11 | below 11 | below 14 | below 9 | below 45 |
You’ll find more details about the marking criteria on the Syllabus page.
Demo of different instruments, please refer to: