Thoughts on Music 1 Aural Exam (2 Viewers)

[laura898]

I thought it was a pretty good paper.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Cinnamonster]

I absolutely LOVED this paper.
Wasn't the easiest music paper I've seen but it was such a good test. Last year's paper was fairly easy in my opinion. I just thought this year's paper was really original and fairly modern too (you know, minus the first question, ahah).
First question was a bit weird how they split up the question. Haven't seen that in a while. Didn't realise it was Medieval until after the exam but I still think it was a decent question.
Second question was the one with Mika/pitch/contrast right? That question = BEST. When I saw it my face just went Perfect.
Third question was pretty good. Not much to say for it.
Last question was just pure awesome. Except it was weird how they asked to refer to expressive techniques and ONE other concept of music of your choice. Have they ever done that before?

I've never written more for a music exam than I did today. I filled up all the lines and a bit more. I have never been happier with a music exam. Never ever.

Standards are going to be pretty high this year I think.

 

[squishmie]

really?
i didnt like it that much
especially with the mika question, cause it was a song that i actually like and listen to so i was more, enjoying the listening instead of concentrating
and i didnt have much for last question ><
it was kinda weird that they asked for ONE concept. that made it kinda restricted...

 

[sungpwa]

it was a great paper
i agree the last question was hard to write for considering you could only comment on expressive techniques and ONE other concept....restricting as there was so much to comment on in the song

could anyone tell me how question 1 should have been answered?

 

[Cinnamonster]

See I liked the Mika question because I'm not actually a huge fan of that song. I just know it well because it used to be on the radio and TV all the time. It was genius to pair Mika with a pitch question.

But I get what you mean with the whole liking a song and enjoying the music instead of writing enough about it. That happened in our trial and we got a question with a Beatles excerpt. Totally distracting because I love the Beatles. Happened in the prelim too with Wonderwall by Oasis.

 

[biopia]

I loved this exam too.
It was so much easier than any past paper or trial, in my opinion.
Can you believe they pronounced Mika M-eye-ka??? I was like "What!??? OUTRAGE!!!!" Haha.
Question 1 was weird how they split it up, but easy nonetheless. The BOS seems to be changing the structure of a lot of the exams this year :S
Question 2 was amazing!!! =] Best. Question. Ever. I <3 that song lol.
Question 3 was interesting. There was quite a bit to talk about when it came to rhythm and beat, aye.
Question 4 was good too. I used tone colour as my other concept, what did you guys write about?

I'm expecting 25+/30 for that =] Woo!

 

[t0m91]

I thought the exam was quite difficult mainly cause our teacher didn't teach us shit and I had to teach myself the entire music 1 course. I think I probably did alright but I found the Mika question difficult to find a lot of contrast in terms of pitch, I just wrote how the range of pitch was wider in the chorus and that it also modulated but I don't really know if it did. I also wrote about texture for the last question because it was what I felt most comfortable with.

 

[ozyozyozy]

Arghh am I the only one who thought it was REALLY hard? I mean i still managed to do it, but it was really tricky how they worded thing sdifferent and asked for some much in one question. usually they would just ask how does the composer create interest. instead it was how is pitch used to create interest. or something like that. I really didnt like it. I totally disagree, it was one of the hardest music exams i've had. Our trials were so much easier to this.. maybe it was the wording that got me....

 

[Cinnamonster]

Can you believe they pronounced Mika M-eye-ka??? I was like "What!??? OUTRAGE!!!!" Haha.
...
Question 4 was good too. I used tone colour as my other concept, what did you guys write about?

1. Yes. Pronunciation of Mika was terrible, haha.
2. I used Tone Colour too. Easiest one to write about plus it worked awesomely with the question and expressive techniques.

 

[t0m91]

Can I just ask what could've been written for question 1a).
I wrote bright, dry and brilliant. People asked me why I wrote dry and I said that the stringed instrument thing had a dry tone...but I suck at tone colour.

Is this right or not?

 

[gibsonsgshred]

It was a crap exam. So hard. One more to go then finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Cinnamonster]

Can I just ask what could've been written for question 1a).
I wrote bright, dry and brilliant. People asked me why I wrote dry and I said that the stringed instrument thing had a dry tone...but I suck at tone colour.

Is this write or not?

I'm not sure to be honest. I would say bright works well for the first one.

I wrote:
1. Bright, resonating, metallic, struck with mallets (glockenspiel).
2. twangy [probably not the best word to have written but oh well], string instrument, strummed (mandolin) [yeah, haha, what the hell? First instrument that came to mind, okay. I know it's wrong].
3. buzzing sounding wind instrument (kazoo).

Now I was probably completely wrong with the naming of all the instruments because it was a medieval piece (I have no idea what the hell is up with the kazoo thing). I didn't know whether to name what instruments I thought they were because generally when we were taught tone colour in class we would always mention performing media when listing tone colours. Tone colour is, to my knowledge, what the instrument sounds like, how the instrument is being played and what instrument is being played.

 

[laura898]

Lol yeah the pronounciation of Mika made me laugh. Surely someone would have told him beforehand, or corrected him during recording. Lol. Oh well

I wrote about texture for the last one as my other concept. It was the one I felt I could fit best.

It wasn't the easiest music aural I've seen, but I thought it was pretty good.

Overall aural + performance, I should be schweet. Lol

 

[gifted:)]

practically dancing to the last question the supervisor was also dancing used dynamics as the Other concept loved all qst except for the mika one, hard to talk about contrast

 

[chuboy]

I'm not sure to be honest. I would say bright works well for the first one.

I wrote:
1. Bright, metallic, struck with mallets (glockenspiel).
2. twangy [probably not the best word to have written but oh well], string instrument, strummed (mandolin) [yeah, haha, what the hell? First instrument that came to mind, okay. I know it's wrong].
3. buzzing sounding wind instrument (kazoo).

Now I was probably completely wrong with the naming of all the instruments because it was a medieval piece (I have no idea what the hell is up with the kazoo thing). I didn't know whether to name what instruments I thought they were because generally when we were taught tone colour in class we would always mention performing media when listing tone colours. Tone colour is, to my knowledge, what the instrument sounds like, how the instrument is being played and what instrument is being played.

I thought about writing kazoo, but a little ounce of intuition told me that 12-century music would probably not be arranged with a kazoo part XD

I thought the string instrument was a lute but who knows??? I thought that was the hardest question on the test.

For the last one, once I realised I had to write and not just listen to the awesome song, I talked about pitch as well. I thought there was a lot talk to about in terms of the modulation from minor to major in the chorus and the wide range across the instrumentation.

Thought I went decently well, but hopefully I'll better than I expect (what usually seems to happen).

@gifted: I thought dynamics was part of the concept you were meant to talk about?

 

[laura898]

I'm not sure to be honest. I would say bright works well for the first one.

I wrote:
1. Bright, metallic, struck with mallets (glockenspiel).
2. twangy [probably not the best word to have written but oh well], string instrument, strummed (mandolin) [yeah, haha, what the hell? First instrument that came to mind, okay. I know it's wrong].
3. buzzing sounding wind instrument (kazoo).

Now I was probably completely wrong with the naming of all the instruments because it was a medieval piece (I have no idea what the hell is up with the kazoo thing).

I thought it was a mandolin too :S though I think I'm wrong.

No idea what kazoo thing was either. To me it sounded like a soprano sax, though seeing as it was a medival piece that wouldn't have fitted.

Who knows :S

 

[ozyozyozy]

I thought about writing kazoo, but a little ounce of intuition told me that 12-century music would probably not be arranged with a kazoo part XD

I thought the string instrument was a lute but who knows??? I thought that was the hardest question on the test.

For the last one, once I realised I had to write and not just listen to the awesome song, I talked about pitch as well. I thought there was a lot talk to about in terms of the modulation from minor to major in the chorus and the wide range across the instrumentation.

Thought I went decently well, but hopefully I'll better than I expect (what usually seems to happen).

@gifted: I thought dynamics was part of the concept you were meant to talk about?

Yeah...usually those two go together...but if they wanted it to go together they would have said dynamics and expressive techniques. in this question they were really specific..so not too sure...

 

[jclancy]

just as a side note, how many people actually used the manuscript paper? i used it today for the first time, just to notate out that little keyboard ostinato in that comparative one with the art orchestra.

 

[laura898]

I didn't. Only two people out of my class of 10 used it.
I probably should have used it though.

 

[chuboy]

I didn't. Only two people out of my class of 10 used it.
I probably should have used it though.

I used it to notate the rhythms in the second version of They Took the Children Away or whatever it was called. Just the vibraphone ostinato and snare/kick rhythm. Do they normally provide it??