Guide

How to get a Distinction in Junior Cycle Music

By John Casey - 14 minute read

John is a music teacher with over thirty years of experience and in this guide, he shares his tips on how to get a Distinction in Junior Cycle Music.

Jump to:

Show all sections

Introduction

Music is an exciting subject to study at Junior Cycle as it is fun, engaging and allows you to be creative. Music classes are different to other subject classes because there’s a lot of listening to music and who doesn’t enjoy listening to music, especially during the school day? Plus, there are plenty of performing and music-making opportunities with most music classes giving you the chance to learn a musical instrument as well. If you’re already learning an instrument or singing in a choir, your chances of doing well are even better.

Music at Junior Cycle is a subject that everyone can succeed at, no matter what level of musical talent you have. In the music exam, there are questions surrounding your listening skills, composing short jingles for radio ads, creating playlists and sharing music online. Music is already everywhere around us such as on our phones and in the computer games we play on social media. As a subject at Junior Cycle, it wants you to interact with that world of music actively.

The exam and your CBAs will test your ability to actively listen and recognise elements in all types of music and expect you to then take these skills to the next level by composing your own music. This guide will show you how to succeed at Junior Cycle Music so let’s get started.

Assessment breakdown

The music syllabus outlines three areas to be examined in the written paper and in the CBAs. It’s important that you know these so you are aware of what skills you are trying to develop in order to succeed. These three areas have very fancy titles but what they mean is quite simple. Let's have a look:

  • Procedural knowledge

    This is the 'nuts and bolts' of music as a language; the symbols and the terminology we all use as musicians to understand each other. It is here that you learn to read and write music properly and this knowledge is examined in all questions on the exam paper.

  • Innovate and ideate

    This is where you can be creative. You show that you can use these same 'nuts and bolts' of music to create and compose your own music and in turn, make it possible for others to read and perform your music the way you intended. This is examined in detail in your CBA I and in two questions in the written exam paper: the 'melodic composition' and the 'backing chords' questions.

  • Culture and context

    This is where you bring together all your musical knowledge to help you identify the different musical elements in a piece and use these to place them in a musical context. This is examined in your CBA 2 and in several sections spread across the entire written exam paper.

Top tip

'Musical context' simply means the musical era or genre this piece would belong to. For example, if I sang Silent Night, you would know that it is a Christmas song so a 'Christmas carol' is a 'context' into which we can place it. You could also say that it is a 'religious song' so that is another context into which it could be placed.

The additional work you do in the CBAs is important as they give you an opportunity to develop and grow these skills over time. The written paper then seeks to test your level of understanding and ability to use these skills at the end of the Junior Cycle.

Areas you are examined in

Music at Junior Cycle is examined in 3 distinct ways:

Classroom-Based Assessments (CBAs)

CBA 1: your composition portfolio

Your first CBA is completed in class time in your second year of school. You can participate in as many composing tasks as you wish and can do them either on your own or in a group. You then pick your two best compositions to be your portfolio which is then presented, assessed and graded.

It’s not just the compositions that are assessed. Your 'reflective learning document' is also an area where you can gain marks. Highlight clearly that you are aware of the skills you learned and developed during your work on this CBA to score highly here.

CBA 2: your performance programme note

As a tie-in with your music practical exam in third year, your CBA 2 task asks you to prepare a 'programme note' on the three pieces that you will be performing for your music practical exam. To maximise marks, highlight the following:

  • an awareness of the 'context' of your pieces (this is critical);
  • knowledge of the musical elements in each piece;
  • an awareness of your audience and what they might listen out for.

The result of these two CBAs is displayed in your Junior Certificate Profile of Achievement (JCPA).

The practical exam

Your practical exam awards 30% of your overall music result (120 marks out of 400 marks) and is held in May of your third year.

You are required to perform three pieces and they can be on any combination of instrument or voice and either as a solo or group performance. The choice is totally up to you. In addition, you have a short sight-reading test to assess your knowledge of music notation.

The written exam

The Junior Cycle Music written paper takes place towards the end of the exams in June and awards 70% of your total mark (280 marks out of 400 marks). This, coupled with your music practical result, determines your overall result. Music is now a common-level paper which means everyone sits the exact same paper. It is one and a half hours long and is timed for you as it has an accompanying CD to play the musical excerpts needed for each question. A lot of your exam time is spent listening and responding to the music you hear. The written exam layout at a glance is:

  • the paper is 1.5 hours long;
  • there are 6 questions, all of which have to be answered. There is no choice in any question so you have to complete all sections in each question.
  • It is a common-level paper with questions that cater for all abilities.
  • All questions are of a 'tick the correct box' or short paragraph type so there are no long essays to learn or write in the exam.

In general, the exam paper sets out to examine three main areas:

  • Your ability to listen critically and respond to music you, more than likely, have not heard before.
  • Your composing ability, which you have trained for in class and across your CBA 1 task.
  • Your ability to recall and apply information learned in class and in your CBAs.

Exam tips

Here are some exam tips focusing on:

Exam Tips

1
2
3

The DRAMATICS acronym

You might struggle when asked to respond to music you have not heard before but don’t worry, a lot of people do. You might not know where to start or what to listen for but it’s a skill you can get better at.

The DRAMATICS acronym is a handy tool to help you with this. When listening to an excerpt, go through the keywords in the acronym below. They will identify musical features for you that you can comment on.

D = Dynamics

R = Rhythm

A = Accompaniment

M = Melody or mood

A = Articulation

T = Tempo or triads or texture

I = Instrumentation

C = Chords or cadences

S = Style or structure

Learn this acronym and at the beginning of your exam, write this down in a rough work section and refer to it anytime a question asks you to identify a musical feature or highlight a similarity/difference between excerpts.

1

The test piece

Right at the beginning of your written exam, a 'test piece' is played. There are no questions on this piece. It is designed to calm your nerves and, most importantly, ensure that you can hear the music clearly and at an appropriate level.

Don’t be afraid to ask the examiner to adjust the volume. If it is too low, you obviously can’t hear it properly and might miss out on something critical to a question but equally, if it is too loud, it might distort through the speakers and become indistinct and 'fuzzy'.

Timing

Unlike a lot of other exam subjects, the written exam in music is timed for you. The pre-recorded CD with the excerpts and appropriate pauses for time to answer is played from start to finish. That means you don’t need to be worried about clock-watching as in other subjects or spending too long on one question. This is taken care of for you.

Of course, this also means that you must answer the questions in the order they appear. Again, unlike in other subjects, there is no skipping ahead to your favourite type of question or section of the course. However, it is very helpful in that it is structured for you and clearly announces what question and excerpt you are on so you just have to keep up with the CD and you will have completed all the questions by the time the exam ends.

Some tips

for the JC Music exam.

The DRAMATICS acronym

You might struggle when asked to respond to music you have not heard before but don’t worry, a lot of people do. You might not know where to start or what to listen for but it’s a skill you can get better at.

The DRAMATICS acronym is a handy tool to help you with this. When listening to an excerpt, go through the keywords in the acronym below. They will identify musical features for you that you can comment on.

D = Dynamics

R = Rhythm

A = Accompaniment

M = Melody or mood

A = Articulation

T = Tempo or triads or texture

I = Instrumentation

C = Chords or cadences

S = Style or structure

Learn this acronym and at the beginning of your exam, write this down in a rough work section and refer to it anytime a question asks you to identify a musical feature or highlight a similarity/difference between excerpts.

The test piece

Right at the beginning of your written exam, a 'test piece' is played. There are no questions on this piece. It is designed to calm your nerves and, most importantly, ensure that you can hear the music clearly and at an appropriate level.

Don’t be afraid to ask the examiner to adjust the volume. If it is too low, you obviously can’t hear it properly and might miss out on something critical to a question but equally, if it is too loud, it might distort through the speakers and become indistinct and 'fuzzy'.

Timing

Unlike a lot of other exam subjects, the written exam in music is timed for you. The pre-recorded CD with the excerpts and appropriate pauses for time to answer is played from start to finish. That means you don’t need to be worried about clock-watching as in other subjects or spending too long on one question. This is taken care of for you.

Of course, this also means that you must answer the questions in the order they appear. Again, unlike in other subjects, there is no skipping ahead to your favourite type of question or section of the course. However, it is very helpful in that it is structured for you and clearly announces what question and excerpt you are on so you just have to keep up with the CD and you will have completed all the questions by the time the exam ends.

Hope these help - happy studying!

The written paper

The written paper is designed to examine three areas:

Listening

Every question on the exam paper will test your listening skills in some section of the question so to get top marks, make sure you:

  • Don't rush

    Most students make the mistake of rushing into an answer and writing the very first thing that comes to them. Remember to stay calm. Your first idea might not be your best and you might come up with a better answer on the 2nd or 3rd listening. Once you have fully gathered your thoughts and confirmed your answer in the rough work area, it is then time to answer the question in the appropriate answer box.

  • Answer every question

    Most of the questions in the listening skills section require you to 'tick the correct box' or 'choose the correct word' from a word bank. NEVER leave these 'tick' or 'choose the correct answer' spaces blank. Even if you don’t know, guess (you might be lucky).

  • Show off what you know

    Other questions ask you to describe something in a short paragraph-style answer. When answering with a short paragraph, make sure you use full sentences and that you use the formal musical terms you have learned in class or in music rehearsals. This will add to your chances of scoring highly.

  • Maximise your marks

    Make sure you answer each section and do not leave any blank spaces and look at the number of lines/spaces provided for each answer. Longer spaces normally mean that that answer has more marks going for it so write as much as you can to maximise your marks.

  • Read the question carefully

    Read the question carefully. If asked to describe one feature then only give one and give as much detail as you can on it. You will not get extra marks for giving two.

  • Use information from the question

    Remember, in this question, the rhythm of the missing pitches is printed above the stave. Use these in your answer. Even if this is a weak area for you, always try as marks are given for having ANY of the five notes in the correct place. Even if you get all 5 wrong but you get the shape or contour of the melody right, you will get marks for that too.

  • Bear these tips in mind:

    Make sure you can hear the CD at an appropriate level and use the rough work areas provided first. Use the DRAMATICS acronym to highlight musical features and use formal musical terms as much as you can. 

Topics to know for listening questions

  • The families of instruments (be able to identify them by their sound).

  • Irish instruments (be able to identify them by their sound).

  • Tempo, dynamic and performance markings.

  • Staff notation including ledger lines, time and key signatures (don’t forget the rest symbol that corresponds to the note value when revising your musical notation).

  • Graphic notation, musical form and voice types (SATB).

  • Chordal accompaniment (block/broken chords).

  • Chords and triads (what word they change on/what triad certain printed notes will form).

  • Melodic dictation (fill in the missing notes) and texture.

Structuring a rehearsal and planning for improvement

This type of question is examining your critical listening and your ability to create an action plan to improve. Don’t panic, we have all at some stage practiced something and planned how to improve.

Simple and clear ideas work best here and remember your DRAMATICS acronym for help. For example, “I would tell the performers to listen more to each other so that they stay in tempo/stay in pitch”, or, “I would tell them to remember it is a performance and all performances need variety so dynamic variation is important”.

Again, keep your answers musically relevant and use technical terms to show you understand them and write as much as you can.

Identifying musical features

Don’t be afraid of answers that seem too simple or too straightforward as they are more than likely correct. Just make sure they are musically relevant. For example, don’t say, “they both have singers”, instead, use the language and terminology you have gathered over the three years of your Junior Cycle and say, “both excerpts have male vocalists singing the melody line”.

Composing

There are two composing tasks in the exam paper which ask you to:

  • add backing chords to a given melody;
  • compose a melody to a given rhythm and word pattern.

Tips for backing chord questions

  • Write the correct pitch name under each note

    Do this under each note in the printed music extract and this will help you figure out what triad/chord you need. Remember, a chord symbol will cover all the notes until the next empty chord box. This may extend over 2 or more bars and you must take all these notes into account before finally identifying the correct chord to place in the box.

  • The chord bank grid

    The 'chord bank grid' will be provided for you in this question but it may be printed on the next page so look carefully for it as all the information you need for your answers is in it such as your key, roman numerals for cadence points and what chords are major/minor. 

Tips for the melody writing question

A lot of the information you need is already in the question so use this to your advantage. In 2022, for example, the lyrics and the rhythm required to complete the answer were given to you. You then had to complete a melody using those words and rhythm. Remember to:

  • identify your key as this will point you towards the correct keynote to end on;
  • add your suitable phrasing.

These are two instructions that are highlighted for you at the start of this question. They are vital to scoring highly so use them as a checklist and when reading over your final answer, put a tick next to them to ensure they are completed.

Topics you need to know for the composing skills questions

  • Key and time signatures

  • Names of lines, spaces and ledger lines

  • Note values and their respective rest symbols

  • Triads and chords

  • Cadences

Recalling studied material

These types of questions seek to examine material covered in class or in your CBAs and are usually designed as short-paragraph answers. It’s important to know all the topics in your listening and composing skills but also:

  • Musical context/genres and texture.

  • Be able to name and describe a piece you have already studied especially music by Irish songwriters, artists or ensembles.

  • How to create a playlist and how to share music online.

  • Copyright, royalties and organisations involved in these activities in Ireland.

  • Your composition portfolio (CBA 1).

  • Music technology and recording software.

  • Rehearsal skills/creating a public performance.

Top tip

Keep a list of all the music you hear in class and what genre or type of music they are. It is a great resource for these types of questions and gives you confidence going into the exam that you have listened to a wide variety of musical styles.

Final tips

Final Tips

1
2
3
4
5

Musical opportunities

The extra knowledge that you get from playing an instrument or singing certainly adds to the prospect of you doing well so take advantage of any opportunities you might get in school or in your local community to join a performing group or choir.

1

Keep a log

Keep a log of new words or terms you hear and see if you can apply them to your own music-making activities.

2

Musical context

Similarly, make a list of pieces that you hear in class and go online afterwards and try and find pieces that were written around the same time or in a similar style and see if you can recognise what makes them similar or indeed what makes them different. By doing this, you are creating an awareness of musical context.

3

DRAMATICS acronym

Use the DRAMATICS acronym to help you hear what is similar or different about the pieces on your listening list.

Procedural knowledge

Use the CBAs as an opportunity to develop both your composing skills and your 'procedural knowledge'.

Some final tips

for Junior Cycle Music.

Musical opportunities

The extra knowledge that you get from playing an instrument or singing certainly adds to the prospect of you doing well so take advantage of any opportunities you might get in school or in your local community to join a performing group or choir.

Keep a log

Keep a log of new words or terms you hear and see if you can apply them to your own music-making activities.

Musical context

Similarly, make a list of pieces that you hear in class and go online afterwards and try and find pieces that were written around the same time or in a similar style and see if you can recognise what makes them similar or indeed what makes them different. By doing this, you are creating an awareness of musical context.

DRAMATICS acronym

Use the DRAMATICS acronym to help you hear what is similar or different about the pieces on your listening list.

Procedural knowledge

Use the CBAs as an opportunity to develop both your composing skills and your 'procedural knowledge'.

Best of luck with the exam! You will be great.

Apply these extra steps and you will undoubtedly succeed and master Junior Cycle Music.

Best of luck in the exam! You will be great.

By John Casey

John Casey is a secondary school teacher of Music with over 30 years of experience. He is very familiar with preparing students and correcting Music at the Junior cycle level.

Related subjects & topics
Music
Explore similar posts in our community