Advanced Exams, Type I - Orchestral Instruments


Pieces and studies		out of 12

Outstanding performance Affective and personal expression Technically secure Good control of intonation, articulation and tone Good feeling for phrasing and dynamics Good feeling for musical style, character and colour Good sense of rhythm Convincing choice of tempo		11/12

Reasonably good sense of "musical whole" Clear evidence of personal expression Reasonably secure technically Reasonably good control of intonation, articulation and tone Clear evidence of dynamics and phrasing Reasonably good feeling for musical style, character and colour Reasonably good sense of rhythm Appropriate and steady tempo		9/10

Acceptable performance as a whole Acceptable intonation, articulation and tone Dynamics and phrasing perceptible Appropriate tempo, if cautious, even hesitant at times Insufficiently accurate		7/8

Lacks sense of flow and security Inadequate intonation, articulation and tone quality Little sense of "musical whole" Lots of mistakes and pauses		5/6

Lots of wrong notes and rhythms Very poor intonation, articulation and tone quality		4

No performance		0

Orchestral extracts		out of 12

Clear sense of all the orchestral works Convincing performances Technically secure Good control of intonation, articulation and tone Good feeling for phrasing and dynamics Good sense of rhythm Convincing choice of tempo		11/12

Clear sense of most of the orchestral works or reasonable sense of all Reasonably good sense of "musical whole" Reasonably secure technically Reasonably good control of intonation, articulation and tone Clear evidence of dynamics and phrasing Reasonably good sense of rhythm Appropriate and steady tempo		9/10

Acceptable sense of most of the orchestral works or inconsistent between extracts Acceptable performance as a whole Acceptable intonation, articulation and tone Dynamics and phrasing perceptible Appropriate tempo, if cautious, even hesitant at times Insufficiently accurate		7/8

Little sense of all of the orchestral works Lacks sense of flow and security Inadequate intonation, articulation and tone quality		5/6

No sense of the orchestral work Lots of wrong notes and rhythms Very poor intonation, articulation and tone quality		4

No performance		0

Scales and arpeggios		out of 15

Secure and effortless Good sense of flow Good controle of intonation, articulation and tone Responds quickly to instructions		14/15

Well prepared Reasonable sense of flow Occasional wrong notes In a few cases, needs "too" long thinking time		12/13

Cautious Quiet a lot of wrong notes In most cases, needs "too" long thinking time		9/10/11

Not adequately prepared Too slow (see syllabus requirements) Uneven Lots of mistakes Inappropriately long thinking time		6/7/8

Several scales/arpeggios not played Uses music/notation Not adequate		5

Scales and arpeggios not performed		0

Option/Elective - Pupils perform piece of own choice		out of 10

Outstanding performance Affective and personal expression Technically secure Good control of intonation, articulation and tone Good feeling for phrasing and dynamics Good feeling for musical style, character and colour Good sense of rhythm Convincing choice of tempo		9/10

Reasonably good sense of "musical whole" Clear evidence of personal expression Reasonably secure technically Reasonably good control of intonation, articulation and tone Clear evidence of dynamics and phrasing Reasonably good feeling for musical style, character and colour Reasonably good sense of rhythm Appropriate and steady tempo		7/8

Acceptable performance as a whole Acceptable intonation, articulation and tone Dynamics and phrasing perceptible Appropriate tempo, if cautious, even hesitant at times Insufficient accuracy		6

Lacks a sense of flow and security Inadequate intonation, articulation and tone quality Little sense of "musical whole" Lots of mistakes and pauses		4/5

Lots of wrong notes and rhythms Very poor intonation, articulation and tone quality		2/3

No performance		0

Option/Elective - Ensemble performance in which the candidate plays a substantial role		out of 10

Good sense of the "musical whole" Good control of intonation, articulation and tone Technically secure Good feeling for phrasing and dynamics Good sense of balance between voices Good feeling for flow in ensemble Good and steady feeling for rhythm		9/10

Reasonably good sense of "musical whole" Reasonably good control of intonation, articulation and tone Reasonably secure technically Clear evidence of dynamics and phrasing Reasonably good sense of balance between voices Reasonably good feeling for flow in ensemble Appropriate and steady tempo		7/8

Acceptable sense of "musical whole" Acceptable intonation, articulation and tone Phrasing and dynamics perceptible Acceptable sense of balance between voices Acceptable sense of flow in ensemble Appropriate if not always steady tempo Insufficiently accurate		6

Little sense of "musical whole" Inadequate intonation, articulation and tone Considerable wrong notes and rhythms Little sense of balance between voices Little sense of flow in ensemble		4/5

Hardly any sense of "musical whole" Little if any sense of ensemble Lots of wrong notes and rhythms Very poor intonation and articulation		2/3

No performance		0

Option/Elective - Performance on a related instrument		out of 10

Convincing performance Good control of instrument, technically secure Good control of intonation, articulation and tone Good feeling for phrasing and dynamics Good feeling for musical style, character and colour Good feeling for rhythm Convincing choice of tempo		9/10

Reasonably good sense of "musical whole" Reasonably control of instrument, technically secure Reasonably good control of intonation, articulation and tone Clear evidence of dynamics and phrasing Reasonable feeling of musical style, character and colour Reasonable feeling for rhythm Appropriate and steady tempo		7/8

Acceptable sense of "musical whole" Acceptable control of instrument, intonation, articulation and tone Phrasing and dynamics perceptible Appropriate tempo, if cautious, even hesitant at times Insufficiently accuracy		6

Inadequate control of instrument, intonation, articulation and tone Little sense of "musical whole" Considerable wrong notes and rhythms Lacks sense of security and flow		4/5

Lots of wrong notes and rhythms Very poor intonation and articulation		2/3

No performance		0

Sight-reading		out of 10

Convincing peformance Appropriate tempo Appropriate dynamics Rights notes and rhythms		9/10

Mostly correct notes and rhythm Steady pulse		7/8

Hesitant, though mostly right notes and rhythms Too cautious, though clear sense of pulse		6

Absence of feeling for tonality Poor phrasing Lots of wrong notes and rhytms Absence of pulse		4/5

Consistently wrong notes and rhythms Very poor intonation, articulation and tone		2/3

Sight-reading not performed		0

Overall impression		out of 5

Outstanding performances Affective and personal expression Confident and appropriate deportment Very well prepared		5

Good, purposeful performances Confident and mostly appropriate deportment Clearly well prepared		4

Adequate performances Adequate security and deportment Deserves a pass, but with one or two reservations (indicated elsewhere)		3

Insecure and unconvincing performances Inappropriate deportment Preparation appears to be inadequate		2

Very poor performances Performances in most parts of the exam do not satisfy requirements Preparation appears to be very poor		1