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Subjects · Leaving Cert Music

Leaving Cert Music: Continuing a given opening

How often Continuing a given opening comes up on the Music papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 9 of the last 9 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker

OL Asked on 9 of the last 9 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker

Continuing a given opening, Higher Level(7 marks)

Quick ones on Continuing a given opening.

(a)What is a sequence?
  1. A motif played backwards, from last note to first
  2. A motif repeated at a higher or lower pitch
  3. Two melodies played together at the same time
(b)A 16-bar melody on the composing paper is usually built from phrases of how many bars?
  1. Six
  2. Three
  3. Four
(c)How should your continuation use the given opening bars?
  1. Develop their rhythm and motifs
  2. Repeat them unchanged in every phrase
  3. Avoid them for contrast
Show the answers

(a) A motif repeated at a higher or lower pitch

(b) Four

(c) Develop their rhythm and motifs

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Continuing a given opening.

Higher Level

Asked on 9 of the last 9 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Q1
2024Q1
2023Q1
2022Q1
2021Q1
2019Q1
2018Q1
2017Q1
2016Q1

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

More Continuing a given opening questions

Continuing a given opening, 3 marks

How should the final note of your melody usually be written?

  1. Te, as a short quaver
  2. Soh, as a short note on a weak beat
  3. Doh, as a long note on a strong beat
Show the answer

Doh, as a long note on a strong beat

A long tonic on a strong beat gives a feeling of arrival and rest. Ending on a short note or a weak beat sounds as if the melody stops mid-sentence.

Continuing a given opening, 3 marks

Why should a melody avoid several large leaps in a row?

  1. It always creates a modulation to a new key
  2. It loses its smooth shape and is hard to perform
  3. It breaks the key signature and adds accidentals
Show the answer

It loses its smooth shape and is hard to perform

Good melodies mix steps with occasional leaps. Too many leaps sound disjointed; stepwise movement after a leap restores balance.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 9 of the last 9 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Q1
2024Q1
2023Q1
2022Q1
2021Q1
2019Q1
2018Q1
2017Q1
2016Q1

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

More Continuing a given opening questions

Continuing a given opening, 2 marks

At OL, which note should your composed melody end on?

  1. Soh
  2. Te
  3. Doh
Show the answer

Doh

Ending on doh, the tonic, makes the melody sound finished. OL melody questions ask for this directly.

Continuing a given opening, 2 marks

In an 8-bar melody, in which bar does the answering phrase usually begin?

  1. Bar 7
  2. Bar 5
  3. Bar 3
Show the answer

Bar 5

An 8-bar melody is normally two 4-bar phrases: a question in bars 1-4 and an answer in bars 5-8.

Continuing a given opening, 3 marks

Which notes make the end of the first phrase sound unfinished?

  1. Ray or soh
  2. Doh
  3. Doh or me
Show the answer

Ray or soh

Ray and soh belong to chord V, so ending phrase 1 on them sounds like a question, like an imperfect cadence. Doh and me belong to chord I and sound finished.

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