Home » NECO Syllabus » This syllabus is designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge to succeed in music. If you can understand music through this syllabus, taking this exam won’t be a problem for you if you can study and understand this syllabus.
Whether you’re interested in composing, performing, arranging, producing, or even exploring the technology behind music, this syllabus covers all aspects. You’ll learn to read, write, listen, and improvise, and you’ll get experience with the basics of music software.
This syllabus outline will reveal what makes music so universal yet so unique. You’ll explore music from every angle, whether it’s the history and theory that lays the foundation of music or the creativity that lets you make it your own will all be studied in this syllabus.
Here’s what you need to know about the exam format and how your performance will be assessed.
Paper 1: Multiple-Choice Objective Test
Paper 1 consists of 40 multiple-choice questions that should be answered in 1 hour, this paper is worth 40 marks in total. The questions set will cover the entire syllabus and will be testing your general knowledge of music. Each question is worth one mark.
Paper 2: Essay Test
Paper 2 is a 2-hour test with five questions, you only need to answer three questions from the five.
Question 1 (Theory/Composition) and Question 2 (Analysis of Prescribed Set-Works) are compulsory. The remaining three questions will test different areas, and you can choose one to answer. This section is worth 60 marks.
Paper 3A: Aural Test
Paper 3A is a 45-minute listening test where you will be asked to identify various musical elements by ear, such as pitch, rhythm, intervals, and chords. This section is worth 50 marks.
Paper 3B: Performance Test
Paper 3B is a 30-minute performance test, where you’ll perform on an instrument of your choice. It could be voice, violin, piano, flute, trumpet, saxophone, or others. The test will assess your skills in sight-reading, technical exercises, scales, and appoggiatura The total mark for this section is 50 marks. You’ll be judged on your technique, accuracy, and musical expression.
| MUSIC | ||
| SN | TOPICS | OBJECTIVES |
| 1 | THEORY AND COMPOSITION | |
| A | Rudiments of Music | (a) Notation (i) Staff (ii) Clefs (C, G, and F) (b) Scales: (Western) (i) Diatonic – Major and Minor (natural, harmonic and melodic) (ii) Chromatic – (melodic only) (c) Modes: (African) (i) Pentatonic (5-tone) (ii) Hexatonic (6-tone) (iii)Heptatonic (7-tone) (d) Keys and Key Signatures (e) Time Signatures: Simple and Compound (f) Intervals (g) Transcription (Staff notation into Solfa and vice versa) (h) Transposition, including writing for transposing instruments (i) Musical terms, signs, ornaments and abbreviations |
| B | Elementary Harmony | (a) Chords/Triads (i) Primary – I/i, IV/iv, V and their inversions (ii) Secondary – ii, iii, vi and their inversions (iii) Chord vii˚ and its inversions (iv) 7th Chords (dominant 7th only) and its inversions (b) Chord Progressions Cadences (in both major and minor keys) (i) Perfect (V – I); (ii) Plagal (IV – I) (iii) Interrupted (V–vi) (iv) Imperfect (I–V), (ii – V), (iii – V), (IV – V) (c) Use of primary and secondary triads in harmonising a given melody (i) Use of six-four chords (cadential and passing only) (ii) The use of non-harmonic tones; Passing (accented and unaccented) Auxiliary or Neighbouring tones Anticipation (d) Modulations from the home key to its closely related keys only (i) Dominant (ii) Subdominant (iii) Relative major and minor (e) Four-part harmony (SATB). (f) Two-part free Counterpoint (adding a part above or below a given melody). |
| C | Composition | (a) Continuing a given melodic phrase in either a major or minor key to form a melody of not less than 12 bars and not more than 16 bars in all. Candidates may be required to modulate to at least one specified related key. (b) Setting a given text in English to music. |
| D | Form and Analysis | (a) Simple forms e.g. binary, ternary, rondo, etc. (b) Extended forms e.g. overture, oratorio, opera, cantata, suite, sonata, symphony, concerto, etc. (c) Form in traditional African music, e.g. the various forms of antiphony (Call and Response, Cantor/Chorus, Call and Refrain), Repetitive (Cyclic) forms, etc. (d) Form in contemporary African art music – with emphasis on compositional techniques, e.g. use of melody, rhythm, harmony, instrumentation, through-composed pieces, etc. |
| E | Prepared set-works as recommended for each year | The set-works listed below (Western or African) are to be chosen by the candidate, as recommended, for each year. This will be studied for a compulsory question in Paper 2. |
| 2 | AURAL TESTS (PAPER 3A) | Candidates will be required to write all seven tests. The Aural Tests will be administered by means of a CD/cassette,a copy of which will be sent to each examination centre on the day of the examination |
| A | Rhythmic Dictation | A melody not exceeding 4 bars will be played four times. Candidates will be required to write the rhythm on a monotone. Before playing the passage, the examiner will give the time signature and indicate the speed at which the pulse of the music moves. The passage may be in either simple or compound time. (8 marks) |
| B | Melody Writing | Candidates will be required to write from dictation a short melodic passage not exceeding 4 bars and which may contain elements of African Music. Before playing the passage, the examiner will indicate the speed at which the pulse of the music moves. The passage may be in either simple or compound time. The piece, which may be modal or in a major or minor key, will normally begin on the first beat of a bar. If the music is in a major or minor key, the key will be named and tonic chord sounded, followed by the key note. If in a mode, the tonal centre and the mode will be played. The pulse will be given and the melody will first be played in its entirety. It will then be played twice in sections at short intervals of time and finally it will be repeated in its entirety. (8 marks) |
| C | Writing the Upper or Lower Part of a Two-Part Phrase | A two-part phrase in a major or minor key not exceeding four bars will be played. The candidates will be required to write out either the upper or the lower part in full. The key and time-signature will be given and the tonic chord sounded. The passage will be played four time. The passage may be in either simple or time. (8 marks) |
| D | Chords | A passage in a named key containing not more than eight chords will be played. The candidate will be required to identify chords employed in the progression by using the Roman numerals e.g. Ic, V, vib, etc. or a technical description of each chord, e.g. dominant, first inversion; sub-dominant, root position etc. The passage will be played four (4) times at a reasonably slow pace. The key will be given and the tonic chord sounded before the passage is played through. (8 marks) |
| E | Cadences | Candidates will be required to recognize and name any of the following cadences (perfect, imperfect, interrupted or plagal) occurring in a musical example in a major key. After the tonic chord has been sounded, the whole musical sentence will be played through 3 times with due deliberation at short intervals. Only four examples will be given which may not necessarily have to be different. |
| F | Modulations | Candidates will be required to recognize and name simple changes of key. Four examples will be given, each starting from the same tonic key and containing one modulation only. Modulations will be limited to the dominant, subdominant, and relative major or minor keys. After the key has been named and the tonic chord sounded, each of the four examples will be played through three times. The test will not necessarily contain examples of modulations to four different keys: the same key-change may re-occur. (6 marks) |
| G | Identification/Description of Themes | Candidates will be required to identify or describe the characteristics of three themes or excerpts taken from selected pieces, at least one of which will be African. Each theme/excerpt will be played three times. Before each passage is played, the Examiner will tell candidates exactly what they are expected to do. Questions will be limited to the form, style or genre of excerpt played, principal instrument(s) playing, scale or mode employed and meter. (6 marks) |
| 3 | Performance Test | |
| A | Performance | Every candidate will offer an instrument or voice for a practical examination. Sight-reading will form part of the examination for the performance test. A list of set-works for the practical examinations is annexed as Appendix. Only works from that list may be selected for the performance test. Information on Set pieces will be available at any of NECO’s Offices across the country. Musical Instruments The current approved instruments for Performance Tests are: (i) Voice (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone/Bass) (ii) Pianoforte/electronic keyboard (iii) Violin (iv) Selected wind instruments: Recorder (descant and treble), atenteben, flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, euphonium and tuba. |
| NOTES ON THE CONDUCT OF PERFORMANCE TEST | ||
| For Test Centres/Supervisors | (a) The exact dates of performance tests at individual centres can be arranged only after the entries are completed. (b) There may be one or more examiners at the option of the West African Examinations Council. No other person will normally be allowed in the room with the candidates (except an accompanist) during the examination. (c) The normal time for the performance test will be about 30 minutes per candidate. However, examiners may, at their discretion, take less time over examination of individual candidate. (d) Schools and Centres at whose premises performance tests are held must provide a quiet, well-lit room, a well-tuned pianoforte/electronic keyboard, a writing table and chair for the Examiner, and someone to act as a steward outside the examination room. | |
| For Candidates | (a) Performing or playing from memory is optional. But, candidates performing from memory must bring copies for the Examiner’s use. (b) A technical exercise or study as stipulated on a list of set works will be performed from memory. (c) The Examiner may, at his/her discretion, stop the performance of any piece when he/she has heard enough to assess the candidate. (d) Candidates must perform pieces from the approved list only, using the instrument for which the pieces were written. (e) A candidate should provide his/her own accompanist (if needed) who may remain in the room only while actually engaged in the accompanying. The candidate’s teacher may also be the accompanist but the Examiner will not. However, in lieu of an accompanist, a soundtrack of the accompaniment is allowed. (f) Each candidate is to provide music stand (if required). (g) Two sight-reading tests will be given. The tests may be in either simple or compound time. | |
| 4 | HISTORY AND LITERATURE | General historical backgrounds, works and contributions made by composers as outlined below. Only a general (non-specialist) knowledge of the composers, periods, works and forms will be expected. |
| A | Traditional Musicians/Composers | (a) Nigeria Ezigbo Obiligbo, Dan Maraya, Haruna Ishola, Ayinla Omowura, Dauda Epo Akara, Odolaye Aremu, Ogundare Foyanmu, Hubert Ogunde, Israel Nwoba, Mamman Shata, etc. |
| B | Popular Musician | (i) Highlife: Victor Olaiya, Celestine Ukwu, Inyang Henshaw, Zeal Onyia, Victor Uwaifo, Nico Mbarga, Roy Chicago, Rex Jim Lawson, Bobby Benson, Stephen Osita Osadebe, Eddie Okonta, Adeolu Akinsanya (ii) Afrobeat : Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Femi Kuti, Orlando Julius Ekemode. (iii) Juju : I. K. Dairo, Fatai Rolling Dollar, Ebenezer Obey, Sunny Ade, Prince Adekunle, Segun Adewale, Dele Abiodun, Shina Peters. (iv) Fuji : Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, Ayinla Kollington, Rasheed Ayinde, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, Abass Obesere, Wasiu Alabi Pasuma, Saheed Osupa. (v) Waka : Batile Alake, Kuburatu Alaragbo, Salawa Abeni (vi) Afro-Pop: Onyeka Onwenu, Christy Essien Igbokwe, Sonny Okosuns, Mike Okri, Chris Okotie, Bisade Ologunde (Lagbaja) Zaki Adze. (vii) Afro-Reggae : Terra Kota, Majek Fashek, Ras Kimono, Victor Essiet, Evi Edna-Ogholi (viii) Hip-Hop : Tuface Idibia, Dbanj, P-Square, Paul Dairo, 9ice, Wande Coal, Terry Gee, Davido, etc |
| C | Contemporary Art Musicians | T. K. E. Phillips, Fela Sowande, Ayo Bankole, W.W.C. Echezona, Adam Fiberesima, Dayo Dedeke, Akin Euba, Sam Akpabot, Ikoli Harcourt-Whyte, Laz Ekwueme, Okechukwu Ndubuisi, Sam Ojukwu, Bode Omojola, Ayo Oluranti, Debo Akinwunmi, Christian Onyeji, Richard Okafor . |
| D | Western Composer | Medieval ca. 450 – 1400 Guillaume de Machaut, Johannes Ockeghem, Jacob Obrecht Renaissance ca. 1400 – 1600 Guillaume Dufay, Thomas Tallis, John Cooke, John Tudor, Josquin des Prez, Orlando di Lasso, John Dowland, Orlando Gibbons, William Byrd, John Dunstable Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, (c) Baroque ca. 1600 – 1750 Claudio Monterverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, Archangelo Corelli, Henry Purcell Johannes Sebastian Bach, George Frederick Handel, , Domenico Scarlatti. (d) Classical ca. 1750 -1820 Willibald Gluck, Josef Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Jan Ladislav Dussek, Muzio Clementi, C.P.E. Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven. Franz Haydn (e) Romantic ca. 1820 – 1900 Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Fredrick Chopin, Franz Lizst, Johannes Brahms, Hector Berlioz, Richard Wagner, Antonn Dvorak, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Johannes Strauss, P. I. Tchaikovsky The Russian Five (Modeste Mussorgsky, Balakirev, Cezar Cui, Alex Borodin and Rimsky Korsakov) (f) 20th century ca. 1900 – 2000 Bela Bartok, Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, Paul Hindemith, Aaron Copland, Hector Villa-Lobos, Saint Saens, E Black Music in the Diaspora Scott Joplin, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dizzie Gillespie, John Coletraine, Aretha Franklin, Miles Davies ,James Brown, Diana Ross, Lord Kitchener, Mighty Sparrow, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Hugh Masakela, Mariam Makeba, and such forms as Spiritual, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Gospel, Soul, Calypso, Reggae and Afrobeat |
| 5 | TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN MUSIC | |
| A | The Role of Music in Traditional African Society | |
| B | Musical Instrument | (i) Names and description (ii) Classification (iii) Function (musical and non-musical) |
| C | General Characteristics | (i) Scales/Modes (ii) Rhythm (metrical and non-metrical, cross-rhythm, hemiola, syncopation, polyrhythm) (iii) Polyphony (iv) Form (antiphony, strophic, through-composed etc.) (v) Vocal styles (recitative, yodelling, ululation, holler, nasalization) (vi) Texture (monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic) (vii) Instrumentation |
| D | Categories and Type | (i) Dirges (ii) Cradle songs; Lullabies (iii) Ritual songs (iv) Folk songs (v) Satirical songs (vi) Other types of traditional vocal genres |
| E | Relationship of music to other arts e.g. dance, drama, festival etc. | |
1. ABRSM Rudiments and Theory of Music, 1958
2.Akpabot Foundations of Traditional Music, Ibadan Spectrum Books, 1986
3. Amuah, I.R. et al Music and Dance for Colleges of Education, KRAMAD.
4. Amuah J. A. Theory of Music, The Simplest Approach 2008.
5. Kafui, Kenneth Avotri:Kafui’s Rudiments and Keyboard pieces for the beginner, 1981.Six Easy African Piano Pieces, 1977.
6. Kamien Roger: Music – An Appreciation, New York, McGraw Hill Book Company, 2008
7. Machlis, Joseph:The enjoyment of Music. New York, W. W. Norton and Co, Inc., 1958
8. Mensah, I. T.: Understanding Music, Books 1-3. Otuamic Publications
9. Robert Manford et al Music for senior Secondary Schools, H. Gangaram, Bombay, 1990
10. Warburton, Annie: Analysis of Musical Classics, Longman, 1967.
11. Harmony –A textbook for class use, on aural foundation Longman
12. Melody Writing and Analysis – Longman.
13. Score Reading, Form, and History – Longman.
The NECO Music Exam covers a wide range of music-related topics. These include music theory, history, composition, harmony, counterpoint, and performance. You’ll also study the history and literature of Western music, African traditions, and Black Music in the Diaspora.
The exam has three parts:
Paper 1 is a 1-hour multiple-choice test with 40 questions, worth 40 marks.
Paper 2 is a 2-hour essay test with five questions; you answer three, including two compulsory ones. This section is worth 60 marks.
Paper 3 is divided into two sections:Paper 3A is a 45-minute aural test, carrying 50 marks.
Paper 3B is a 30-minute performance test, also carrying 50 marks.
You have a variety of instruments to choose from. You can use your voice, violin, piano or electronic keyboard, flute, recorder, B flat trumpet, or E flat alto-saxophone. Pick the one you’re most comfortable with and practice to shine during the test.
The aural test is all about listening and recognizing musical elements. Try listening to different styles of music and focus on identifying pitch, rhythm, intervals, and chords. You can find online resources or apps that help you practice aural skills. The more you listen, the better you’ll get.
Start by reviewing the compulsory questions on theory/composition and the analysis of prescribed set-works. Then, choose the additional question(s) that align with your strengths. Be clear, concise, and thorough in your answers. Make sure you understand the key concepts in composition, harmony, form, history, and literature of music.
Practice makes perfect. Work on technical exercises, sight-reading, scales, and other essential skills on your chosen instrument. You might also consider performing in front of friends or family to build your confidence. The more you practice, the more comfortable you’ll be during the test.
For the performance test, bring your instrument and any accessories you might need, like a music stand, reeds, or extra strings. If you’re playing the piano, don’t worry about bringing the instrument, just bring your sheet music.
