Certificate Examinations - Music
Certificate examinations consist of a performance of pieces without the assessment of Technical Work or Supporting Tests. They are available for the majority of instruments at 3 levels.
| Title |
Approximate Grade equivalent |
Foundation Certificate |
Grade 3 |
| Intermediate Certificate |
Grade 5 (or pre-2007 First Concert Certificate) |
| Advanced Certificate | Grade 8 (or pre-2007 Performer’s Certificate) |
Each exam requires a performance of pieces in accordance with a time duration.
| Certificate Exam | Programme Duration* (minutes) | Exam Duration(minutes) |
| Foundation | 8 - 10 | 13 |
| Intermediate | 15 - 20 | 23 |
| Advanced | 25 - 30 | 33 |
* This time limit refers to the total duration of all the pieces performed, including breaks between movements but does not include:
- Arrival/departure time
- Setting up
- Tuning
- Breaks or pauses between items
Own choice repertoire for Certificate Examinations is permitted, please click here for details.
Repertoire can be suggested for inclusion in the syllabus via a wiki-syllabus feature.
Presentation skills are assessed, including programme planning and notes.
There are no Supporting Tests or Technical Work.
Mark Scheme
The examination is marked out of 100. Pass is awarded at 60 marks and Distinction is awarded for marks of 80 or more.
The mark scheme does not award marks for individual pieces. Instead, it looks at three aspects of the overall performance, awarding up to 30% of the marks for each area:
Technique - Instrumental control and the ability to draw the most from the instrument; intonation, tone colour, articulation, pedalling, bowing etc.
Communication - the ability to convey musical intent to the listener with commitment and a sense of performance.
Accuracy & Fluency - the accurate realisation of notation and directions sustained at an appropriate tempo.
The examination as a whole is marked out of 100. Each of these areas are marked out of 30, making a total of 90 marks available for the performance of the pieces.
The remaining 10 marks are awarded for:
- The planning, balance and construction of the programme (4 marks) - the effectiveness and overall balance of the pieces played and the way in which they show different facets of the candidate's abilities. The accuracy of the timing of the programme is also assessed here.
- A short set of written programme notes (4 marks) - ranging from a short note of several sentences about each piece for Foundation Certificate to a more extended and insightful piece of work for Advanced. Programme notes at any level need not be longer than 2 pages. This work must be the candidate's own, showing evidence of personal creativity and input.
- Presentation Skills (2 marks) - the way in which the candidate presents the performance to the listener, including stagecraft and personal presentation and comportment.
Assessment Criteria
Assessment Criteria for Certificates in Performance are available to download. Please follow this link.
http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/site/?id=1689
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