Advanced Exams


Pieces and studies		out of 15

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 Good diction Convincing choice of tempo		14/15

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 Reasonably good diction Appropriate and steady tempo		12/13

Acceptable performance as a whole Acceptable intonation articulation and tone Dynamics and phrasing perceptible Acceptable diction Appropriate tempo, if cautious, even hesitant at times Insufficiently accurate		9/10/11

Lacks sense of flow and security Inadequate intonation, articulation and tone quality Little sense of "musical whole" Diction lacking Lots of mistakes and pauses		6/7/8

Lots of wrong notes and rhythms Very poor intonation, articulation and tone quality Very poor diction		5

No performance		0

Option/Elective - Pupils sing a piece of own choise		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 Good diction 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 Reasonably good diction Appropriate and steady tempo		7/8

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

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

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

No performance		0

Option/Elective - Vocal ensemble 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 Good diction		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 Reasonably good diction		7/8

Acceptable performance as a 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 Acceptable diction Insufficiently accurate		6

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

Hardly any sense of "musical whole" Very poor intonation and articulation Little if any sense of balance between voices Little if any sense of flow in ensemble Lots of wrong notes and rhythms Very poor diction		2/3

No performance		0

Sight-reading		out of 10

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

Mostly correct notes and rhythms 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 or rhythms 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 Adequately 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