Valencian Community PAU Music Analysis II study guide
Valencian Community PAU Music Analysis II · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Anàlisi Musical II is one of the optional subjects in the Valencian Community's university entrance exams (PAU), aimed at students who want to strengthen their analytical skills before starting a music degree, a conservatory programme, or any humanities course that values close reading of scores. The exam is not a listening quiz: you are given a score (or a short excerpt) and asked to describe what is happening in it - which chords and cadences articulate the phrases, how the form is segmented, which texture and instrumentation carry the argument, and which stylistic period the language belongs to. The Valencian Community PAU Music Analysis II study guide has 6 sections and about 2,665 words.
01Musical parameters and analysis methodology: rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, timbre, dynamics and notation
This first domain asks you to name a parameter precisely, locate it (with bar = compàs numbers) and connect it to style. Answers that stay at "it is fast and loud" earn nothing; answers such as "compassos 9-16, compàs 6/8 de subdivisió ternària, tempo allegro, matís f , textura de melodia acompanyada" earn full marks because each parameter is labelled with a term and a place.
485 words, about 2 min02Harmonic analysis: tonal functions, cadences, modulations, chord identification and figured bass
The exam gives you a short tonal passage and expects Roman numerals with inversions, correctly named cadences, a defensible modulation reading and fluent handling of baix xifrat (figured bass). Accuracy of function matters more than listing every chord.
468 words, about 2 min03Musical forms and structures: binary, ternary, rondo, sonata, variation, fugue and song forms
You must label a structure with letters plus bar numbers, justify each boundary with a cadence or thematic event, and use the correct genre vocabulary ( binari , ternari , rondó , sonata , variacions , fuga , lied ). Binari ( binari simple , AB) versus binari recompost ( : A : : B A' : ), typical of Baroque dances and the minuet.
430 words, about 2 min04Historical periods and styles: Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th century and contemporary
You are given a score, a text or a short description and asked to place it in a period and justify the attribution with concrete features: notation, texture, instrumentation, form and harmonic language. A period name alone scores little; the evidence scores.
384 words, about 2 min05Score commentary and guided listening: contextualization, formal segmentation and stylistic identification
This is the essay-style part: you must convert an unseen score or a listening excerpt into an organised commentary. The exam rewards a repeatable method - identify, segment, justify, contextualise - not a mood description.
442 words, about 2 min06Terminology and technical vocabulary in Valencian/Catalan and Spanish
Valencian Community PAU papers are issued in Valencian or Spanish, and answers must use the same language as the paper. This domain checks that you can name musical concepts in both languages and recognise the pairs when the wording changes between versions or between a score's original annotations and the paper.
456 words, about 2 min