AS 91420 · 4 credits · External
Aural skills
Integrate aural skills into written representation
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AS 91420 is a Level 3 external Music exam (4 credits) where you listen to pieces of music and write down what you hear. You do this in two ways: musical transcription (writing out melodies, rhythms, and chords in notation) and written description (explaining or analysing what the music is doing). The exam covers a range of musical styles and genres. Because it is external, it is sat under exam conditions and marked by NZQA examiners — your teacher does not mark it.
What to do, grades and common mistakes
- ·Listen to short pieces of music played during the exam and write out melodies and rhythms using standard musical notation.
- ·Identify chords by ear — including whether they are major or minor, and for higher grades, whether they include 7ths, suspensions, or are in inversion.
- ·Write about the musical elements and features you hear (things like dynamics, texture, rhythm, and harmony) in plain written sentences.
- ·Answer questions across three different genres or styles of music in the one exam paper.
- ·Attempt every part of every question — leaving parts blank is one of the biggest reasons students do not achieve.
You can describe what you hear using some basic music vocabulary. You can notate rough melodic contours and some rhythmic patterns (though not always complete phrases). You can identify some individual chords, but you may not always tell major from minor and you are likely to miss inversions.