Supply teacher deck · Music · Year 8

Structuring a Comparative Review of Two Live Welsh Performances

Worksheet Stimulus Worked example
Slide 1 of 7
05:00

Slide 1 of 7 · Settling starter · Music · Year 8

5 minutes

Structuring a Comparative Review of Two Live Welsh Performances

Music journalists take quick, messy notes during a live concert and then organise them into a clear, well-structured review. Today you will turn raw listening notes on two contrasting performances of the traditional Welsh melody Ar Hyd y Nos into a 4-paragraph magazine review.

While the register is called: write your name, class and date on your worksheet, then read Section 1 of the stimulus sheet and answer the starter question in rough.

Starter question: Look at this sentence from the raw notes: “The harp was really nice and quiet, then the brass band was super loud.” Find two precise musical words in the glossary on the stimulus sheet to replace quiet and loud.

LNF: Literacy → Writing → Vocabulary, spelling, grammar · DCF: Producing → Evaluating and improving digital content No audio playback needed · all listening notes are on your stimulus sheet

Slide 2 of 7 · Today’s brief and key vocabulary · Music · Year 8

5 minutes

Two arrangements of Ar Hyd y Nos at Tresaith Festival

Rather than writing all about Performance A and then all about Performance B, a strong comparative review groups ideas by musical elements so every paragraph compares both performances directly.

Musical category Performance A: Solo Acoustic Triple Harp (Catrin Llwyd) Performance B: 28-Piece Colliery Brass Band (Band Pres Cwmaman)
Instrumentation & timbre Solo Welsh triple harp; delicate, warm, resonant plucked strings Cornets, flugelhorn, horns, euphoniums, tubas; rich, sonorous, brassy timbre
Tempo & rhythm Andante (68 BPM), gentle rubato and rolling arpeggios Adagio (60 BPM), steady, stately march pulse held by the conductor
Dynamics & texture Piano (soft) throughout; sparse melody and broken-chord accompaniment Starts mezzo-piano, swells in a dramatic crescendo to fortissimo in rich 4-part homophonic harmony
Use comparative connectives: whereas, in contrast, similarly, while, on the other hand Read the stimulus sheet carefully

Slide 3 of 7 · Step 1: Sort the 12 raw listening notes · Music · Year 8

10 minutes

Step 1: Group the 12 jumbled notes by musical category

Look at the 12 numbered raw notes in Section 2 of the stimulus sheet. Sort Note numbers 1 to 12 into the four categories in your Step 1 planning grid, separating Performance A from Performance B.

Worked first row (Category 1: Tempo and rhythm):

  • Performance A (Solo Harp): Note 2 (gentle 68 BPM andante pace, slowing slightly at phrase ends)
  • Performance B (Brass Band): Note 7 (slower 60 BPM adagio pulse, strict steady beat led by conductor)
Every note from 1 to 12 belongs in exactly one box in Step 1 10 minutes

Slide 4 of 7 · Step 2: Upgrade vague words & join sentences · Music · Year 8

10 minutes

Step 2: Upgrade vague adjectives to precise musical terms

In Step 2(a), replace the 6 underlined vague phrases with accurate musical vocabulary from the stimulus glossary. In Step 2(b), join each pair of observations into one comparative sentence.

Worked first row:

Vague draft: “The harp played smooth joined-up notes at a walking speed.”

Precise musical terms: legato (smooth and connected) and andante (walking pace, 68 BPM).

Key terms to use: legato, andante, crescendo, fortissimo, homophonic, arpeggio, timbre, resonant 10 minutes

Slide 5 of 7 · Step 3: Write the 4-paragraph magazine review · Music · Year 8

12 minutes

Step 3: Write your structured 4-paragraph review

Follow the 4-paragraph structure below to write a polished comparative review for Cerdd Cymru youth music magazine.

  1. Paragraph 1 (Introduction): Name the event (Tresaith Acoustic & Brass Evening), the traditional melody (Ar Hyd y Nos), and both performers.
  2. Paragraph 2 (Instrumentation, timbre & texture): Compare Catrin Llwyd’s solo triple harp arpeggios with Band Pres Cwmaman’s 28-piece brass timbre and homophonic chordal texture.
  3. Paragraph 3 (Tempo & dynamics): Contrast the harp’s intimate piano dynamics and andante pace with the band’s slower adagio pulse and powerful crescendo to fortissimo.
  4. Paragraph 4 (Overall mood & verdict): Evaluate why both versions succeeded and how their contrasting moods affected the audience.
Write in silence · aim for 140 to 180 words across 4 clear paragraphs 12 minutes

Slide 6 of 7 · Step 4: Proofread and improve a digital draft · Music · Year 8

5 minutes

Step 4: Proofread the magazine website pull-quote

Before publishing the review on the school magazine website, you must fix 4 errors in the short summary box in Step 4 and check your own 4-paragraph review.

  • Fix the spelling and punctuation mistakes in the website pull-quote in Step 4(a).
  • Count and list at least 6 precise musical terms you used in your Step 3 review.
  • Tick the Success Criteria checkboxes at the bottom of your worksheet.
Check paragraph breaks, capital letters for Welsh titles and musical terms 5 minutes

Slide 7 of 7 · Plenary quick check · Music · Year 8

3 minutes

Quick check before you hand in your sheet

Check your sorting and vocabulary upgrades against the answers below.

Question Correct answer
Step 1 Note sorting Tempo: A = 2, B = 7 · Dynamics: A = 5, 10; B = 3, 12 · Timbre: A = 1, 8; B = 4, 9 · Texture/Mood: A = 6, B = 11
Musical term for notes of a chord plucked one after another Arpeggio (broken chord)
Musical term for all parts moving together in block chords Homophonic texture
4 corrections in Step 4(a) website pull-quote crescendo (spelling), homophonic (spelling), performances (plural verb/noun agreement), and capital letters for Ar Hyd y Nos
Make sure your name, class and date are on your worksheet Hand in your worksheet · leave the stimulus sheet on the desk