A Level AQA Area of Study Guide: Jazz

Whichever areas of study your students choose to answer on in the exam, make sure they are ready with our comprehensive guides to the optional areas of study 2–7! Contextual information on the period and composers are covered, before delving into skills and knowledge on the area of study, plus activities and exam practice are included to allow students to apply their knowledge!

Great notated examples of notoriously difficult to notate jazz clips...

R Brown, Teacher & Peer Reviewer

Annotated score extracts accompany the analysis throughout to illustrate key points, while key term definitions to reinforce essential knowledge.

...A very strong learning document on how to analyse music in a linear fashion

R Brown, Teacher & Peer Reviewer

Exploration...

  • Contextual information on styles and composers and an introduction to the musical elements provide a firm basis for study
  • Analysis covers all of AQA’s named composers, supported by annotated score excerpts
  • Key term definitions throughout and a full glossary reinforce essential information

… and exam preparation!

  • Challenging activities throughout help students practise and apply their knowledge
  • Concise revision summaries outline each area for easy revision
  • Extension information and tips and practice exam-style questions are provided for Section A short-answer questions and Section C essays to ensure students can apply their knowledge in both formats and be ready for the exam!

Area of Study 5: Jazz

A detailed Study Guide carefully designed to expose the pioneering works of AQA’s chosen musicians Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Pat Metheny and Gwilym Simcock.

Through AQA-defined musical elements, you can fully analyse the sophistication of each musician in preparation for the exam.

What do teachers say about this resource? (9477)

The author has consolidated the key elements of the jazz music in the selected examples by delivering high quality analysis via one musical element at a time. This breaks down the learning effectively providing a strong resource for learners... The author uses several examples to illustrate musical points reinforcing the element or musical technicality in different jazz contexts. Very slick and will benefit learners’ understanding of jazz... Great notated examples of notoriously difficult to notate jazz clips... The resource is a very strong learning document on how to analyse music in a linear fashion moving from one element to the next with clear examples to demonstrate technique... Nice variety of types of question throughout the music analysis... Very impressed!

R Brown, Teacher & Peer Reviewer