Welcome to AS 1: The Viva Voce
Hello and welcome to your guide for the Viva Voce component of AS 1: Performing in CCEA GCE Music. If the phrase viva voce sounds intimidating, don't worry! It simply translates from Latin as "with living voice" — meaning a spoken conversation between you and the visiting examiner about the music you have just performed.
The entire AS 1: Performing unit makes up \(32.5\%\) of your AS level (which equals \(13\%\) of your full A level). It is externally assessed by a visiting examiner and consists of two parts: your Solo Performance and the Viva Voce. While your playing or singing demonstrates your practical skill (Assessment Objective AO1), the viva voce gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your reflective, analytical, and evaluative thinking (Assessment Objective AO3).
Key Takeaway: The Viva Voce is your chance to shine as a thoughtful, knowledgeable musician. It allows you to explain why you made certain musical choices and how you prepared your programme.
Assessment Overview and Learning Outcomes
In Unit AS 1, the CCEA specification sets out clear expectations for both playing and talking about your music:
• Performing (AO1): You must create a balanced and varied solo performance on an instrument or voice to a minimum of Grade 4 standard, showing technical control, accuracy, and an ability to interpret the composer's intentions in an appropriate style.
• Reflecting and Evaluating (AO3): You must comment perceptively on the music you perform and reflect, analyse, and evaluate your preparation and interpretive choices during the viva voce conversation.
Did you know? The viva voce is not a memory test designed to catch you out. The visiting examiner wants to have an authentic, professional musical conversation with you about the pieces you chose and worked hard to master.
The 5 Core Discussion Areas
The CCEA specification outlines five specific areas that you must be prepared to discuss during your viva voce. Let's break down each area step-by-step.
1. Rationale for Your Choice of Programme
Your performance must be balanced and varied. The examiner will ask why you selected these particular pieces and how they fit together to create an engaging performance.
Analogy: Think of your programme like a three-course meal. You wouldn't serve three bowls of soup; you want contrasting flavours and textures that complement each other.
What to explain:
• Contrast and variety: Explain how your pieces contrast in tempo (fast vs. slow), mood (lyrical vs. dramatic), key/tonality (major vs. minor), and historical period or genre (e.g., Baroque vs. 20th Century, or Classical vs. Musical Theatre).
• Personal strengths: Mention how the selected pieces showcase different facets of your technique and musicality (e.g., agile fingerwork in one piece and expressive tone control in another).
2. Title, Composer, and Stylistic Content of Each Piece
You need to demonstrate a solid understanding of the background and musical identity of every piece in your programme.
What to explain:
• Context: The exact title, movement (if applicable), and composer of each work, including the era or genre to which it belongs.
• Musical form and structure: Is the piece in ternary form (\(ABA\)), binary form (\(AB\)), sonata form, rondo form, or through-composed?
• Key stylistic features: What makes the piece typical of its style? For example, discuss the use of counterpoint in Baroque music, balanced phrasing and functional harmony in Classical works, expressive rubato in Romantic pieces, or syncopated rhythms in Jazz and Popular styles.
3. Technical Challenges Encountered in Preparing Your Programme
No performance is mastered overnight. The examiner wants to hear an honest, reflective breakdown of the technical hurdles you encountered during practice and the strategies you used to overcome them.
What to explain:
• Specific instrumental/vocal difficulties: Identify exact passages, bars, or techniques that were difficult (e.g., shifting into high positions on violin, breath control in long vocal phrases, rapid double-tonguing on flute, or wide chord leaps on piano).
• Practice methods used: Explain how you solved the problem (e.g., slow practice with a metronome, breaking chords into arpeggios, isolating rhythm patterns, or using specific vocal warm-ups).
4. Stylistic Conventions and Interpretative Aspects
Performing is much more than just playing the right notes; it is about bringing the composer's intentions to life through informed artistic choices.
What to explain:
• Stylistic conventions: Historical performance practices relevant to your pieces (e.g., how to execute Baroque ornaments like trills or mordents, using appropriate articulation, or choosing when to apply vibrato).
• Interpretative decisions: How you shaped phrases, selected tempos, managed dynamics (crescendos/diminuendos), applied rubato (expressive flexible timing), and used tone colour to communicate the mood of the piece.
5. Details of Recordings and Their Influence
Listening to professional recordings is a crucial part of an A-Level musician's preparation. You should discuss specific recordings you listened to and how they guided your own interpretation.
What to explain:
• Specific artists/ensembles: Name the performers or conductors on the recordings you studied.
• Critical comparison: Compare how different performers approached the piece (e.g., one performer chose a brisk tempo with crisp articulation, while another took a slower, more romantic approach).
• Impact on your performance: Explain how these listening experiences influenced your final performance choices (e.g., "Listening to Artist X inspired me to take a more sustained approach to the melody in the B section").
Key Takeaway: The 5 core areas cover your programme rationale, stylistic context, technical practice, interpretative choices, and recorded influences. Structuring your revision around these five headings guarantees full coverage of the specification.
Step-by-Step Preparation Strategy
To feel confident during the viva voce, follow this simple preparation plan:
Step 1: Create a Piece Profile for each work
Write down the title, composer, historical era, form/structure, main keys, and characteristic musical features for every piece in your programme.
Step 2: Keep a Practice Journal
Note down difficult bars, the exact practice strategies you used to solve them, and how your technique improved over time.
Step 3: Listen and Compare at least Two Recordings per Piece
Take notes on differences in tempo, phrasing, dynamics, and ornamentation. Decide which elements you wanted to adopt or avoid in your own playing.
Step 4: Conduct Mock Viva Voces
Have your music teacher, a classmate, or a family member ask you sample questions from the 5 core areas so you become comfortable speaking fluently about your music.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
• Giving one-word or overly brief answers: Expand on your points. If asked about a technical challenge, don't just say "Bar 12 was fast." Explain why it was tricky and how you practised it.
• Forgetting specific recording details: Avoid vague statements like "I listened to a video online." Know the performer's name and be ready to discuss what you learned from their performance.
• Ignoring musical terminology: Use precise terms such as staccato, syncopation, modulation, ritenuto, arpeggiation, or dynamics rather than colloquial descriptions.
• Focusing only on the notes: Remember to discuss emotion, style, and communication alongside technical accuracy.
Quick Review Summary
• Unit: AS 1: Performing (CCEA GCE Music 7010).
• Weighting: \(32.5\%\) of AS level / \(13\%\) of full A level.
• Standard: Minimum Grade 4 standard for solo performance control and accuracy.
• Viva Voce AO: AO3 (Reflecting and Evaluating).
• The 5 Spec Areas: Programme Rationale \(\rightarrow\) Title/Composer/Style \(\rightarrow\) Technical Challenges \(\rightarrow\) Stylistic Conventions & Interpretation \(\rightarrow\) Recorded Influences.