| A Using your voice well | ||
|---|---|---|
| Understands the need for regular practice and: | Initials | Date |
| 1 Posture: stands & kneels well while singing without being reminded & consistently holds his or her music correctly. | ||
| 2 Breath Management: has developed the good breath management learnt at Light Blue level & demonstrates this by singing with a good even tone to the end of each line or phrase, & shows control of dynamics. | ||
| 3 Breathing: understands where it might be appropriate to breathe in a piece of music. | ||
| 4 Sound Production: has developed the range of the comfortable register found at Light Blue Level & now sings with resonance. He/she has demonstrated this by singing an ascending & descending scale of at least an octave with resonance throughout. | ||
| 5 Diction: sings with clear diction, producing good pure vowels & clear consonants. | ||
| 6 Hymn: can sing a hymn or psalm, in a comfortable register & with a range of up to an octave. Can sing small portion (such as one verse) unaccompanied & maintain good intonation throughout. | ||
| 7 Gloria: can sing the “Folk Mass” “Gloria” from memory “The Lord is hear” | ||
| 8 Being Prepared: knows what is coming next & is consistently ready in rehearsals & services. | ||
| B Musical Skills and Understanding | ||
|---|---|---|
| Demonstrated that he/she knows and understands: | Initials | Date |
| 1 Note Values: the common note values & their equivalent rests, including semiquavers & dotted notes. | ||
| 2 Scales: the pattern of the harmonic minor scale & the concept of the relative minor key. | ||
| 3 Key Signatures: the key signatures up to three sharps & flats (both major & minor). | ||
| 4 Intervals: the characteristics & names of basic intervals (unison, octave, major/minor third, perfect forth & perfect fifth). | ||
| 5 Chords: the concept of a chord, the construction of a triad & the difference between major & minor triads. | ||
| 6 Time Signatures: the simple time signatures of (2/4, 3/4, C, 4/4, cut common time,2/2). | ||
| 7 Performance Marks: the commonly used performance directions listed for Dark Blue level. | ||
| 8 Care of music & Robes: the need to keep music & robes tidy & ensure that the vestry is left tidy. | ||
| C Practical Musical Skills | ||
|---|---|---|
| Demonstrates that he/she is able to: | Initials | Date |
| 1 Melody: sing back a short melody. The key chord & tonic will first be sounded & the pulse indicated. The melody will be played twice. | ||
| 2 Rhythm: clap back a simple rhythm. The pulse will first be indicated & the test played twice. | ||
| 3 Triads: identify a triad as major or minor on hearing it played twice. | ||
| 4 Reading Music: look at two bars of music in a piece in the major key and: i) name the key (up to 3 sharps or flats); ii) name the pitch of the first note in their own vocal part; and iii) on hearing the chord, sing the first note. | ||
| 5 Pitch: sing an interval above a given starting note (major/minor third, perfect fourth & perfect fifth). | ||
| 6 Pulse: tap the pulse of a passage of music in 2, 3 or 4 time. The passage will be played twice & on the second playing the singer should tap the beat & stress where the strong beat falls. They should then state the time. | ||
| 7 Sight Reading Rhythm: clap or sing on one note a rhythm that includes dotted notes, from sight. | ||
| 8 Sight Reading Melody: sing from sight a short melody on any vowel, demonstrating an awareness of the dynamic level. The piece may be in any key up to three sharps or flats & should include some dotted note values and leaps of at least thirds, fourths and fifths. The key chord & key note will first be sounded & the pulse indicated. | ||
| D Belonging to the choir | ||
|---|---|---|
| Title of Piece: | Initials | Date |
| 1 Attendance: Is a committed & punctual member of the choir who informs the choir trainer before being absent from rehearsals or services/concerts. | ||
| 2 Behaviour: is focused during rehearsals & services/concerts. | ||
| 3 Blending: Understands that he/she is singing as part of a group & that he/she needs to contribute to the overall sound. | ||
| 4 Team Sense: Is helpful to the less experienced singers in the choir. | ||
| E Repertoire | ||
|---|---|---|
| Title of Piece: | Initials | Date |
| 1 Find basic biographical information about the composer (e.g. date of birth, death, home country) | ||
| 2 Name any famous works by the same composer or name another composer active & living at the same time. | ||
| 3 Briefly explain the meaning of the text (finding a translation of the foreign texts when necessary). | ||
| 4 Undertake some simple musical analysis (for example: major/minor key, the key/time signatures, the number of vocal parts). | ||
| 5 Describe the context in which the piece would normally be sung (for example, in a church service during a particular season, for a one-off concert). | ||
