Valencian Community PAU Music Analysis II

It is a written paper built around a score or short excerpt. You answer guided questions on harmony (chords, cadences, possible modulations), form (phrase structure and larger sections), texture, instrumentation and style, and usually write a short commentary. The emphasis is on justifying your observations with evidence from the score, not on naming terms in isolation.

The number of questions and the time allowed are set by the Comissió Gestora de les Proves d'Accés a la Universitat each year and can change. The official call, published on the university access website for the Valencian Community, gives the current structure and duration. Always plan your practice using the most recent model paper.

Passing thresholds and the weighting of this subject within the overall PAU score are fixed by the current regulations, not by the department. The official body publishes the criteria and the formula each year. Check its site for the exact figure; do not rely on numbers from previous years or on what other students tell you.

Students who read music fluently and have done harmonic analysis find it manageable; those who only recognise terms by name often struggle, because every answer must be tied to a specific bar or chord. The difficulty lies in precision and speed, not in obscure content. Regular short analysis sessions are more effective than last-minute memorisation.

Retake rules are set by the PAU regulations for the Valencian Community and are published with the annual call. They cover whether you can sit the subject again in a later session and how the new mark is combined with previous results. Consult the official site for the current policy rather than assuming it is automatic.

The exam is delivered in the Valencian Community's official languages, and terminology is normally given in Valencian/Catalan and Spanish. You should answer in the language of the paper you receive, using the standard technical terms (cadència, funció tonal, textura, etc.). Practise writing commentaries in that language so the vocabulary is automatic under time pressure.

Start with tonal functions and cadences in four-part writing, because almost every other question depends on them. Then move to phrase structure and small forms (binary, ternary, rondo), adding texture and instrumentation as you go. Leave full sonata and fugue analysis until the basics are secure; otherwise you will label sections without understanding what holds them together.

Three recur: describing what a passage sounds like instead of what the score shows; identifying a chord without checking its function in the key; and writing long general comments that never cite a bar number. A fourth is ignoring the second part of a question. Read each prompt twice and answer every clause with specific evidence.

The Comissió Gestora de les Proves d'Accés a la Universitat publishes the syllabus, the structure of each subject and past or model papers on the official university access website for the Valencian Community. Use those documents as your primary reference for format and content, and treat any other source as supplementary.