27 “mistakes” to avoid in music exam compositions [Part 1]

Imagine being an examiner. You’re listening to your 70^th piece of the day. It’s not that bad but you’re struggling to stay awake… This is part 1 of the most common pitfalls students may come across when writing an exam piece.

Featuring interviews from Brian Eno, Cassie Kinoshi, Ed O’Brien, Errollyn Wallen & Yazz Ahmed.

0:00 Intro
0:51 1. Waffle music
1:58 2. No tension or release
3:29 3. Melodies without a phrase structure
7:05 4. 120 BPM
7:59 5. No intro
9:29 6. Too many ideas
13:02 7. Not enough ideas
13:39 8. Bad bass management
15:07 9. Cutting and pasting
17:19 10. Writing bar-by-bar
18:15 11. The bassline isn’t actually a bassline

Watch part 2 of the 27 “mistakes” to avoid here.
Listen to our playlist of brilliant basslines on YouTube here.