Lesson video

Hi, my name's Mr. Pate, and welcome to this lesson on choosing the right piece from the unit, introduction to performance.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to evaluate and select a performance piece that suits your ability and allows for expressive playing.

Some of the key words that we'll use in today's lesson are, fluency, which means playing smoothly and confidently.

Expression, which means adding feeling and emotion to music.

Accuracy, which means playing the correct notes and rhythms and interpretation, which is the performer's personal musical choices.

We'll start by looking at what makes a good choice of performance piece, and then spend some time choosing your own performance pieces.

Choosing the right performance piece is an important part of GCSE music success.

A good choice should challenge you while still allow you to perform accurately, fluently, and expressively.

The most successful performances are not always the hardest pieces, but the ones that best show the performer's musical strengths, confidence, and understanding of the style they're performing in.

When choosing a performance piece, it's really important to think about whether it's technically and physically manageable.

Make sure you are selecting a piece that you can play accurately and confidently while also considering some challenges like the range of a piece, what kind of stamina and endurance it's gonna require from you.

It's important to think about how much time you've got to learn this piece.

Can you perform it really, really well ready in time to give your final performance?

Laura says, "I've chosen a piece to play on the drums.

It's my favorite song.

I can play the first part perfectly.

It gets really hard in the middle though, and the whole song is nine minutes long, so keeping up the tempo is tricky.

" It is great that Laura's chosen to play her favorite song.

Choosing a piece that you really enjoy is important, but Laura should really consider if this is the best choice for her GCSE coursework.

Pieces that are much harder than your current ability or require a lot of stamina may not show your musical skills at their best.

Laura should think about does she need to play a nine minute song that's perhaps at a very hard difficulty level for this GCSE performance assessment.

The difficulty level of your piece will affect your final mark.

Depending on your exam board, this may involve an additional score for difficulty, or it may involve your whole mark being adjusted up or down based on how demanding the piece is.

The difficulty of a piece may be judged through its equivalent graded level.

For example, if your piece is from a book of grade three oboe performance pieces that might influence how it's judged based on its difficulty level, or the examiner may judge the difficulty level of a piece by looking at the musical challenges it contains, like does it use a wide range?

How many large leaps does it use, or other areas of technical complexity?

Do make sure you research your own exam to see how difficulty level is assessed.

Aisha is trying to find a performance piece to play on the bass guitar.

Listen to the following clips of some of the pieces she's currently working on.

After you've heard them, I want you to think, what advice would you give Aisha about the difficulty level of the pieces that she's chosen?

Here's piece one.

And now here's piece two.

After you've heard this, pause the video and consider what advice would you give Aisha about the difficulty level of the performance pieces that you've heard?

So what did you think?

What advice would you give Aisha about the difficulty of these performance pieces?

Sophia says, "The first piece that Aisha has chosen is a bit too simple.

She's playing accurately and fluently, but it doesn't give her much opportunity to demonstrate her musical skills.

" Lucas says, "The second piece that Aisha's chosen sounds like it might be a little bit too hard for her at the moment.

Her playing is not very accurate or fluent, which will affect her mark.

She may need more practice or she could look for a piece that better suits her current ability level.

" Let's think about some other things that you might consider when choosing your performance piece.

Sam says, "The piece I've chosen is at a suitable level of difficulty for me, and I can play it accurately, but I've been playing it for a while and I'm struggling to find opportunities to add expression and make it sound more musical.

" Accuracy is really important, but GCSE success also depends on how effectively the music is shaped.

Sam should consider whether more detail could be added through phrasing and dynamics, but if the piece offers limited opportunities to demonstrate expressive skills, then it may be worth Sam actually choosing a different piece.

In GCSE music performance, it's important to A, play the piece as accurately as possible.

B, play fluently avoiding pauses or hesitations.

C, play expressively shaping the music with dynamics, phrasing and articulation, or D, all of the above.

What do you think?

The answer is D.

All of these things are important.

To achieve a high mark you want to play accurately, fluently, and expressively.

Let's think about some other considerations when choosing a performance piece.

John says, "I have chosen to perform a traditional Celtic folk song on my flute.

We've studied folk performance in school, so I feel confident in my understanding of how to make the piece sound authentic and stylistically appropriate.

" It sounds like John has made a good choice.

Your performance can be influenced by your understanding of musical style and performance conventions.

Researching your chosen genre or selecting a piece from a style you are familiar with can help you perform in a way that suits its character and tradition.

It may be tricky for John to deliver a performance which is just as good in a genre that he doesn't know as much about.

Andeep says, "I've chosen a song that is at an appropriate level of difficulty and offers plenty of opportunities for expression and shaping.

It's also personally meaningful to me, and the lyrics resonate, allowing me to perform it with genuine feeling.

" It sounds like Andeep's made a great choice too.

Your personal connection to and interpretation of the music can be an important factor in delivering an expressive performance.

Choosing a piece that you enjoy and you can perform confidently can help you shape a more convincing and engaging performance.

Finally, it is also important to consider the length of your piece.

Exam boards will have minimum performance timings, which can vary slightly between specifications, so make sure you check what time you are aiming for for your performances on your exam board.

If one piece is not long enough, you may be able to combine multiple pieces or extracts to meet the required time.

Now, let's look at some student examples and see if we can offer some advice.

Izzy and Alex are trying to choose a piece for their GCSE performance coursework.

What advice would you give them?

Izzy says, "I'm doing my grade four exam on my trombone in a few months, and my teacher says, I play one of the pieces very accurately and expressively.

There is a jazz song in my Friend's grade seven book that I'd really love to learn, though I want to challenge myself.

" Alex says, "I've chosen a piece that I can play accurately and fluently.

However, it doesn't give me many opportunities for expression or contrast.

I've also found a more challenging piece with more variety, but I'm not sure I could control it well enough yet.

I'm not sure whether to stay with the safer option or to switch to the harder one.

" These are two really good thought processes from these students who are considering how to get the best marks in their GCSE coursework.

Pause the video now and think, what advice would you give Izzy and Alex on their choice of performance pieces?

Now, you've spent some time considering, how would you advise these students?

Jacob says, "It's great that Izzy wants to challenge herself, but she should consider what is achievable in the time available and what will best demonstrate her musical skills.

Performing her grade four piece confidently and expressively is likely to achieve higher marks than attempting a much more demanding piece that's beyond her previous experience.

" It may be that learning that grade seven piece could be something Izzy could do for fun alongside playing this piece that she knows well for her GCSE performance coursework.

Lucas says, "Alex should check whether he can add more expression to his current piece through dynamics and phrasing.

If it still feels limited, he could compare it with the more challenging piece and see if he could control it with practice.

Ultimately, he needs to choose the option that shows both accuracy and expression, not just difficulty.

He may benefit from discussing this further with his teacher.

And that's always good advice.

It's good idea to discuss with a teacher whether your piece meets the level of difficulty required by your exam board, as well as whether it's achievable and whether it will help to show off your musical skills.

Now, let's look at choosing your own performance piece.

When choosing your own piece, you should ensure that it demonstrates your musical ability by being an appropriate level of difficulty for your current skills and for the exam board requirements.

You should be able to perform it accurately, fluently, and to deliver an expressive interpretation with a clear sense of style.

The piece should also meet the required timing, or you may need to combine multiple pieces.

True or false?

You should choose the hardest piece that you can manage for your GTSE coursework to show off your musical skills.

The answer is false.

Why?

Well playing a challenging piece with poor accuracy, fluency and expression will usually achieve a lower mark than an easier piece played well.

Which of the following should you check in your exam board specification before you choose your piece?

Should you check A, the standard level of difficulty required for performance pieces?

B, the time requirements for how long the performance should be.

C, specific details on how the performances will be marked, or D, all of the above.

The answer is D.

Before choosing your piece, it's important to check what level of difficulty is required from your exam board, how long your piece needs to be, and specific details on how your piece will be marked.

For each exam board, it will be slightly different.

Now it's over to you.

Consider your own choice of performance piece.

Think about the pieces you can already play as well as new pieces you'd like to learn.

Check the difficulty level and time requirements from your exam board specification and think which piece gives you the best opportunity to deliver a confident performance, which is accurate, fluent and expressive.

Pause the video now and spend some time considering your own performance piece.

So now you spent some time considering your own performance piece, how did you do?

Sam says, "I decided to focus on adding expressive detail to a piece that I already know well.

I think this will showcase my musical skills better than starting a new challenging piece.

" Lucas says, "I've chosen a song I really like from my favorite artist, which helps keeps me motivated to learn and perform it expressively.

I've checked the exam board specification and it's an appropriate level of difficulty, and I'm confident that I can learn it accurately and fluently within the time available.

" These both sound like great choices for a GCSE performance piece.

In today's lesson, we've learned that good performances are accurate, fluent and expressive.

A well-prepared easier piece is often stronger than a more difficult piece that isn't secure.

The piece chosen should show the performer's strengths and allow for personal interpretation.

Understanding the style and demands of a piece can support confident learning, but make sure that you check the exam board specification carefully before choosing your piece.

Well done for your hard work in today's lesson, I hope you've gone some way to choosing your performance piece for your GCSE coursework.

I'll see you again in the next lesson.