Teacher's Guide Cambridge Pre-U MUSIC Available for teaching ...

Introduction
Cambridge Pre-U Teacher Guide
This guide to the Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus in Music is designed to be read in conjunction with the
Syllabus itself and with the published Specimen Papers, Mark Schemes and Assessment Criteria.
The linear nature of the course, with a single examination at the end of two years’ continuous
study, is particularly appropriate for a subject like Music, allowing for the development of a broad
range of skills, knowledge and understanding over a sustained period of time. The opportunity
for a substantial increase in teaching time compared with a modular system not only allows for
greater depth of study and learning, but also provides scope for the personal development of young
musicians. While the Pre-U examination is especially suitable for those who may aspire to read Music
at university, it is designed to appeal equally to those who wish to further their involvement and skills
in Music for its own sake. In common with all Pre-U subjects, the Music Syllabus is designed for
the whole ability range, while permitting higher levels of achievement to be suitably rewarded, with
greater discrimination at the level of excellence.
The structure of the Syllabus breaks the subject into its three essential constituent parts: Listening
(which includes analysis and historical study), Performing and Composing (which includes the study
of historical styles and, as an option, Arranging). It is important to stress that these three areas are
interdependent and should not be seen as mutually exclusive. In particular, it is vital that Listening
should inform all aspects of the course for all students, whatever their individual specialisms might
be. Performers need to listen – to themselves as they play, to others playing the same music – in
order to become informed, engaged players who can project their own personal interpretations.
Composers need to listen – in their heads as they try to shape their musical ideas into a tangible
form, in reality as they judge whether they have achieved what they first imagined – in order to
become accomplished composers with something to offer to those who bring their music to life in
performance. Writers, whether historians, musicologists, critics or commentators, need to listen – to
increase their familiarity with a wide range of music – so that they can develop the insights necessary
to have something worthwhile to say. No single aspect of music exists that does not involve some
kind of listening, and listening is therefore the most important of all musical skills.
The interdependence of the three areas of the subject implies that courses of study in Music should,
whenever possible, seek out connecting threads to make this concept explicit. Some opportunities
of this kind are embodied in the structure of the Syllabus, but there are many other ways of achieving
the same end and it is hoped that teachers will look for their own ways of addressing this issue. In a
course which is not interrupted by frequent examinations and resits, there should be plenty of scope
for such ideas to be pursued.
This guide is arranged under main headings which reflect the three main areas of the subject. The
first three components of the examination focus on each area in turn. Component 4 has four options,
of which candidates choose one. Thus Component 41 (Dissertation) belongs under the main heading
of Listening, Component 42 under Performing and Components 43 and 44 (Music Technology) under
Composing. The guide deals with these options at the end of each main section, rather than grouping
them together, for the simple reason that they are conceived as specialist extensions of each area of the
subject and are thus more appropriately considered alongside the other component within that area.
www.cie.org.uk/cambridgepreu 5