European Baccalaureate Music study guide
European Baccalaureate Music · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The European Baccalaureate (EB) is the school-leaving credential of the European Schools and of schools accredited by their Board of Governors. The name belongs solely to the European Schools. It is awarded to candidates who complete the two-year Baccalaureate cycle in years s6 and s7, and it certifies completion of secondary studies. The diploma is recognised as an entry qualification for higher education throughout the European Union and in a number of other countries, and holders enjoy the same rights as nationals with equivalent qualifications when seeking university admission. Topics on this exam: Music (2-period complementary course, column 5) and Music (4-period course, column 3). The European Baccalaureate Music study guide has 2 sections and about 830 words.
01Music - 2-period complementary course (column 5): listening, description and context
The two-period complementary course in Music (column 5) is a listening-led option: you are placed in front of music - a work from the class repertoire or an unseen extract - and asked to describe it accurately, identify its genre or style, and place it in context. Credit comes from evidence. A claim about style is worth marks only when it is tied to something audible: an instrument, a rhythmic feel, a texture, a formal boundary. Vague appreciation ("beautiful", "very rhythmic") earns nothing.
415 words, about 2 min02Music - 4-period course (column 3): score analysis, harmony and style
The four-period course in Music (column 3) goes beyond listening into analysis. You work from a score, a notated excerpt or a detailed aural map, and you are expected to name what happens harmonically and formally, situate the style, and argue from the notation. The exam rewards precision: Roman numerals with inversions, cadence types named exactly, bar numbers cited, and stylistic claims supported by the notes on the page. Form: binary and ternary; sonata (exposition, development, recapitulation, coda); rondo; theme and variations; fugue (subject, answer, countersubject, episode); strophic versus through-composed; da capo aria; minuet and trio.
415 words, about 2 min