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Junior Cycle · Junior Cycle Music

Junior Cycle Music: Ostinato & accompaniment patterns

How often Ostinato & accompaniment patterns comes up on the Music papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

CL Asked on 5 of the last 5 Common Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

Ostinato & accompaniment patterns, Common Level(6 marks)

Quick ones on Ostinato & accompaniment patterns.

(a)A short pattern repeated over and over throughout a piece is called an…
  1. Anacrusis
  2. Ostinato
  3. Arpeggio
(b)In most rock and pop songs in 4/4, the snare drum backbeat falls on which beats?
  1. Beat 1 only
  2. Beats 1 and 3
  3. Beats 2 and 4
(c)In rock and pop, a short catchy pattern repeated throughout a song, often on guitar, is a…
  1. Riff
  2. Bridge
  3. Coda
Show the answers

(a) Ostinato

(b) Beats 2 and 4

(c) Riff

Your turn: Common Level questions on Ostinato & accompaniment patterns.

Common Level

Asked on 5 of the last 5 Common Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Q1d
2025Q1b, Q2c, Q5a, Q6a
2024Q1a, Q3b, Q4b, Q5a, Q5b
2023Q2b
2022Q1a, Q1b

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

Other Music topics

All of Junior Cycle Music