Music Paper 1B, May/June. 2013 General Comments

Music Paper 1B, May/June. 2013

Questions:	1	2	3	4	5	Main

General Comments
Weakness/Remedies
Strength

QUESTION 3 – PIANO
(a) (i) Fur Elise, (ii) Queen of Sheba, (iii) Porgy and Bees, (iv) Ombramaifu, (v) Waltz in A flat, (vi) Polonaise, (vii) Maizuka, (viii) Leiderohmeworte, (ix) The trumpet shall sound. From the above, identify the five piano compositions. (b) (i) Give one reason why the electric piano is also referred to as a synthesizer. (ii) Mention the period in history when piano became prominent. (iii) Explain briefly the significance of the unique arrangement of the black and white keys of the piano.
OBSERVATIONS

Most of the candidates responded to this question wrongly as they could not differentiate between piano and vocal compositions and they were unable to givereason why the electronic piano is also been referred to as a synthesizer. This made them to lose substantial marks. Some of the following were the points expected from the candidates: (a) Fur Elise, Waltz in A flat, Polonaise, Mazurka. (b) (i) • It can imitate the voice of several other musical instruments • It can be programmed. • It can mix different voices. • It can work with the computer. • It can sequence sounds (ii) The Classical period (iii) The arrangement of the black and white keys depicts equal temperament. Or The black and white keys help the player to locate the different pitches easily. Or It shows the intervallic relationship of tones and semitones.