Small Group Tracks SyllabusClarinet, Guitar, Percussion, Trumpet and Violin

from 2014

Trinity College London89 Albert EmbankmentLondon SE1 7TP UK

T +44 (0)20 7820 6100F +44 (0)20 7820 6161E music@trinitycollege.co.ukwww.trinitycollege.co.uk

Charity number 1014792Patron HRH The Duke of Kent KG

Chief Executive Sarah Kemp

Copyright © 2014 Trinity College LondonPublished by Trinity College LondonFirst impression, January 2014

Trinity College London (Trinity) is an awarding body recognised in the United Kingdom by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) in England, the Welsh Government (WG) and the Northern Ireland Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA). Trinity’s qualifications are recognised by these authorities within the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). Various arrangements are in place with governmental education authorities worldwide. Please note that Music Tracks assessments are not accredited.

Introduction ................................................................ 2

About Music Tracks .................................................. 3

Range of qualifications ............................................4

Exams at a glance ..................................................... 5

How the exams are marked ................................... 6

About the exams .......................................................8

The pieces .................................................................... 9

Musicianship Skills ...................................................10

Resources .................................................................... 11

Assessment criteria ................................................. 12

Contents

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This syllabus is valid from 2014, but please check www.trinitycollege.co.uk regularly for any amendments or updates.

The Small Group Tracks exams have been developed through working with over 40 music education hubs in the UK, and a range of composers, teachers, specialist instrumental consultants and young learners. Available from Initial Track to Track 2, the exams are supported by new books which provide essential support for the learner through:

sheet music backing tracks on CD background information on the pieces guidance on Technical Pieces Musicianship Skills practice tests.

In addition, there is a growing online resource area on our website to support teachers and learners to discover new and exciting ways to develop the musical and instrumental skills essential to the developing musician. Visit our website to access these free resources.

The exams are available throughout the UK. Further details are available from our website together with information about the mark schemes and assessment criteria.

Francesca ChristmasHead of Academic Governance — Music

Introduction

3

Music Tracks supports teachers delivering musical learning within First Access programmes and small-group contexts through providing creative assessment and exam approaches, exciting repertoire from around the world, teacher support, and resources for learners.

The aim of Music Tracks is to support young musicians through some of the challenges of being a beginner, setting them on the road to a lifelong passion for music making. It does this by encouraging them to engage with music in many ways — as instrumentalists, singers, composers, improvisers and researchers, and by helping teachers to plan musical progression around the development of the whole musician.

Music Tracks is also designed to help smooth the transition from whole-class to small-group learning, which it does by providing opportunities for learners to step out from the group as solo performers and improvisers.

Music Tracks offers two types of music programme:

First Access Track is designed for music hubs and schools that run whole-class instrumental and vocal teaching. Delivered through the Music Tracks website, First Access Track offers:

learning and teaching resources online support through Trinity’s online learning platform assessment support tools including the Music Tracks logbook, and MakeWaves

— a safe social networking community for learners brand new repertoire designed for whole classes certification of achievement through Arts Award Discover.

Small Group Tracks supports learners to move from their whole-class lessons into small-group teaching. Small Group Tracks are exams taken in groups of two to four at Initial Track, Track 1, and Track 2 levels, and are designed to mirror the learning environment as closely as possible. The requirements of the exam reflect the skills and understanding learners will have been developing from the very start of their instrumental learning journey. The exams are designed to put candidates at ease and enable them to perform to their very best ability.

This syllabus outlines the requirements for the Small Group Tracks exams. For further information on First Access Track, please visit our website.

About Music Tracks

4

Trinity’s Music Tracks is part of a suite of qualifications offered by Trinity College London across a range of musical styles, instruments and disciplines:

QCF ✶ Level

EQF ✶✶ Level

Classical & Jazz

Rock & Pop

Theory & Written

Music Tracks†

Solo Certificate †

Group Certificate †

7 7 FTCL Diploma

6 6 LTCL Diploma

4 5

ATCL Diploma

Certificate for Music Educators (Trinity CME)

3 4 Grade 8 Grade 8 Grade 8 Advanced Advanced

Grade 7 Grade 7 Grade 7

Grade 6 Grade 6 Grade 6

2 3 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Intermediate Intermediate

Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 4

1 2 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 3 Foundation Foundation

Grade 2 Grade 2 Grade 2 Track 2

Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1 Track 1

Entry Level 3

1 ‡ Initial Initial n/a Initial Track

Entry Levels 1–2

First Access Track

Diplomas for teachers and performers are available covering a range of musical styles

Range of qualifications

✶ Qualifications and Credit Framework in England, Wales and Northern Ireland ✶✶ European Qualifications Framework † Not QCF or EQF accredited ‡ Excludes Classical & Jazz Initial exams

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For the exam, candidates will need to perform three pieces and one of the Musicianship Skills tests — either Copyback or Improvising.

Exam structure

Component OptionPass mark

Maximum mark

Piece 1 Choose a song from Group A in the relevant Trinity Small Group Tracks book

15 25

Piece 2 Choose a different song from Group A in the book 15 25

Piece 3 Choose one of the two Technical Pieces from Group B in the book, which cover specific technical elements

18 30

Musicianship Skills Choose either Copyback or Improvising. 12 20

TOTAL 60 100

Exams at a glance

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Small Group Tracks exams are designed to encourage musical performances in which candidates can demonstrate their own personal style and approach. Candidates perform in groups of two, three or four, but each is assessed individually and receives their own report form and certificate. The examiner will direct the exam to ensure it runs smoothly so that candidates feel at ease and unhurried in their performances.

Exam repertoire for Small Group Tracks is designed to allow each candidate to demonstrate their own musical ability and skills through solo opportunities, with ensemble sections included to provide the familiarity of group music making. The examiner may choose to comment on the ensemble sections, but this will not affect an individual candidate’s marks. The marks for Piece 3 are higher than those awarded for Pieces 1 and 2, reflecting the additional technical skills element.

Assessment area Criteria include the following elements:Pieces 1 & 2

Piece 3(Technical Piece)

Fluency & Musical Detail Sense of pulse, synchronisation with backing track, continuity, rhythm, notes, dynamics, phrasing, articulation

8 8

Technical Control Balance, tone, sound quality, co-ordination, expressive shaping of phrases, use of instrumental resources

8 12

Communication & Style Giving a confident performance, being musically engaged, feel and expression, communicating the musical mood and character, demonstrating stylistic awareness

9 10

TOTAL 25 30

How the exams are marked

Pieces

7

The group will choose one of the two Musicianship Skills tests. Each is marked out of 20:

Musicianship Skills

Pass bands

Further details of the assessment criteria are available on pages 12–13 and on our website.

Component CriteriaTotal mark

Copyback 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

Pass band Mark

Distinction 87–100

Merit 75–86

Pass 60–74

Below Pass 1 45–59

Below Pass 2 0–44

How the exams are marked

8

Entering for an exam

Details of fees, how to enter and closing dates are available on the website.

Special needs

Trinity welcomes applications from candidates with special needs. It is essential that these are notified before the time of entry by using the form available on our website.

Taking the exam

When the exam timetables are prepared, each candidate will be sent an appointment form. This will confirm the details of the candidate, Track level and instrument, together with the time and place of the exam.

Candidates should complete the details of the pieces in the order in which they will be performed, and indicate which of the two Musicianship Skills will be presented. Please note that within a group of candidates, the same pieces and Musicianship Skill must be selected.

It is the candidate’s responsibility to hand this completed appointment form to the examiner at the start of the exam.

Before entering the exam room, each candidate will be provided by the centre with a sticker which identifies them as candidate A, B, C or D so that the examiner is able to direct the exam efficiently.

Examiners

Examiners are carefully recruited and trained to conduct the exams in a friendly and professional manner. All examiners have experience in both whole-class and small-group teaching.

Assessments are made using the published criteria (see pages 12–13) and examiners deliver the exams and carry out the assessment of the candidate’s performances through a fair and standardised process.

Examiners write a report on each individual candidate’sperformance but are not able to reveal the outcome of the assessment on the day.

After the exam

Report forms will be released to teachers and candidates as soon as possible, but may take up to two weeks. The report form is a provisional result and may change following moderation. Each candidate within the group will receive their own report form, commenting on their individual achievement. The examiner may also choose to comment on the group as a whole. Once the results have been processed by Trinity through rigorous checking and moderation, certificates are issued for successful candidates.

The exam room

Candidates can choose to play standing up or sitting down. The examiner will have all the backing tracks, so the candidate’s CD is only required as a back-up copy. At the beginning of the exam, the examiner will play the first few bars of the backing track of the first piece as a sound check, and any adjustments to volume, set-up, etc. can be made before the exam begins. The exam room will be equipped with the following:

CD player, speakers/sound system for backing tracks chairs and music stands.

There will normally be a warm-up room or area where groups of candidates can prepare just before the exam.

Types of instrument, tuning and set-up

For all instruments an acoustic instrument should be used. For guitarists, a footstool is optional. For all instruments, including percussion, candidates must bring their own instruments into the exam room with them. For all Small Group Tracks exams, someone may assist with tuning and set-up.

What to bring to the exam

Each candidate must bring:

an original Trinity Small Group Tracks book the completed appointment form their own instrument.

Candidates may also wish to provide their own spare strings, reeds, drum heads, etc.

About the exams

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Please note that in each group exam, the candidates will all play the same three pieces:

Piece 1

Piece 1 must be selected from the relevant Trinity Small Group Tracks book from Group A. All candidates within the group must play the same piece. The order in which candidates play their solo section may be decided in advance of the exam. Please see the relevent Small Group Tracks book for further details.

Piece 2

Piece 2 must be a different piece selected from the relevant Trinity Small Group Tracks book from Group A. All candidates within the group must play the same piece. The order in which candidates play their solo section may be decided in advance of the exam. Please see the relevent Small Group Tracks book for further details.

Piece 3

Piece 3 must be selected from Group B, which contains pieces that have been designed to demonstrate a specific technical skill. These pieces are broken into eight-bar phrases, and the examiner will specify which phrase they would like each candidate to play. More information about how to prepare the Group B piece is included in the Small Group Tracks books.

Important

Pieces may be subject to change for copyright reasons, and candidates should refer to our website for the most up-to-date information.

Repeats, expressive techniques and tempo

All pieces should be prepared in full with all da capo and dal segno instructions and 1st and 2nd time bars observed. Repeats should be observed as many times as needed for each candidate to play the solo section. The pieces have been arranged in such a way as to allow the candidates to play as a group, with solo opportunities for each candidate included. Candidates should observe terms showing tempo, character and style of the music.

Backing tracks

The backing tracks used in the exam must be those on the CD included with each of the Small Group Tracks books. The backing CD contains versions of each of the pieces suitable for exams with either two, three or four candidates in a group.

Performing from memory

Candidates are free to perform any or all of their pieces from memory, although no extra marks will be awarded.

Music and copies

It is essential that each candidate brings an original copy of the music being performed into the exam room. If an unauthorised copy is used, Trinity may not award marks for that piece.

The pieces

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Either Copyback or Improvising must be selected for the exam, and all candidates within the group must present the same Musicianship Skill. For further information on Musicianship Skills and the requirements for each level, visit our website.

Copyback

In the Copyback test, candidates will be asked to perform some short melodic phrases that they haven’t seen or heard before over a backing track accompaniment similar in style and feel to the pieces for the relevant level. The candidates will hear short, recorded phrases played over the accompaniment and will be required to play them back, referring to the notation if they wish.

The group will be given 30 seconds to study the notated phrases and try them out. The examiner will then ask each candidate to perform four of the phrases over the backing track, repeating them immediately. Each candidate will perform four phrases in a row. A count-in will be given at the beginning, and the backing track will play continuously throughout the test. All of this will happen twice: once for practice, and a second time for assessment. No variation or improvisation is required.

Improvising

If the group chooses to improvise, they will be asked to improvise over a backing track that is similar in feel and style to the pieces in the book for the relevant level.

The candidates will be given a chord chart and will have 30 seconds to study it or to try out any sections. The chord chart will also outline suggested notes for the improvisation. The candidates can choose to work with only these notes or are free to select their own notes. The examiner will then play the recorded backing track, which consists of a passage of music played on a loop. The examiner will play the track all the way through once for the group to practise to, before playing the track a second time for assessment.

Each candidate should improvise over the backing track. The examiner will direct the group and clearly signal when each candidate should begin and finish their improvisation. As a guide, each candidate is required to improvise over roughly 16 bars and the examiner will signal to the candidate when their 16 bars is over, and cue in the next candidate. A count-in will be given at the beginning of the recording, and the backing track will be played throughout.

Musicianship Skills

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In addition to the Small Group Tracks book for each level (Initial Track, Track 1 and Track 2) there are various resources to support teachers, parents and candidates:

Teachers

For information about entering the exam, the parameters and assessment criteria, please visit our website.

For additional teaching resources, teacher support activities, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and workshop opportunities, online networking and forums, please visit the free Music Tracks area on Trinity’s online learning platform at www.trinitycollege.co.uk/support

Parents

For information about Trinity, details on entering a candidate for a Small Group Tracks exam, or to find someone to talk to about Trinity exams, visit www.trinitycollege.co.uk/musictracks

In addition, the Makewaves network is a safe interactive online network for sharing pupils’ progress. All Small Group Tracks candidates can access the Makewaves site through their school. The school must sign up to the network (free of charge) to allow pupils to access it. There are many benefits to accessing Makewaves beyond the Music Tracks network — see details at www.makewav.es

The Makewaves site is a useful way to share pupils’ progress, and parents can keep up to date with their child’s musical learning through the online tools.

Candidates

The Small Group Tracks series of books contain the repertoire needed for each exam, information about each piece to encourage candidates to explore different types of music from around the world, details on the Musicianship Skills tests, and a CD with all the backing tracks needed for each piece. These books follow on from the Music Tracks logbook, which allows pupils to record their music making and help them explore their instrument and the music they play more widely. All of the Music Tracks books are available at www.trinitycollege.co.uk/shop

Trinity runs its own safe networking site through Makewaves, where pupils can upload video performances of their pieces, watch performances of other pupils in the Music Tracks network, listen to their backing tracks online, comment on other pupils’ performances, blog about their practice and listen and read hints and tips for excellent playing posted by a range of musicians and examiners.

Resources

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BAND 1. FLUENCY AND MUSICAL DETAIL

DISTINCTION

87%

All pieces

7–8 marks

Fluently performed; accurate in pulse and synchronisation throughout

Very good attention to musical detail

MERIT

75%

All pieces

6 marks

A good sense of fluency with security in pulse and synchronisation for most of the performance

Good attention to musical detail

PASS

60%

All pieces

5 marks

Essentially fluent with a sense of pulse and synchronisation despite some lapses

Partial attention to musical detail

BELOW PASS 1

45%

All pieces

3–4 marks

Too many errors in pulse and synchronisation to give a basic continuity

Many of the musical details not observed

BELOW PASS 2

BELOW 45%

All pieces

1–2 marks

Significant errors in pulse and synchronisation with frequent hesitations

Musical detail not observed

Small Group Tracks exams assess a candidate’s instrumental and musical ability through a single live performance. All candidates are assessed by an examiner against a set of published criteria which measure attainment in the areas shown in the table opposite.

Comments and marks are given for each section of the exam. It is not necessary to pass each section of the exam to achieve an overall pass.

It is important for all candidates and teachers to have a thorough understanding of the assessment criteria for all aspects of the exam so that they are able to prepare accordingly.

The assessment criteria and exam syllabus content reflect a model of good practice in instrumental development, the application of which can provide rich and varied approaches for musical learning.

Assessment criteria

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2. TECHNICAL CONTROL 3. COMMUNICATION AND STYLE

DISTINCTION Pieces 1 & 2

7–8 marks

Assured technical control with very good sound quality

Very good command of the instrumental resources throughout

Pieces 1 & 2

8–9 marks

A convincing performance with a sense of musical engagement

Very successful communication of mood and characterPiece 3

11–12 marks

Piece 3

9–10 marks

MERIT Pieces 1 & 2

6 marks

Consistent technical control with good sound quality

Good command of the instrumental resources for most of the performance

Pieces 1 & 2

6–7 marks

A competent performance with some musical involvement

Clear communication of mood and characterPiece 3

9–10 marks

Piece 3

7–8 marks

PASS Pieces 1 & 2

5 marks

Some technical control and a developing basic sound quality

Partial command of the instrumental resources despite some lapses

Pieces 1 & 2

5 marks

A developing sense of performance despite slips in confidence

Partial communication of mood and character

Piece 3

7–8 marks

Piece 3

6 marks

BELOW PASS 1 Pieces 1 & 2

3–4 marks

Too many errors in technical control to give a satisfactory basic sound quality

Limited and insecure management of the instrumental resources

Pieces 1 & 2

3–4 marks

Too many uncertainties to give a basic sense of performance

Limited communication of the mood and characterPiece 3

5–6 marks

Piece 3

4–5 marks

BELOW PASS 2 Pieces 1 & 2

1–2 marks

Significant and fundamental errors in technical control and an unsatisfactory basic sound quality

Frequent insecurities in management of instrumental resources

Pieces 1 & 2

1–2 marks

A performance lacking in confidence

Unsuccessful communication of the mood and characterPiece 3

1–4 marks

Piece 3

1–3 marks

Synchronisation refers to accuracy of co-ordination with the backing track. A mark of ‘0’ is given only when no attempt at performance is made.

Marks in an Exam report are provisional until the results are confirmed by the issue of a certificate (or otherwise).

Overall attainment bands are as follows: Pass 60, Merit 75, Distinction 87.

Assessment criteria

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