Specification/Exam Board
Eduqas GCSE Music, comprising 3 Components:
Component 1: Performing (30%)
Component 2: Composing (30%)
Component 3: Appraising (40%) Exam (1 hour 15 mins)
As part of your GCSE Music coursework in Component 1, you will be expected to perform to a good standard (approximately Grade 4) as a singer/instrumentalist by the start of Year 11. As such, it is a course requirement that you are already a keen instrumentalist and/or singer. You must be committed to having regular instrumental/vocal tuition outside of your curriculum music lessons and to practising your instrumental/vocal performing weekly (ideally daily!).
Curriculum Allocation
Music is taught for 3 100-minute lessons per fortnight.
Curriculum Period 1: "The Next Step" - understanding and applying musical elements
Curriculum content
Skill-Building for all aspects of the course:
- Notating and dictating rhythms and melodies
- Analysing, composing and performing using staff notation
- Keys, cadences, melodic and rhythmic devices, structures, textures and dynamics
- Score reading
- Using composition software to notate a composition
Learning Activities include:
- Performing from a score, with and in front of others
- Composing using music theory knowledge and staff notation e.g. writing a melody in a simple structure using devices
- Listening exercises to develop notation skills and ability to identify musical elements
"Commercial Music" - Area of Study 4 (Popular Music in Context) and Area of Study 3 (Music for Film)
Area of Study 4: Popular Music:
- Musical characteristics and context of Popular Music styles
- strophic form, 32 bar song form, verse, chorus, middle 8, riffs, bridge, fill, break, intros and outros, backing tracks, improvisation
- Appraising - more challenging theoretical and aural work:
- primary and secondary chords, cadences, standard chord progressions, power chords, rhythmic devices such as syncopation, driving rhythms
- the relationship between melody and chords
- How to ‘describe’ a piece using the elements of musical language
- Introduction to prepared extract – Africa: instrumentation, lead and backing vocals, strophic form, repetitive chord sequences, cadences (chordal analysis), solo, rhythmic features (triplets, syncopation, driving rhythms), walking bass, key change
Area of study 3: Film Music:
- Layering, further examples of imitation, chromatic movement and dissonance in harmonic work, leitmotifs, thematic transformation of ideas
- The relationship between the story and the music: choosing appropriate elements of music to represent characters and plot
- The effect of audience, time and place, and how to achieve this through use of the musical elements
- Use of sonority, texture and dynamics to create a mood
- How to achieve contrasts and develop initial ideas when composing
Learning Activities include:
- Ensemble / Solo performing
- Composing to a brief (i.e. a piece of film music): creating "the situation", achieving contrasts, composing main themes, developing thematic material
- Producing a score / leadsheet
Assessment
- Assessment of mini NEA-style composition task (30%)
- Performance Assessment - solo or ensemble (30%)
- Short listening test to include basic rhythmic and pitch dictation (separately), and recognition of some devices, elements and instruments (40%)
Curriculum Period 2:
Curriculum content
"Art Music" - Area of Study 1 (Musical Forms and Devices) and Area of Study 2 (Music for Ensemble)
Area of study 2: Music for Ensemble
- Performing in smaller ensembles; (e.g. chamber music, jazz, musical theatre etc.)
- Composing using texture and sonority (chords and melody) including: Monophonic, homophonic, unison, chordal, melody and accompaniment, countermelody
- Introducing additional concepts of melody, harmony and tonality: inversions, dissonance, range, intervals, pentatonic, blue notes, modulations to relative major/minor
Area of study 1: Musical Forms and Devices
- Introduction to Area of Study 1 Set Work : Badinerie, by J.S. Bach : Instrumentation, anacrusis, simple triple time, repeat marks, ornamentation, trill, conjunct movement, sequence, octaves, minuet and trio, G major, D major, chordal analysis (using Roman numerals), perfect cadence, imperfect cadence, modulation to dominant, dominant 7th, chromatic movement.
- Western Classical Tradition - musical elements and historical context through 1600 (Baroque Era) to the modern day
Assessment
- Solo or ensemble performance (30%)
- Short Composition task (30%)
- Mini mock exam (all 4 AoS for Unit 3) (40%)
Curriculum Period 3: Culmination of Year 10 - Free Composition
Curriculum content
Students will spend the final shorter curriculum period drawing upon their analytical, performing and composing skills developed in Curriculum Periods 1 and 2 to begin to compose their Free Composition for their Unit 2 NEA. Students will be encouraged to explore a sophisticated range of musical devices and use music technology, while composing within their own particular musical interest or for their own instrument/voice.
This work will be completed and more formally assessed in Year 11 as part of the final submission of NEA for Unit 2.
Revision resources
Study Guide: "WJEC/Eduqas GCSE Music" (Jan Richards)Subject advice and guidance
If you need any further guidance then please contact Mrs Reardon-Davies (Director of Teaching and Learning in Music) via email:
a.reardon-davies@endon.shaw-education.org.uk