Worked example · Music · Year 10
DCF: Producing → Creating digital content
A secure Year 10 response, annotated so you can see which success criterion each part meets. It is also the answer key. Step 3: one beat at 96 BPM is 0.625 seconds = 625 ms; at 120 BPM it is 500 ms; the song is 304 beats, which is 3 minutes 10 seconds; the bridge has 4 tracks playing and the final chorus 7. Practises GCSE Music Unit 3: Appraising, content 1.3.1, and the Technology terms in the specification’s glossary.
| Technology term(s) | Track and bars | The setting that causes it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Sample; equalisation (EQ) | Track 3, piano sample, bars 1 to 8 | The 1962 recording carries its own crackle. EQ automation cuts everything below 500 Hz and above 3,000 Hz, so the bass and treble are gone and it sounds thin, like a radio. |
| B | Panning | Tracks 7 and 8, backing vocals, bars 25 to 32, 49 to 56 and 65 to 72 | Owain is panned L70 and Elin R70, so each voice sits well towards one ear. |
| C | Delay / echo | Track 5, lead vocal, bars 33 to 48 (verse 2) | Delay of one crotchet with 30% feedback, automated on for these bars only. The repeat arrives one beat later and is quieter. |
| D | Autotune | Track 5, lead vocal, bars 57 to 64 (bridge) | Retune speed automated from 50 ms to 0 ms, so the pitch snaps instantly to each note. The “slow bit without drums” is the bridge: tracks 1 and 2 are silent there. |
| E | Drum machine; sequencer (quantised) | Track 1, drums, bars 9 to 56 and 65 to 76 | Every hit was entered in the sequencer and quantised exactly onto the beat, and it is a MIDI part, so there is no human variation in timing. |
| F | Reverb | Track 5, lead vocal, bars 65 to 72 (final chorus) | Reverb automated from Plate, 1.2 seconds, to Hall, 3.5 seconds. The longer reflections make the voice sound as if it is in a large space. |
| G | Multitrack recording (double tracking) | Track 6, vocal double, bars 25 to 32, 49 to 56 and 65 to 72 | Nia sang each chorus a second time on a separate track. The two takes are never exactly the same, so together they sound thicker. |
| H | Synthesised sound; phasing | Track 9, synth pad, bars 57 to 64 (bridge) | Held synthesised chords with a phaser plug-in, which makes the sound swirl and whoosh. |
Each row uses a glossary term, gives the exact track and bars from the arrange window, and links the heard effect to the setting that causes it. Row D also uses the arrange window to work out which section the listener meant. Evidences criteria 1 and 2.
(a) 96 beats take 60 seconds, so one beat takes 60 ÷ 96 = 0.625 seconds. 0.625 × 1,000 = 625 ms.
(b) 60 ÷ 120 = 0.5 seconds = 500 ms. If the delay stayed at 625 ms, the echo would land after the beat and clash with the rhythm. Matching the delay to the tempo makes the repeat fit the pulse, so it sounds like part of the music.
(c) 76 × 4 = 304 beats. 304 ÷ 96 = 3.1666… minutes. 0.1666… × 60 = 10 seconds, so the song lasts 3 minutes 10 seconds.
(d) Bridge, bars 57 to 64: 4 tracks (piano sample, acoustic guitar, lead vocal, synth pad). Final chorus, bars 65 to 72: 7 tracks (drums, synth bass, acoustic guitar, lead vocal, vocal double, both backing vocals). The bridge has a thin texture with no drums or bass, so it feels calm and exposed. The final chorus is the most layered texture in the song. The contrast makes the last chorus sound bigger and gives the song a climax.
All four answers are correct and the working is shown. Part (b) explains why the setting depends on the tempo, and part (d) links the count of tracks to texture and structure. Evidences criterion 3.
In the bridge (bars 57 to 64) the drum machine and synth bass stop, so the texture thins to four tracks. Nia’s voice is processed with autotune at a retune speed of 0 ms, which makes her pitch jump instantly between notes and sound robotic. Underneath, a synthesised pad uses phasing, so the chords swirl and whoosh. The sampled chapel piano returns with its full sound, without the thin EQ of the intro. In the final chorus (bars 65 to 72) the texture builds to seven tracks. Nia is double tracked through multitrack recording, which makes her voice thicker, and the backing vocals are panned L70 and R70 so they surround the listener. The reverb on the lead vocal changes to a 3.5 second hall, so she sounds as if she is singing in a large chapel.
137 words. Uses nine glossary terms (drum machine, autotune, synthesised, phasing, sample, equalisation, multitrack recording, panning, reverb) and gives bar numbers for both sections. Every point names the technology and then describes what the listener hears. It stays with description, which is what the question asks. Evidences criteria 1, 2 and 4.
| Track | Technology and setting | What the listener will hear | Why it suits the brief |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice | Pan C. Autotune at 50 ms or off. Delay off. Reverb: Room, 0.6 seconds, set low. | A clear, natural voice in the middle, with only a small space around it. | A short room reverb makes Nia sound close, as if she is in the same small room. A hard autotune effect would sound artificial, and the brief wants an intimate, human sound. |
| Acoustic guitar | Pan R30. Same Room reverb, 0.6 seconds. EQ: cut below 80 Hz to remove rumble. | The guitar slightly to the right, clean and gentle. | Moving it away from the centre leaves room for the voice. Sharing the same reverb puts both parts in the same small room. |
| Piano sample | Pan L30. EQ: gentle cut above 5,000 Hz to soften the crackle. No automation. | A warm piano slightly to the left, balancing the guitar. | The piano and guitar mirror each other left and right, so the mix feels balanced with only three parts. Softening the crackle stops it drawing attention away from the voice at a quiet late-night volume. |
Remove: the 3.5 second hall reverb from the final chorus. It makes Nia sound far away in a big chapel, which is the opposite of the brief: the listener should feel she is close to them.
Every choice is a real setting, is linked to what the listener will hear, and is justified against the purpose (intimate) and the audience (late-night radio listeners). The plan combines panning, EQ and reverb so the three parts work together. Evidences criterion 5.