Score reading
What Score reading means in Music A-Level, as defined for AQA.
Definitions of Score reading
Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain Score reading in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: AQA
Visually recognising melodic intervals, harmonic progressions, rhythmic devices and textural features in a printed score.
Locating and naming musical devices within a printed score, such as an 'Alberti bass' or a 'cadential 6/4' progression.
Topics that use Score reading
- Area of study 1: Western classical tradition 1650–1910 (compulsory) - Musical vocabulary and terminology (AQA A-Level)
- Area of study 1: Western classical tradition 1650–1910 (compulsory) - Reading staff notation (AQA A-Level)
Related terms
- Aural analysis
- Musical terminology
- Notation and symbols
- Visual analysis
- Western classical tradition (1650-1910)
- Harmonic identification
Using Score reading in the exam
Check the command word and mark scheme for your exact question. After comparing your explanation with the reference, use the term in an answer on the linked topic. This practice does not predict an exam mark.
Practise Music questions
Create a free account to answer exam-style questions on this topic and get feedback on your answers.
A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge