Students starting in September 2016 will be the first to take a new course, graded from 9-1. However, the changes are relatively modest, and are nothing to worry about if you are a hard-worker. Music has always been about performing, composing and listening and these activities remain the foundations of new course.
The full specification document can be found at http://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/music-2016.html, or by searching for EDEXCEL Pearson GCSE music 2016.
What are the main attributes of a good GCSE musician?
- Someone who has enjoyed music in Year 7, 8 and 9, and wants to take a subject with a lot of practical work.
- Someone who likes performing in front of others, and wants to practice and attend their instrumental/singing lessons.
- Someone who has the patience to stick at long-term composition tasks, and is happy to take constructive criticism and refine their work.
- Someone who likes listening to a wide variety of music, and is prepared to be open-minded about different styles.
FAQs / dealing with misconceptions about GCSE music
Do I need to be having instrumental/singing lessons already to do well at GCSE?
No, but once you commit to taking GCSE music, it would be a very good idea to start them. The individual tuition and attention to detail that you get from a specialist teacher is extremely valuable, and will have a positive impact on your grade.
Do I need to have passed any music exams succeed as a GCSE musician?
No, not at all. Many students who have never taken grades achieve levels 8 or 9 (A*) in performance. However, if you do take exams, you can use the same material for GCSE music.
I’m worried about composing – I think I can’t do it.
This is a common misconception. Hard-working students will produce good compositions. Most start the course as relatively inexperienced composers when compared with their performance level. They soon pick it up – like most other things, it just needs practice and patience.
I’ve never taken a written music exam. Would I do well?
If you’re a hard-worker, then yes. Read on to find out exactly what we do, but this is not a theory test. In the exam you answer questions about set works we listen to, and write one short essay.
Do I need to be able to read music fluently to do well?
Not at the start of the course, but this is something that you will need to work on. There is more emphasis placed on musical literacy in the new course than there was previously, and students will have to be prepared to work on this. However, you will be given plenty of help, so don’t panic about this – again it will improve with practice.
Performance – worth 30% of the GCSE grade
This is not an exam. All formal performance work is assessed in Year 11, usually during lesson time. In Year 10 students have the opportunity to complete practice performance assessments. All work must be completed by May of Year 11.
Students must be willing to perform to the rest of the GCSE music group. After all, you’d be a funny sort of a musician if you didn’t want to do this!
What do I have to do to complete the performance part of the GCSE?
- A solo performance, at least one minute long – one or more pieces
- An ensemble performance, at least one minute long – one or more pieces. An ensemble means a group of two or more musicians, in which you are the only person playing/ singing your part. This is usually a duet, trio or quartet performance
- There must be a printed version of the music you play available to assess your work
- It is possible to improvise as part of your performance, but you don’t have to
- The total length of both performances must add up to four minutes
- All performances are recorded, and will take place in Year 11
How is the work assessed?
- All work is assessed by Ryedale School music staff, and each performance is marked /30
- You are marked on your technical control – this includes any aspect of articulation, pedaling, bowing, breath control, tone, or anything else specific to your instrument/voice
- You are marked on your expression and interpretation – this includes control of tempo, phrasing, dynamics, communication with the audience, and in ensemble performance whether the balance between you and others is good
- You are marked on your accuracy and fluency – this means wrong notes and rhythms, hesitations, and in ensemble performances, the timing between you and other parts
Difficulty Levels
- Your piece is assessed against difficulty levels, which affect your marks
- The exam board produce a comprehensive list of repertoire and grades
- Less difficult – Grade 1-3
- Standard – Grade 4
- More Difficult – Grade 5
- If you perform a Grade 1-3 piece, you cannot get a level 8 or 9 (A*) for performance
Who assesses the performances?
- All worked is marked by staff at Ryedale School
- A sample of the work is sent to the exam board for quality-assurance
Below is a copy of the guidance issued by Ryedale School to instrumental/singing teachers, but it is obviously useful for students and parent/carers to read this and be familiar with what is expected.
New GCSE performance guidelines EDEXCEL/Pearson (for first examination at GCSE in 2017)
- One or more solo performance lasting at least 1 minute.
- One or more ensemble performance lasting at least 1 minute.
- Combined performance time should be 4 minutes at least.
- If 4 minute time limit is not met, then they get 0 (zero) marks.
- All performances must be recorded in Year 11.
- Difficulty levels still apply: grade 1-3 ‘less difficult’, grade 4 ‘standard’, grade 5 ‘more difficult’. If students perform less difficult pieces, they cannot receive an A/A*.
- EDEXCEL have produced a difficult level book which covers both GCSE and A-level for solo performance which covers a huge amount of repertoire. Difficulty levels of popular music are judged in the book from original recordings by artists. If using sheet music, it needs to be compared with the original recorded version to see how similar they are to each other.
Both solo and ensemble performances of all styles are marked using the same mark scheme:
- /8 for Technique – coordination, breath control, tone, pedalling, intonation, and a judgement as to whether the music is within the compass of the candidate’s ability. There is a cap on the maximum mark awarded in this area if piece is grade 2 or below.
- /8 for Expression and Interpretation – tempo, dynamics, phrasing, articulation, communication with the audience and balance in ensemble performances.
- /8 for Technical Control (Accuracy) and Expression and Interpretation (Fluency) – accuracy of pitch and rhythm, fluency, appropriate response to improvising stimulus, and in ensemble performance, how they cope if the ensemble starts to go wrong and they/others make errors.
- Once pieces are assessed /24, it is then applied to the difficulty levels to end up with a final mark /30.
- If candidates are performing more than one solo piece or ensemble piece, then the performance of all pieces as a whole is assessed and not each piece separately which is then averaged out.
- If a candidate chooses to accompany themselves, they can only be assessed on one of the roles that they perform and that the difficulty level will be judged on this role only. For instance, a singer accompanying themselves on guitar would only be their singing.
- All solo performance work must be recorded in one take. It can be rerecorded as many times as necessary, but candidates are not allowed to rerecorded part of the performance.
- All ensemble performance work must be recorded in one take. It can be rerecorded as many times as necessary, but candidates are not allowed to rerecorded part of the performance.
All of the above are ‘rules’ created by EDEXCEL. You may not like them all, and I certainly don’t, but they are what they are and there is no changing them.
I would like to add the following suggestions to the above which I hope won’t restrict what you do too much, but will aid your GCSE student and me equally.
- Please ensure that your students choose solo performance material from the difficulty level booklet, or is taken from a grade examination syllabus such as ABRSM/Rock School (doesn’t have to be the current syllabus) The difficulty booklet has a huge range of repertoire and this shouldn’t be restrictive.
- That you time pieces in lessons to give students an idea of how long their material is. I will still take ultimate responsibility for using a stop watch in formal recordings to ensure that their pieces are of sufficient length.
- If students are performing more than one ensemble piece to ensure they meet the minimum time limit, they must perform with the same musicians in every piece recorded.
- We will have a series of formal recording sessions during Year 11. I will make sure that I pass on dates well in advance so we can plan who needs to be ready when. What we can no longer do is record any work in Year 10 and submit it.
- At the moment there is no guidance provided for ensemble EDEXCEL are working on providing support for this during the current academic year.
- EDEXCEL are very clear that candidates performing music which is too difficult for them is self-penalising. A piece that is too difficult for candidates will get a weak mark.
Composition – worth 30% of the GCSE grade
You have to produce two complete compositions by May of Year 11. We begin composition work at the start of the course, but it is likely that early pieces will be practice compositions, and that the work you submit will all be written in Year 11. You have to submit a recording and musical score of your piece. All work must be completed by May of Year 11.
How do I produce my compositions?
This is up to you really, but the following is acceptable:
- Sibelius software
- Cubase software
- Hand-written full manuscript score
- Lead sheet/graphic score, plus recording
You do not have to be able to perform your own piece, but writing sensibly for instruments and voices is important – just because software can play what you’ve written doesn’t mean that a real musician could!
Both compositions must be at least one minute long individually, and at least three minutes long in total.
Composition 1 is a free composition – you can compose what you want, for any combination of instruments and voices. This piece can be started in Year 10, and continued into Year 11.
Composition 2 – the exam board will produce a choice of four briefs on 1st September of Year 11, and you must choose one of these. The briefs will be under the following headings:
- Instrumental Music
- Vocal Music
- Music for Stage and Screen
- Fusions
The briefs will be quite broad, and allow for a large amount of freedom of interpretation.
How is the work assessed?
- All work is assessed by Ryedale School music staff, and each composition is marked /30
- You are marked on how you develop musical ideas – this includes how the piece comes across to the listener, an understanding of the style that you are writing, and for composition 2, that you have matched your work to the brief
- You are marked on how you demonstrate technical control – how you handle all the elements of music, such as pitch, harmony, rhythm, use of instruments and how they are combined
- You are marked on how you compose with musical coherence – the way the piece is structured and how it develops from the starting point
Who assesses the performances?
- All worked is marked by staff at Ryedale School
- A sample of the work is sent to the exam board for quality-assurance
Listening/Appraising – worth 40% of the GCSE grade
Students sit a 90-minute exam at the end of Year 11. The exam is in two parts, and the content is based on the study of set works, and other music related to the set works. It is assessed externally /80.
Areas of Study and Set Works
AoS 1: Instrumental Music 1700-1820 | Bach Brandenburg Concerto no. 5, 3rd movt. |
Beethoven ‘Pathetique’ Sonata, 1st movt. | |
AoS 2: Vocal Music | Purcell ‘Music for a while’ |
Queen ‘Killer Queen’ | |
AoS 3: Music for Stage and Screen | Schwartz ‘Defying Gravity’ (Wicked) |
Williams ‘Main title/Rebel blockade’ (Star Wars IV) | |
AoS 4: Fusions | Afro Celt Sound System ‘Release’ (Release vol. 2) |
Spalding ‘Samba Em Preludio’ (Esperanza) |
These eight pieces cover a wide range of musical styles, and you might not immediately like all the pieces, but most musical tastes are catered for!
Additional Listening
As part of the exam, you will also be played one piece of music which is not a set work. You will be given the music of this piece, and asked to compare it with one of the set works. This is a new element to the GCSE course, and will rely on your ability to listen and analyse a piece of music.
Musical Analysis Skills
Preparation for the exam needs students to develop good analytical skills. This includes the ability to:
- Listen to the set works and understand how elements of music are used in them
- Read the music and understand how elements of music are used in them
- Listen to other pieces similar to the set works as part of a comparison exercise
- Write a short essay about one of the set works
The exam board provide a glossary of technical terms, which covers the elements of music, and will help you prepare for the exam.
Tonality (The relationship of notes within a scale or mode to a principal note (the tonic or final). A wider term than key, but often used synonymously with it)
Form, structure (the overall shape of a composition (e.g. binary, ternary, rondo). ‘Form’ and ‘structure’ are largely synonymous) Texture (the number of parts in a piece of music and how they relate to one another. Several types of texture are listed below) Tempo, metre and rhythm (‘tempo’ is the speed of the music. ‘Metre’, often indicated by a time signature, concerns the pattern and number of strong and weak beats (e.g. 2/4 metre has two crotchets per bar, the first ‘strong’, the second ‘weak’)) Dynamics (the changes in volume of musical sound(s), and also the symbols used in a score to indicate volume (e.g. f))
Other terms (performance, composition, presentation of scores)
Question words and what sort of information you are expected to write