NCEA Level 3 Music Studies case studies
NCEA Level 3 Music Studies · Put your knowledge to work in context.
NCEA Level 3 Music Studies is the third-year Music Studies subject within New Zealand's National Certificate of Educational Achievement, administered by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). It is designed for senior secondary students in their final year of schooling who are building a body of work in music and who may be considering tertiary study in performance, composition, musicology, or related fields. The NCEA Level 3 Music Studies case studies are 5 cases and about 3,116 words.
1Brass Quintet Transcription: Transposition and Voice Allocation
A Year 13 arranger is adapting a 24-bar, 4/4 SATB chorale for a school brass quintet. The chorale is in B♭ major, tempo 72 bpm, and the original ranges are soprano C4–F5, alto G3–B4, tenor D3–E4, bass F2–D3.
646 words, about 3 min2Modulation to E Minor: Pivot Chord or Chromatic Turn?
A Level 3 composition student has a 32-bar song in G major (key signature F♯). Bars 1–16 use G–Em–C–D.
664 words, about 3 min3Programming a 15-Minute Recital: Stamina, Tuning and Ornamentation
A Year 13 voice candidate must perform a 15-minute programme with piano. The works are: (1) a Baroque da capo aria in D major with a range D4–A5, lasting 4:30; (2) a 20th-century unaccompanied vocal work using spoken effects, multiphonics and a highest note of C6, lasting 3:00; (3) a Romantic art song in A♭ major, range E♭4–A♭5, lasting 5:30.
606 words, about 3 min4Sonata Form with a Delayed Resolution
A Level 3 student analyses the first movement of a 5:20 instrumental work in C minor. The movement is in 4/4, Allegro con brio.
598 words, about 3 min5Arranging a Waiata: Key, Tempo and Cultural Authority
A school choir director wants to arrange a waiata for SATB choir, nylon-string guitar and taonga pūoro for a 10-minute school hui. The only source is a 1960s recording in G major, tempo 72 bpm, with a call-and-response structure; the composer’s name is not on the recording.
602 words, about 3 min