GCSE Music
The GCSE music course follows the WJEC EDUQAS specification.
The WJEC Eduqas specification encourages an integrated approach to the three distinct disciplines of performing, composing and appraising through four interrelated areas of study.
Students will follow three components:
Component 1: Performing (30%)
Students are required to perform for 4-6 minutes on their main instrument as a soloist or ensemble or a mixture of both. This component forms part of the non-examined assessment (coursework).
Component 2: Composing (30%)
Students are required to compose two compositions which last a total of 3-6 minutes. One composition is set to a brief from the exam board. This component forms part of the non-examined assessment (coursework).
Component 3: Appraising (40%)
Students will learn about the following 4 areas of study, developing their skills during project based work.
The four areas of study are designed to develop knowledge and understanding of music through the study of a variety of genres and styles in a wider context.
This component is assessed via a listening exam at the end of Year 11
http://eduqas.co.uk/qualifications/music/
Key questions/concepts
What do pulse, beat and rhythm mean?
How are polyrhythms created in Samba drumming?
Which Samba instruments are featured in the Brazillian Carnival?
How can we use structure to create contrast and variety in a composition?
What makes a successful performance?
Timeframe
Key vocabulary
Wider reading
How do you read the letter names on the treble stave?
How do you read note values and dotted rhythms?
How does targeted practise and correct hand shape improve dexterity?
How do you play major and minor chords using the auto chord function?
How do you play legato and staccato notes?
What do sharps, flats and natural signs mean and how do you play them?
Which instrument families make up the symphony orchestra?
How can we identify the different timbres of woodwind isntruments?
How can we identify the different timbres of brass instruments?
How can we identify the different timbres of string instruments?
How can we identify the different timbres of percussion instruments?
How are instrumental timbres used to depict the characters and story in Prokoviev's Peter and the Wolf - (Templeton animation 2011)
What are the ways we can warm up and sing effectively?
What is your 'head' voice and how can you activate it?
How are the performing arts combined in musical theatre?
What are the main voice types? What categories of songs are used in Musical Theatre?
How can we evaluate a performance and give constructive feedback?
How do you hold and strum simple chords on the ukulele?
How do you improve fluency and accuracy when performing?
What are the main sections of a typical pop song?
How can we identify major and minor tonality?
How do we rehearse and improve a whole class band performance?
What makes a successful song?
How do modern songwriters write their song lyrics?
How can we develop a successful hook melody to fit our lyrics?
What is a typical rock drum beat pattern? What is drum notation?
How does the style of the accompaniment affect the mood of a song?
What is a 12 bar blues pattern? How can we recognise the chord changes?
What are the typical features of Rock n Roll music?
How do we form primary triad chords and play a 12 bar blues sequence?
What are the notes of the Blues scale and how is it used in solos?
What is the history and context of the Blues style?
Which Blues features can we aurally identify in pop and rock music?
How are the elements of music used to describe a place or character?
How are melodic shape, articulation and dynamics used to depict a scene?
How does a change of tempo or texture alter a scene?
How does tonality affect the mood of a scene?
What are typical film genres? What is the role of film music?
How can we create a GarageBand project and import a video clip?
How can ostinato patterns create movement and excitement?
How can we compose melodic ideas and develop musical tension?
How can we use GarageBand to record and synchronise with the action?
What is a Ground Bass? What is the structure of a musical canon?
How do you play the chord sequence in Pachelbel's canon?
How can we perform a class arrangement of variations and bass line?
How can we adapt the chord progression and compose new variations?
How has Pachelbel's Canon inspired other compositions?
What are pentatonic scales, and primary and secondary triads?
How can we develop an accompaniment using block and broken chords?
Which typical song features can we identify in a variety of song styles?
How are riffs and ostinatos used to create unity and to structure compositions?
How are riffs used as a basis for improvisation?
How are ostinatos used to build tension and excitement in music?
How has the tresillo rhythmic pattern evolved in contemporary music?
How are ostinato patterns used in fusion and non-Western musical styles?
What is EDM? How can we compose using loops in BandLab and GarageBand?
How do you edit a 'boiling pot' of loops to create a successful song structure?
How can we use a various musical textures to create a successful structure?
How can we create a song remix?
Which parts do we keep in an arrangement?
How do you read and play box chord and drum notation?
What are the correct playing techniques for guitar, bass guitar and drums?
How do we arrange parts to cover a song?
How do we rehearse and evaluate an ensemble performance?
Which independent pathway will you choose for this project?
How do we edit sound clips for a music presentation?
How do we adapt or transpose resources for a cover song performance?
How do we compose a piece for a specific occasion?
How do you plan and find resources to learn a new instrument?
How do we dictate rhythms by ear using staff notation?
How do we write music in parts, including performance markings, using Sibelius software tools?
How do we confidently develop our ensemble performance skills and build an awareness of other musicians and parts?
How can we demonstrate an understanding of basic music theory knowledge and how it is applied?
How do we generate and develop musical ideas and then add harmony to short phrases or motifs?
Describe what a concerto is and the development of the form from 1650 to 1910 through: the Baroque Solo concerto, Baroque Concerto Grosso, Classical Concerto and the Romantic Concerto.
Describe which instruments have been used for the solo part and how they have developed over time.
Describe the growth and development of the orchestra over time
What is the bass continuo and what is its role in the Baroque concerto?
Explain the role of the soloist(s) and the relationship between the soloist and the orchestral accompaniment
Explain how the concerto has developed in terms of length, complexity and virtuosity over time.
Be able to aurally identify key stylistic features of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music
Be able to describe how composers use musical elements and compositional devices in their concertos: - instruments and sonorities - pitch and melody - rhythm, metre and tempo - dynamics, expression and articulation - texture, structure and phrasing - harmony, tonality and cadences - repetition, sequence, imitation and ornamentation
What are the names of key composers from each musical period?
What is the social and historical context of the concerto in each period?
How did the choice of venue change as the genre expanded and developed?
Who commissioned concertos in each period and how did the intended audience change over time?
Be able to dictate a short rhythmic phrase by ear using staff notation
What is the key signature for major keys with up to four sharps or flats?
Aurally identify and notate common Italian terms and performance markings: dynamics, ornaments, articulation and tempo.
Compose short melodic phrases, using simple harmony and perfect or imperfect cadences.
To read short score staff notation using simple note values
Be able to describe the music that has been composed specifically for a film, pre-exisiting classical music that has been used in a film, or the soundtrack music for a video game.
How do composers create music which conveys a mood or emotion on screen?
How is music used to describe or depict a significant character or place?
How does film music enhance specific actions or create dramatic effects?
Be able to describe how film composers use musical elements and compositional devices to write expressively and dramatically using: - instruments, timbre and specific playing techniques - pitch and melody - rhythm, metre and tempo - dynamics, expression and articulation - texture, structure and phrasing - harmony, tonality and cadences - repetition, sequence, imitation and ornamentation - ostinato, motif and leitmotif
How might the music develop or evolve over the course of the soundtrack? Explain how an answer to a comparison question might be structured
Explain the use of technology in the process of composing for film
What are the names of famous film music and video game composers?
Be able to dictate a short melodic phrase by ear using staff notation
What are the the relative minors for keys with up to four sharps or flats?
Compose a suitable leitmotif for a hero or a villain
Aurally identify and notate, major and minor, melodic and harmonic intervals up to a perfect 5th
Be able to describe key stylistic features of rhythmic traditions from: West African drumming and Central and and South American Calypso and Samba
Be able to describe regional: - characteristic rhythms and metres - origins and cultural context of these musical performances - folk music characteristics - impact of modern technology on traditional music - ways performers work together - names of representative performers and groups
Describe the range of techniques used when performing traditional drums
Identify regular, irregular metres, syncopation and cross-rhythms
Explain how texture builds with added parts and rhythmic complexity
How can we improve performance skills such as; technical control, fluency, accuracy and secure intonation?
How can we shape our performance using appropriate expression to produce a confident and stylish interpretation?
How do we evaluate performances using the GCSE marking criteria and act on constructive feedback?
How do we extend and manipulate musical ideas and devices to develop a composition?
How do we compose appropriately for a range of instruments / voices and demonstrate an understanding of their specific technical capabilities?
How do we combine and develop various musical elements, using an appropriate structure, to create a coherent composition?
Be able to describe key stylistic features of rhythmic traditions from: - Eastern Mediterranean and Arabic folk music, focusing on Greek, Palestinian and Israeli music - Indian Classical Music and traditional Punjabi Bhangra
Be able to describe regional: - characteristic rhythms and metres - origins and cultural context of these musical performances - folk music characteristics - impact of modern technology on traditional music - ways performers work together - names of famous performers and groups
Be able to describe how musical elements and compositional devices are combined in traditional music including: - instruments and timbre - pitch and melody - rhythm, metre and tempo - dynamics, expression and articulation - texture, structure and phrasing - harmony, tonality and cadences - repetition, sequence, imitation and ornamentation - improvised modal and microtonal melodic phrases based on traditional scales
Be able to identify regular, irregular metres, syncopation and cross-rhythms
How do we compose appropriately to a defined brief, showing an understanding of the style, audience or occasion, and using the set of stimuli set by OCR?
How do we extend and manipulate musical ideas and devices to develop a successful composition?
How can we rehearse as an ensemble and improve our awareness of interacting with other musicians and other parts?
How can we perform confidently and stylishly, using appropriate expression with an awareness of other performers in the ensemble?
Be able to describe key stylistic features of popular music from the 1950s to the present day, focusing on: 1950s Rock 'n' Roll, Rock Anthems of the 70s and 80s, Pop Ballads of the 70s, 80s and 90s and Solo artists from 1990 to the present day
Be able to identify and describe: - vocal and instrumental playing techniques - how voices and instruments interact within pop music - the origins and cultural context or named genres of pop music - the typical musical characteristics, conventions and features of the main genres studied - the development of pop instruments over time - the development and impact of music technology over time - the variety and development of styles within pop over time
Be able to describe how musical elements and compositional devices are combined including: - instruments and timbre (acoustic and electric) - pitch and melody (including bass lines and riffs) - rhythm, metre and tempo - dynamics, expression, ornamentation and articulation - texture, structure and phrasing - harmony and tonality - repetition, ostinato and sequence - technology including amplification and recording techniques
Be able to name solo artists or groups who perform each genre
Explain the changing nature of song structure across the genres of pop
Be able to describe the social and historical context of the genres of pop
Be able to explain the growth of the popular music industry
How can we improve our melodic dictation and identification of intervals and cadences in the written paper?
How can we plan and structure a coherent and chronological musical description QWC extended question and access the higher band marks?
How can we plan and structure a comparision listening question?
How can we improve our score-reading and tracking skills?
How can we imnprove our description of vocal and instrumental playing techniques?
How can we improve describing accompaniment parts and listening to music with multiple layers?
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