Step Up To GCSE Music

Paul Terry studied music at the University of East Anglia and trained as a teacher at Cambridge University. He taught from primary to 6th-form level for 20 years, including 15 years as head of music at a well-known public school, after which he combined examining with part-time teaching at his local university. Paul was an examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music for nearly 30 years, and has been Chief Examiner in Music for both OCSEB (now part of OCR) and Edexcel (for whom he pioneered the introduction of Music Technology as an A-level subject). He has also served as a member of the Secondary Examinations Council and its successor the Schools Examinations and Assessment Council, and has been employed as a music consultant by several examining boards.

The stave The treble clef The bass clef Leger lines Time values Bars and time signatures Beaming notes and grouping rests Triplets Tied notes Tones and semitones The scale and key of C major Degrees of the scale Accidentals Major keys and key signatures Minor keys and minor scales Modes and other scales Intervals Chords Cadences and chord progressions Modulation and tonality Terms and signs Musical structures Texture Compositional devices Voices and instruments Historical periods Test your knowledge Answers Index of terms