Castilla-La Mancha PAU Music Analysis II (Análisis Musical II - UCLM 2026) study plan

Build a personal one-page glossary that defines, in Spanish, at least 40 analytical terms covering formal, melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, textural and timbral parameters, each with a short score-based example you can hum or describe.

Practise labelling phrase boundaries, cadences and motivic cells on three short binary and ternary pieces (e.g. a Baroque dance movement and a Classical minuet) without consulting commentaries, then verify your labels against a reliable edition or textbook.

Distinguish, in writing, between binary, rounded binary and ternary designs by identifying at least six structural markers (return of opening material, tonal closure, repeat scheme) on three contrasting movements.

Set up a reusable score-annotation template (section letters, bar numbers, cadence types, key areas, texture labels) that you will apply to every piece in the following weeks.

Map the exposition, development and recapitulation of one Classical sonata-form movement bar by bar, naming the medial caesura, the secondary theme area and the essential expositional closure.

Identify and label every cadence in that movement using functional terminology (authentic, half, deceptive, evaded) and note where tonicisation or modulation occurs and by what pivot or chromatic means.

Analyse the harmonic rhythm and phrase structure of the development section, showing at least two ways the composer destabilises the home key.

Compare the recapitulation with the exposition to explain how tonal resolution is achieved (which material is transposed and which is altered or omitted).

Trace the ground-plan of a theme-and-variations set, classifying each variation by the parameter it transforms (melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, timbre, mode) and noting which parameters stay fixed.

Analyse the subject, answer, countersubject and episodes of a fugue exposition, identifying real versus tonal answering and the points of stretto or pedal if present.

Chart the refrain-and-episode scheme of a rondo, distinguishing the principal theme from couplets and explaining how the tonal plan of the episodes creates departure and return.

Write a short comparative paragraph explaining what formal archetype each of these three designs shares and where they diverge.

Analyse two Renaissance or modal works (e.g. a motet or madrigal passage) for mode, cadence points, imitation and text-setting, using modal rather than functional labels where appropriate.

Analyse a Baroque tonal work for sequence, circle-of-fifths motion, secondary dominants and tonicisation, distinguishing diatonic from chromatic chords.

Explain in writing how a passage of extended tonality (late 19th or early 20th century) loosens functional syntax through chromatic mediants, augmented sixths or unresolved dissonance.

Compile a personal list of at least 15 chromatic-harmony devices with a one-bar example of each drawn from works you have analysed.

Build a listening log of at least 12 representative works across Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and 20th-century styles, recording composer, approximate date, genre, texture and one identifying analytical feature for each.

Practise identifying form, texture and harmonic idiom by ear alone on unseen excerpts, writing your inference and then checking it against the score.

Match at least 10 short score excerpts to their likely period and genre using notation cues alone (clef and instrument layout, figured bass, dynamic markings, chromatic density).

Memorise the standard formal and stylistic fingerprints of the main periods so you can justify a dating decision in two sentences.

Describe the analytical assumptions behind at least three approaches to 20th-century music (pitch-class set thinking, serial technique, spectral or timbral listening) in your own words, without reproducing textbook phrasing.

Apply one non-tonal analytical method to a short atonal or serial excerpt, identifying the row or cell and showing how it is transformed (transposition, inversion, retrograde).

Analyse a non-Western example (e.g. a gamelan, maqam or Indian classical excerpt) for scale system, cyclic structure, texture and instrumentation, using culturally appropriate terminology rather than Western functional labels.

Compare how texture, timbre and rhythm function as structural parameters in contemporary and non-Western repertoire, and note where Western formal archetypes do and do not apply.

Complete two full timed mock analyses (45 minutes each) of unseen scores, covering form, harmony, texture, melody and stylistic context in the required written format.

Self-mark each mock against a checklist of examinable parameters and record every point you missed in a running error log.

Re-analyse the weakest two pieces from earlier weeks to confirm you can now produce cadence labels, key plans and formal maps accurately and quickly.

Practise writing concise justifications for stylistic dating and composer attribution based on notational and harmonic evidence.

Consolidate the glossary, listening log and error log into a single revision sheet you can review in 20 minutes.

Run a final full mock under exam conditions and score it against the same checklist, aiming to close the gaps recorded in week 7.

Recite from memory the key formal archetypes, cadence types and period fingerprints, and test yourself aloud without notes.

Review the contemporary and non-Western material once more, confirming you can justify analytical choices with terminology rather than vague description.