Music is a great subject to do for the Leaving Cert and I always felt very lucky going into music class where there were many relaxed and enjoyable moments. For me, a class where I spent a lot of time either playing or listening to music was a great choice. Most people who do music for the Leaving Cert do or have done music outside of school at some point. Many of them hope to pursue a career in music which can include:
Guide
How to get a H1 in Leaving Cert Music
By Sarah E. - 10 minute readIn this guide, Sarah shares her advice and top tips for achieving a H1 in Leaving Cert Music.
Jump to:
Show all sections
Introduction
Performing (voice or instrument)
Songwriting
Composing music for films, video games or advertising
Recording and producing
Music business and touring
Music therapy
Music teaching
Doing music outside school gives you a great head start. If you are advanced at your instrument, some of what you do in music class will just be revision. It is essential that you either play an instrument or sing for Leaving Cert music and it’s never too late to improve.
Advantages of studying Leaving Cert Music
One of my favourite things about doing Leaving Cert Music was that our class had lots of opportunities to perform. We were sought for the choir, musicals, open evenings, masses and graduation ceremonies. I enjoyed this aspect of music class and I think my confidence grew as a result. It also bonded our class strongly together.
Music has a very high rate of good grades and you can pass this subject before you ever sit the exam because the practical is worth 50%. This helps spread out the pressure more evenly throughout the year in comparison to other subjects.
Key dates
Oral and practical tests
The Leaving Cert oral tests and practical music tests are usually between March 25th and April 9th.
Composing elective
The higher-level elective in composing is due on the last Friday in April.
Written exam
The Leaving Cert written exam is usually between the 18th and 23rd of June.
The Leaving Cert oral tests and practical music tests are usually between March 25th and April 9th.
Breakdown of marks
There is a total of 400 marks going for Leaving Cert Music (every 4 marks equals 1%). Below, I give you the marks and the overall percentage for each element of your exam:
| Listening | 25% | 100 marks |
| Comprehension | 25% | 100 marks |
| Practical | 25% | 100 marks |
| Elective | 25% | 100 marks |
Almost everyone does the practical elective which adjusts the marks to the following:
| Listening | ||
| Question 1 | 6.25% | 25 marks |
| Question 2 | 2.5% | 10 marks |
| Question 3 | 2.5% | 10 marks |
| Question 4 | 2.5% | 10 marks |
| Question 5 | 6.25% | 25 marks |
| Question 6 | 5% | 20 marks |
| Total | 25% | 100 marks |
| Composition | ||
| Section A: melody composition | 10% | 40 marks |
| Section B: harmony | 15% | 60 marks |
| Total | 25% | 100 marks |
Important
The breakdown for the practical can be more complicated. Unprepared tests always account for 5% of your overall mark (i.e. 20 marks). The remaining 45% of your overall mark is split between your performance and your music technology, depending on your choices and your level.
The practical exam
Part of the Leaving Cert practical exam can be done with group recitals. I would recommend this if you are a nervous performer. If having a friend strum their guitar while you sing helps then go for it.
The standard of performance is generally very high and the music presented often exceeds the required standard. As such, don’t over-prepare for it at the cost of exam study time. You have a couple of options with the practical in that you can do 1 or 2 activities:
1 activity means you play 6 pieces of your choice marked to honours standard.
2 activities mean you play 4 pieces of your choice for each activity, marked to ordinary level standard. For example, 4 pieces on one instrument/voice and 4 on another or 4 on one instrument/voice and music technology.
Normally, music teachers advise that it is easier to score with two activities (even though that gives 8 pieces in total) as the standard expected is lower. You have a total of 25 minutes to play and the standard expected is around grade 5/6, although the Department of Education never mentions actual grades anywhere. I wouldn’t recommend that you play higher than that even if you are able to as it’s wasted effort and you’re more likely to make a mistake.
Top tip
You must choose a variety of genres and pieces and your teacher is the best person to advise you on what to pick. I would strongly suggest you settle on the pieces many weeks (or even months) before the practical exam.
Marking Scheme
To get the highest points in your chosen music and standard of performance, you must show that:
Your control of the instrument or voice has very good pitch, intonation, rhythm, control of sound and tone quality.
Your musicality, interpretation and programme content has excellent musical performance, confidence, sense of style (melodic and rhythmic), feel for words (if applicable), rhythm, phrasing and dynamics.
In a group, you make a positive input to the musical balance of the group, have very good interaction with the rest of the group and are a very strong member of an ensemble.
Your pitch and rhythmic accuracy have note accuracy and are rhythmically consistent.
Music technology
Not all schools do music technology as it has to be done on specialised software but there are many tutorials for these on YouTube if you need help getting started. Music technology involves inputting a few bars of sheet music into the software system and then saving, closing, re-opening, playing and editing the file. Students can be a bit confused about what type of edits you might have to do but they generally include things like:
Changing the metronome mark.
Changing the rhythm of notes.
Changing an instrument.
Transposing work up or down 2 semitones.
Much of this is just changing drop-down menus or typing a higher tempo in the tempo box. Once you’ve done it a few times you should be very fast at it.
Marking Scheme
To get the highest points in music technology, your pitch and rhythmic accuracy should have note accuracy and be rhythmically consistent and you must display good control of the software and input notes accurately. Finally, your musicality, interpretation and programme content should:
Be input with confidence.
Have a nice musical outcome.
Show accurate editing, printing, recording, saving and retrieving.
Have very musical results of edits (where relevant).
Display a very good understanding of the system.
Unprepared tests
Unprepared tests are to test your aural memory, your sight-reading and your rhythm.
Marking Scheme
To get the highest points in your unprepared tests, you must show that:
Your sight reading is fluent and accurate, has excellent tempo and dynamics and is musically expressive.
Your aural memory gives a confident response, has an excellent feeling for pulse and is fluent and accurate.
Your improvisation has excellent development of the given material, excellent response and feeling for pulse and is fluent.
Summary
To recap, my top tips for the practical exam are:
Do your practical with a group if it helps you feel relaxed.
Make sure you have practiced with your accompanist.
Perform with confidence.
Two groups of four pieces/songs are easier to get marks on than one group of six.
Consider doing music technology as it’s easy when you get the hang of it. If you’ve practiced it a few times, you shouldn’t have a problem.
The written exam
See below for a breakdown of the different sections of the written exam.
The listening section
This section consists of questions on your set works, Irish music (including a short essay) and a piece that you most likely won’t have heard before. For the classical pieces, you need to know the form, instruments and themes of the pieces. It’s tricky but manageable and I found the books very helpful.
Depending on the set works in your year, you will need to know certain vocabulary. Your teacher will advise you as to what vocabulary you need for your pieces. There won’t be a lot of words for each but make sure you know them and use them correctly. Here's what you need to know:
Baroque pieces
Know the sections and be able to tell them apart, what order they're in and what voices and instruments sing where.
Modern pieces
Know recording techniques, the instrumentation and the chord progressions. This is a relatively easy one.
Contemporary pieces
Be able to tell all the sections apart and know what section comes next (it helps if you have some kind of storyline to it all because it may be difficult depending on the composer). Know the composer’s compositional techniques like retrograde, inversion and canon. Know the instrumentation.
Romantic pieces
Know the instrumentation and rhythmic features.
Irish music and short essay
Know the difference between a reel, jig and hornpipe. Be able to tell instruments apart and know features of sean-nós singing. There's a 10-mark question at the end where you write a short essay about something like the harping tradition. They give you 4 options to choose from. As the question is time-restricted, write fast and stick to bullet points and short sentences. Make sure you get the main points down.
Top tips
- Give more details on the set works. Many students are losing marks for giving answers that are vague. You won’t lose marks for too much detail but you will for too little.
- Remember that the Irish music question is 2.5% of the total mark so don’t spend too long learning it and give short but informative sentences.
- The aural skills question is quite easy so use this to your advantage to get marks.
Composition
Knowing your theory is essential for composition and there are a few rules that you must know and follow. You must answer two questions on the paper:
Melody
The melody writing section involves composing a melody to a given 4 bars, in a given dance meter or to set words (e.g. a poem). When answering, don't confine rhythm patterns in melodies to those given in opening phrases.
Harmony
The harmony writing section involves either composing bass notes and chords to a given tune, adding descant and chords to a given tune or composing a melody and bass from given chords. When answering, cadences are generally okay to recognise but make sure you get the correct bass note.
In my opinion, these are the hardest questions on the paper. You have to be able to fill in a bar of a score of your set works and the aural skills, just by listening. You need to practice this.
Top tips
- Melody section: your work needs to be rhythmically accurate and don't forget to insert phrasing or expression marks.
- Harmony section: most students have difficulty completing the bass line correctly so practice this before the exam and get your teacher to help.
Final tips
Final Tips
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Be confident
Be confident when you are performing in front of your classmates. We all have shy moments but the more preparation and practice you do, the easier it will be at the time of your practical exam.
1
Download your set works
If you download your set works onto your phone and listen to them occasionally, you will quickly become familiar with them.
2
Attempt everything
Attempt every part of every question and even if you know very little, write it down.
3
Don't use Tippex
If you make a mistake and have a better answer, put a line through it and try again. Whatever you do, don’t Tippex it out. If you think your answer is wrong but don’t have anything better, leave it there.
4
Practice
Practicing past questions will help you be more prepared (use the resources on Studyclix).
5
Use all resources available
Read through all the available resources on examinations.ie where there are past papers, marking schemes, past aural tests, sight tests, improvisation tests and so on. These are invaluable.
6
Take advantage of your practical marks
Take advantage of the fact that you get to spread the workload throughout the year, completing 50% of your marks long before the written exam.
One of your final exams
Take advantage of the fact that it’s one of your last exams so there’s a good chance you’ll have a few days exam-free beforehand to study.
Some final tips
for the Leaving Cert Music exam.
Be confident
Be confident when you are performing in front of your classmates. We all have shy moments but the more preparation and practice you do, the easier it will be at the time of your practical exam.
Download your set works
If you download your set works onto your phone and listen to them occasionally, you will quickly become familiar with them.
Attempt everything
Attempt every part of every question and even if you know very little, write it down.
Don't use Tippex
If you make a mistake and have a better answer, put a line through it and try again. Whatever you do, don’t Tippex it out. If you think your answer is wrong but don’t have anything better, leave it there.
Practice
Practicing past questions will help you be more prepared (use the resources on Studyclix).
Use all resources available
Read through all the available resources on examinations.ie where there are past papers, marking schemes, past aural tests, sight tests, improvisation tests and so on. These are invaluable.
Take advantage of your practical marks
Take advantage of the fact that you get to spread the workload throughout the year, completing 50% of your marks long before the written exam.
One of your final exams
Take advantage of the fact that it’s one of your last exams so there’s a good chance you’ll have a few days exam-free beforehand to study.
Hope these help - happy studying!
Best of luck! You'll be great.
By Sarah E.
Sarah got an H1 in her higher Leaving Cert Music exam. She’s now studying at Marino Institute Dublin and looks forward to using Music in her future career. Here she shares what she learned.