AQA GCSE Music

• AoS 01: Rhythm and Metre
• AoS 02: Harmony and Tonality
• A0S 03: Texture and Melody
• AoS 04: Dynamics and Timbre
• AoS 05: Structure and Form

• This means, the key of the music. The piece will be built from the notes of a particular scale
• There are different types of Tonality; over the next few slides we will explore the different types.

• Scale – a group of notes (a pattern of notes) played in ascending or descending order
• The notes and pattern of a scale that a piece uses is also the Key

• A piece could be built on a Major scale/key
• Happy/uplifting sound
• Whatever note they start on, all major scales sound similar, because they follow the same pattern.
T = Tone S = Semi-Tone
C Major
Pattern T T S T T T S

• A piece could be built on a Minor scale/key
• Often Sounds more sad/mournful/serious
• Different to Major because of the pattern
A Minor
Pattern
A
T
B
S
C
T
D
T
E
S
F
T
G
T
A

Track 01
Track 02
“Major” Example – Rondo in
D Major, by Mozart
• Notice how bright and
‘happy/positive’ the piece sounds straight from the start
“Minor” Example – Oboe
Concerto No. 3 in G Minor, by
Handel
• Notice how much this differs from the Major Example.
• Not so bright and ‘happy’
• Possible to suggest sad, darker, mournful?!

• A piece that is built on 5 Notes
• Used in world music, folk music and rock music
• 2 types – Major and Minor Pentatonic
• A common Pentatonic scale is one that uses just the Black Keys on the piano
Check out the video on the next slide….Howard Goodall Explains it all, with some great examples

Video 01 in Folder

• This is a scale that just uses just Tones
• Sounds mysterious
Pattern
C
T
D
T
E
T
F#
T
G#
T
A#
T
C
Video 02 in Folder

Video 02 in Folder

• This is when a scale is just made up of Semitones (s)
• All white and black notes are used to make this scale
• You may sometimes describe part of a melody as being chromatic
C C# D D# E F Etc…..
Track 03

• Definition:
– A piece of music is described as Tonal if it has a sense of key…..in other words, if it is a major or minor piece it is Tonal.

• A piece of music with no sense of fixed tonality/key. May sound rather ‘random’.
Example of what
Atonal music my sound like
Video 03 in Folder

• Modes existed before Major and Minor scales were established
• Like Major and Minor, modes are just scales with different patterns of notes (T and S)
• There are 7 different modes, all with a different sounds (you don’t need to know there names)

• Check out the Video on the next slide. This gives you a very good insight to what modes sound like. The video also describes when they were originally used.

Video 04 in the folder

• This is when music changes key/tonality
• For example if the piece is in the key of C major you could modulate (change key) to the key of G major or A minor... It’s a good way of developing a piece of music.
• Example – Look at the video on the next slide.
This is a “Top 20 Key Changes” in pop music.
Listen to each of the examples and notice how there is a change in the tone (key to a another key) usually happens for the last chorus of the song.

Video 05 in Folder

• In a listening exam, you may be asked to describe the tonality of the piece you are listening too.
• If so, there is a chance the piece could ‘Change
Key’ (Modulate). Make sure you listen out for this
– especially in some pop music i.e. theatre, pop and rock etc.

• Harmony occurs when two or more notes of different pitch are sounded together
• When we think of harmony we usually mean the notes that accompany a melody.
• It has the power to make a melody richer and more emotional.

• When you listen to a piece of music, you may think the harmony is pleasant and nice.
• This harmony can be described as “ being
Consonant .”

• When you listen to a piece of music, you may think the harmony uncomfortable and clashes a lot, or even painful to listen too.
• This harmony can be described as being dissonant.
• Often used to create suspense or tension.
• Discord – Harsh, dissonant combination of notes

• This is where the notes are close together within the separate parts e.g. Barber shop singing
Video 06 in Folder

• This type of harmony is played in the bass.
• Can be one note, but is often two notes played at the same time usually a 5 th apart
(e.g. C and G)
• The notes are sustained (held) or repeated while the melody plays over the top.
• Used in folk, medieval and dance music.
• Used in Indian Classical Music – this is the role of the Tambura!

Use of a Drone in this example. Played by the bagpipes, it holds a ‘long bass note’ throughout the piece aka the Drone
Video 07 in Folder