Greetings DP Music teachers!
With less than one week to go for the DP Music exam in northern hemisphere schools, I hope you students are reviewing for all of their exams with intention and fidelity.
This post concerns two different strategies for reviewing for the DP Music exam.
1. Have students create flashcards of different musical styles and genres
Each flashcard should contain four-six points on the musical identity of the specific genre (e.g., baroque music: one mood pieces, polyphony and homophony, move from modal to tonal, harpsichord present in some works, vertical musical thinking – chordal motion, Rameau, Vivaldi, Lully, Bach).
The flashcard should also contain a brief description of one musical work that is indicative of the genre (e.g., an overture by Rameau).
The flashcards could be digital or physical.
2. Generating potential questions and responses for the prescribed works
The teacher would select a section of the prescribed work that could be used in the exam (e.g., Rossisi – Andantino moderato).
Students would then review the section and generate potential exam questions on the section.
Typically, prescribed works questions have centred on how the prescribed work is indicative of its genre and how the work is unique and autonomous as a piece of art.
After the questions are generated, students would exchange questions and then create responses to the questions they just received.
Lastly, students would share their responses with the class.