Download this WAEC Music Syllabus to study smart and excel in your exams
Home » WAEC Syllabus » This syllabus is for you if you are passionate about music and are considering adding music as part of your WAEC exam subject combination. Choosing Music means you’re likely going to study Music, Arts or related courses in your chosen higher institution.
You are expected to know all about musical notation, scales, harmony, rhythm, form, and musical genres. You will also be asked questions on the historical development of music, famous composers, musical styles, and cultural influences on music.
By studying the syllabus carefully, you can rest assured that you are well-prepared for the exam and have a high success rate.
There will be three papers, Papers 1, 2 and 3, all of which must be taken.
Paper 1: This will be a 1-hour multiple-choice objective test consisting of 40 questions drawn from the entire syllabus. Candidates must attempt all the questions in the paper for 40 marks.
Paper 2: This will be a 2-hour essay-type test consisting of five questions. Candidates will be required to answer three of the questions within 2 hours for 60 marks. Question 1 on Theory/Composition (Melody Writing, Harmony and Counterpoint) and Question 2 on analysis of prescribed set-works will be compulsory. The following areas will be covered:
(i) Composition;
(ii) Harmony;
(iii)Counterpoint (two-part writing);
(iv) Form and Analysis;
(v) History and Literature of Music in Western and African traditions;
(vi) Black Music in the Diaspora.
Paper 3A: Aural Test This will be a 45-minute listening test carrying 50 marks.
Paper 3B: Performance Test: This will be a 30-minute performance test carrying 50 marks. Candidates will be expected to perform on an instrument of their choice (one of voice, violin, pianoforte/electronic keyboard, flute, atenteben, recorder, B flat trumpet, and E flat alto-saxophone). Candidates’ abilities in sight reading, technical exercises, scales and arpeggios will be tested.
| WAEC MUSIC SYLLABUS | ||
| SN | TOPIC | OBJECTIVE |
| PAPER I & II: THEORY AND COMPOSITION | ||
| 1 | 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 |
| 2 | 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 non-accented) – 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). |
| 3 | 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. b) Candidates may be required to modulate to at least one specified related key. (c) Setting a given text in English to music. |
| 4 | 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 |
| AURAL TESTS | ||
| 5 | RHYTHMIC DICTATION | i. A melody not exceeding 4 bars will be played four times. ii. Candidates will be required to write the rhythm in a monotone. iii. Before playing the passage, the examiner will give the time signature and indicate the speed at which the pulse of the music moves. iv. The passage may be in either simple or compound time. |
| 6 | MELODY WRITING | i. Candidates will be required to write from dictation a short melodic passage not exceeding 4 bars and which may contain elements of African Music. ii. Before playing the passage, the examiner will indicate the speed at which the pulse of the music moves. iii. The passage may be in either simple or compound time. iv. 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 the tonic chord sounded, followed by the keynote. If in a mode, the tonal centre and the mode will be played. v. 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. |
| 7 | WRITING THE UPPER/LOWER PART OF A TWO-PART PHRASE | i. A two-part phrase in a major or minor key not exceeding four bars will be played. ii. The candidates will be required to write out either the upper or the lower part in full. iii. The key and time signature will be given and the tonic chord sounded. iv. The passage will be played four times. v. The passage may be either simple or time. |
| 8 | CHORDS | i. A passage in a named key containing not more than eight chords will be played. ii. 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. iii. The passage will be played four (4) times at a reasonably slow pace. iv. The key will be given and the tonic chord sounded before the passage is played through. |
| 9 | CADENCES | i. 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. ii. After the tonic chord has been sounded, the whole musical sentence will be played through 3 times with due deliberation at short intervals. iii. Only four examples will be given which may not necessarily have to be different. |
| 10 | MODULATIONS | i. Candidates will be required to recognize and name simple changes of key. ii. Four examples will be given, each starting from the same tonic key and containing one modulation only. iii. Modulations will be limited to the dominant, subdominant, and relative major or minor keys. iv. After the key has been named and the tonic chord sounded, each of the four examples will be played three times. v. The test will not necessarily contain examples of modulations to four different keys: the same key change may re-occur. |
| 11 | IDENTIFICATION/DESCRIPTION OF THEMES | i. 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. ii. Each theme/excerpt will be played three times. iii. Before each passage is played, the Examiner will tell candidates exactly what they are expected to do. iv. Questions will be limited to the form, style or genre of excerpt played, principal instrument(s) playing, scale or mode employed and meter. |
| 12 | PERFORMANCE TEST | i. Every candidate will offer an instrument or voice for a practical examination. ii. Sight-reading will form part of the examination for the Performance Test. iii. A list of set-works for the practical examinations is attached as Appendix. iv. Only works from that list may be selected for the performance test. v. The current approved instruments for Performance Tests are: a) Voice (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone/Bass) b) Pianoforte/electronic keyboard c) String Instruments: Violin, Guitar d) Selected wind instruments: Recorder (descant and treble), atenteben, flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, euphonium and tuba |
| 13 | HISTORY AND LITERATURE | A. Traditional Musicians/Composers (a) Nigeria Ezigbo Obiligbo, Dan Maraya, Haruna Ishola, Ayinla Omowura, Dauda Epoakara, Odolaye Aremu, Ogundare Foyanmu, Hubert Ogunde, Israel Nwoba, Mamman Shata, etc. (b) Ghana Vinoko Akpalu, Yaa Adusa, Afua Abasa, Kakraba Lobi, Gilbert Berese, Kodjo Nuatro, Kwamina Pra, etc. B. Popular Musicians (a) Nigeria (i) Highlife: Victor Olaiya, Celestine Ukwu, Inyang Henshaw, Zeal Onyia, Victor Uwaifor, Nico Mbarga, Roy Chicago, Rex Jim Lawson, Bobby Benson, Stephen Osita Osadebey, 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 Killington, Rasheed Ayinde, Wasiu Ayinde Marshall, Abass Obesere, Wasiu Alabi Pasuma, Saheed Osupa. (v) Waka : Batile Alake, Kuburatu Alaragbo, Salawatu Abeni (vi) Afro-Pop: Onyeka Onwenu, Christi 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 (b) Ghana i. E. T. Mensah, George Darko, A. B. Crentsil, Paapa Yankson, Asabea Cropper, Dinah Akiwumi, Kwa Mensah, M. K Oppong (Kakaiku), Jerry Hanson, Kwame Gyasi, Nana Kwame Ampadu, Awurama Badu, Mary Ghansah, E K Nyame, Kwabena Onyina Gyedu Blay Ambolley, C. K. Mann, Akwasi Ampofo Agyei, Akosua Agyapong, Stella Doughan Reggie Rockstone C. Contemporary Art Musicians (a) Nigeria 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 (b) Ghana Ephraim Amu, Otto Boateng, J. M. T. Dosoo, S. G Boateng, Walter Blege, J. H. K. Nketia, Alfred Enstua-Mensah, A. Adu Safo, J. A. Yankey, Kenn Kafui, E. Pappoe Thompson, Ata Annan-Mensah, N. Z. Nayo, R. G. K Ndo, M. K. Amissah, G. W. K Dor, Sam Asare-Bediako. Gyima-Larbi D. Western Composers (a) Medieval ca. 450 – 1400 Guillaume de Machaut, Johannes Ockeghem, Jacob Obrecht (b) 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 Note : Questions may also be asked on current and very widely known musicians of African origin |
| 14 | TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN MUSIC | (a) The role of music in traditional African Society (b) Musical Instruments (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 types (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. List of traditional dances to be studied: General knowledge of the dances and the ethnic groups that perform them as well as the occasions on which they are used would be expected. Ghana: Adowa, Kundum, Kete, Akom, Fontomfrom, Agbadza, Atsigbekor, Kpatsa, Borborbor, Toke, Gahu Kolomashie, Gome, Kpanlogo, Apatampa, Gumbe Takai, Bamaya, Nagila etc Nigeria: Bata, Egwu Amala, Atilogwu, Swange, Apiiri, etc. |
1. Akpabot, S. E. (1986).Foundation of Nigerian Traditional Music, Ibadan: Spectrum.
2. Associated Board of the Royal School of Music (1958).Rudiments and Theory of Music, London.
3. Cole, W. (1969).The Form of Music, London: The Associated Board of the Royal Schools Of Music.
4. Echezona, W. W. C. (1981). Nigerian Musical Instruments, Enugu: Apollo Publishing Ltd.
5. Ekwueme, L. (1993).Choir Training and Choral Conducting for Africans, Lagos: Lenaus Advertising and Publishing Company.
6. Holst, I. (1963).An ABC of Music, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
7. Hosier, (1961).Instruments of the Orchestra Oxford: Oxford University Press.
8. Hunt, R. (1960).Elements of Music.
9. Inanga, A. (1993).Music for Secondary Schools Vols. I and II, Ibadan: Spectrum
10. Kamien, R. (1990). Music: An Appreciation, London: McGraw–Hill Publishing Company.
11. Kennedy, M. (1985).The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music, (Third Edition), London: Oxford University Press.
12. Kitson, C. H. (1978).Elementary Harmony Book 2, London: Oxford University Press.
13. Kofoworola, Z. O. And Lateef, Y. (1987). Hausa Performing Arts and Music, Lagos:Nigeria Magazine.
14. Lovelock, W. (1953).A Concise History of Music, London: Bell and Hyman.
15. Lovelock, W.(1996).The Rudiments of Music, London. G. Bell and Sons Limited.
16. Machlis, J. (1977). The Enjoyment of Music, New York: W.W. Norton.
17. Mensah, A. A. (Undated) Folk Songs for Schools, Accra.
18. Morris, R. O. (1974).The Oxford Harmony, Vol. I, London: Oxford University Press.
19. Nketia, J. H. (1974).African Music, New York: W. W. Norton Company.
20. Palmer, K. (1965). Teach Yourself Music, London: The English University Press Limited.
21. Reed, H. O. (1954).Basic Music: A Basic Theory Test, New York, N. Y. Mills Music Inc.
22. Taylor, E. (1989).The Guide to Music Theory, London: The Associated Board of The Royal School of Music.
23. Warburton, A.O. (1955).Graded Music Course for Schools, Books I –III, London: Longman
Paper 1 and II will be taken at once and will last for 3 hours. Paper 3 will last for 45 minutes.
To prepare for the WAEC Music exam, study the recommended syllabus provided by WAEC, review textbooks and study past questions.
It’s easy, spend at least 3 minutes on each question so you can have enough time to cross-check your work. If you do not know the answer to a question, skip it and come back later, to avoid wasting too much time on a question.
Common mistakes people make in their WAEC exams include inadequate time management, and not studying their past questions or even reading the syllabus. You can avoid these mistakes by studying the syllabus as well as past questions, improving your time management skills, and seeking clarification on unclear concepts.
Try as much as possible to read and understand the syllabus, study regularly, practice past questions as well as time management, and stay calm and focused. Most importantly, sleep early the night before your exam.
The WAEC 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.
