Accuracy

    OCR
    GCSE

    Accuracy serves as the fundamental criterion for Assessment Objective 1 (Performing), requiring candidates to demonstrate precise control over pitch, rhythm, and intonation. Examiners assess the security of technical execution, noting that fluency must not be compromised by hesitancy, omission, or significant error correction. High-scoring responses integrate technical precision with expressive control, ensuring that fidelity to the score or stylistic convention supports, rather than inhibits, the musical interpretation. Candidates must maintain pulse stability even during complex subdivisions to achieve top-band marks.

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    Objectives
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    Exam Tips
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    Pitfalls
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    Key Terms
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    Mark Points

    What You Need to Demonstrate

    Key skills and knowledge for this topic

    • Award marks in the top band (13-15) only where pitch and rhythm are entirely accurate with no audible slips.
    • Penalise performances where hesitation, stumbling, or restarting disrupts the fluency; fluency is inextricably linked to the accuracy mark.
    • Credit secure intonation across the full tessitura of the instrument; minor lapses in pitch centering limit candidates to Level 3.
    • Assess rhythmic accuracy not just by note duration but by the ability to maintain a consistent pulse and synchronization in ensemble contexts.

    Marking Points

    Key points examiners look for in your answers

    • Award marks in the top band (13-15) only where pitch and rhythm are entirely accurate with no audible slips.
    • Penalise performances where hesitation, stumbling, or restarting disrupts the fluency; fluency is inextricably linked to the accuracy mark.
    • Credit secure intonation across the full tessitura of the instrument; minor lapses in pitch centering limit candidates to Level 3.
    • Assess rhythmic accuracy not just by note duration but by the ability to maintain a consistent pulse and synchronization in ensemble contexts.

    Examiner Tips

    Expert advice for maximising your marks

    • 💡If an error occurs during performance, maintain the pulse and continue immediately; a momentary slip is less damaging than a stop.
    • 💡Choose a piece you can play flawlessly rather than a difficult piece with errors; the difficulty multiplier cannot compensate for a low raw mark in accuracy.
    • 💡For the Listening exam dictation questions, check the key signature first to ensure accidentals are accurately represented.

    Common Mistakes

    Pitfalls to avoid in your exam answers

    • Selecting repertoire beyond technical capability, resulting in frequent pitch errors and loss of fluency.
    • Stopping and restarting a phrase after a mistake, which draws attention to the error and reduces the fluency mark significantly.
    • Inaccurate rhythm in syncopated passages, where candidates unintentionally 'straighten' rhythms to on-beat patterns.

    Study Guide Available

    Comprehensive revision notes & examples

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    Key Terminology

    Essential terms to know

    Pitch and Intonation Security
    Rhythmic Precision and Pulse Stability
    Notational Fidelity and Articulation

    Likely Command Words

    How questions on this topic are typically asked

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