AcomparisonofGGSEMusicspecificationsfromSept2016
FrequentlyAskedQuestions
WhoisGCSEMusicfor?
Anyoneandeveryone!ItisdesignedtoleadonfromKeyStage1‐3Musicin
schoolandmustbeavailabletoallstudents,includingthosewhohavehadno
additionallessonsoutsidetheclassroom.Thereforeyourschoolshouldnot
placeminimum‘entryrequirements’onstudentswantingtostudyGCSEMusic.
Whichspecification/awardingorganisationshouldIchoose?
Whicheveronemostsuitsyourstudents.Therearesomefundamental
differencesbetweentheiroffers.
Whichspecificationistheeasiestformystudentstoachievewell?
Allspecificationsaredeemedtobeequallychallenging,althoughthereare
differencesbetweenthefocusofcomponentsandmarkingineachspecification.
Ofqualhaveagreedthatthespecificationsandexemplarmaterialsareatthe
samelevelofdifficulty.
HowdothegradesmatchuptothecurrentGCSEA*toGgrades?
Ofqualstatethat:
• Broadlythesameproportionofstudentswillachieveagrade4andabove
ascurrentlyachieveagradeCandabove.
• Broadlythesameproportionofstudentswillachieveagrade7andabove
ascurrentlyachieveanAandabove.
• Foreachexamination,thetop20percentofthosewhogetgrade7or
abovewillgetagrade9–theveryhighestperformers.
(TablefromFischerFamily
Trustwebsite)
Sohowisthenumberofstudentswhogetacertaingradedetermined?
ThisisstatisticalanddecidedbetweentheawardingorganisationsandOfqual.
Isthisfair?Youaresayingthatapupilcandoreallywellinevery
componentbutnotgetawardedahighgradeifothershavescoredhigher?
Thegradeawardedislinkedtohowwelltherestofthestudentsacrossthe
countrydo.However,thatisnodifferentfromhowitworksatthemomentfor
GCSE.[ThewaysgradesforGCSE’sareawardedisdifferentfromGradedMusic
Examinations(e.g.ABRSM/TrinityGuildhall)asthesearecriterionreferenced.]
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Performancecomponent
Whatinstrumentsandstylesareacceptable?
Anyinstruments,voices,productionviamusictechnologyandcombinationsof
instruments/voices/technologyareencouragedandaccepted–GCSEmusicmust
beopentoallmusicians;everyawardingbodyincludesoptionsformusic
technology,beatboxing,DJingetc.Allstylesofmusicareacceptable…the
questioniswhetherteacherswillencouragethisdiversity.
Aretheredifferencesintherequirementsforsolo/ensemble
performancesacrossthespecifications/awardingorganisations?
Yestherearedifferences.Ofqualstatethattheremustbeanensemble
performanceinwhichthecandidateplays,singsorrealises(usingmusic
technology)apartthatisnotsignificantlydoubledbyanotherplayerandisat
leastoneminuteinduration.Thisisthereforecompulsoryinallspecifications.
However,therestofthe4minutes(minimumtimedurationacrossallpieces)
variesbetweenboards,withsomestatingtheymustperformsoloandensemble
andothersleavingituptothecandidate.
Aretherekeydifferencesinthemarkingofperformances?
Yes.Eachawardingorganisationhasaslightlydifferentfocusfortheawarding
ofmarks.Therearedifferencesinthepercentageofmarksawardedforeach
piece(eitherholisticallyawardedacrossaparticular‘portfolio’orwitheach
piecemarkedindividuallyandthen‘averaged’.Youneedtolookcarefullyat
eachboardandtheiroffer–forexample,oneboard(OCR),hastheflexibilityfor
youtodistributethepiecesintotwodifferentcomponentsiftherearemultiple
piecesofferedinordertogivethebestadvantagetostudents.
Aremarksadjustedforperformersatdifferentabilitylevels?
Thisisacriticaldistinctionbetweentheoffers,sothinkcarefullyaboutthe
musicalprofileofyourstudentsinordertodecidewhichworksbest.Each
awardingorganisationhasadifferentmechanismforthis.EdexcelandEduqas
awardarawscorebasedoncriteria;thisisadaptedifeasierormorechallenging
than‘standard’.However,incomparinggradedmusicexamstandards,Eduqas
considersGrade3as‘standard’,whereasforEdexcelthisisGrade4.
Youshouldalsobeawarethat,insomeoftheawardingorganisation’s
specifications,‘belowstandard’performancesmaybedisadvantagedbynot
havingallmarksavailablewithineachcriteria,andalsobeingscaleddown,
ratherthanoneortheother.
IsthereanyincentivetoperformatahigherlevelthanexpectedatGCSE?
No.Itisdefinitelyanadvantagetoperformatastandardthatsuitsaparticular
candidateandwheretheycanperformwell.AswiththecurrentGCSE,more
advancedstudentsmaywanttochooserepertoirethattheycanperformwell,
ratherthannecessarilyperformingmuchmorechallengingmusiclesswell.
Howmanyperformersisanensemble?
Twoormore(usuallyupto8).Eachawardingorganisationstatestheir
conditionsaboutwhocanbeassessedifonlytwopeople(e.g.soloistand
accompanist)dependingupontheirroleintheensemble.
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Doweneedtohavetimetabledperformanceexaminations?
No.Theperformancesmustberecordedduringtheacademicyearinwhichthe
examinationistaken.Theperformancescantakeplaceanywheresolongasthey
areverifiedbytheteacherasthecandidate’sownwork.Youcouldconsider
workingwithotherteacherssothatyouallsignthevalidationpaperandgive
studentsthebestchancesofdoingtheirperformancesattimesandinsituations
whenandwherepupilsaremostcomfortable.
Docandidateshavetoperformalloftheir4‐minuteportfolioinonetake
andatonetime?
No,althoughthereareslightdifferencesbetweentherequirementsofdifferent
awardingorganisations.Edexcelstatethat“ifperformingmorethanonepieceof
musicaspartoftheirsoloand/orensembleperformances,thepiecesofmusicmust
beperformedandrecordedtogether.Ifstudentswishtore‐recordaperformance
beforesubmission,theymustre‐recordthewholeperformance(eithersoloor
ensemble),andnotjustpartofit.”Theotherawardingorganisationsappeartobe
moreflexible.
Whocanbepartofanensemble?
Anyone.Itdoesnothavetobeotherstudentsintheclasssothinkcarefully
abouthowyoucanpromotethebestoutcomes.Manystudentsperformoutside
oftheclassroomsohowcanyoucapturethis‘authentic’musicalbehaviour?
Howcanyouutiliseinstrumental/vocal/musictechteachers(andyou!)and
otheradultandpupilmusicianstobesteffect?
Whataboutstudentsusingmusictechnology?
Thisispossibleinallspecifications.Eachawardingorganisationhasdifferent
conditionsforthesoloandensembleperformancesabouttherelationship
betweenliveandrecordedtracksandwhatisassessed,socheckcarefully.
Therearesomefundamentaldifferencesbetweenthecurrentandnew
specifications.
Aretherevariationsinthewaymarksareawarded?
Yes.OCRuseholisticmarking,whereasthespecificationsfromalloftheother
awardingorganisationsawardmarksagainstaseriesofspecificcriteria.
Canstudentsperformtheircompositions?
Therulesvarybetweenawardingorganisationsbutthereisnoadvantageto
performingtheirowncompositionsandnoexpectationthattheywill.
Willweneedtosubmitscores?
Itdependsonthemusicperformed…itmaybemoreappropriatetosubmit
recordings,leadsheets,stimuliforimprovisationetc.Makesuretheexaminers
knowthatscoresareonlya‘guide’andthatstudentsmaybeinterpretingmusic
usingacombinationofscoresandrecordingsetc.Eachawardingorganisation
specifieswhatisrequiredandwhattheperformanceismarkedinrelationto
(e.g.thescoreorrecording).
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Currentlystudentsareallowedtorehearseanddirectfortheensemble
component.Willthiscontinuetobeencouraged?
Unfortunatelynot…itappearstohavebeenremovedasanoptionwithinthe
latestspecifications.
DoesthechoiceofrepertoireneedtolinktoanyAreasofStudy?
Thisvariesbetweentheawardingorganisations.OnlyEduqasaskstudentsto
makeexplicitlinksbetweentheirperformanceandanAreaofStudyinoneof
theirpieces.SinceoneAreaofStudyis‘musicforensemble’andthereisa
compulsoryensembleperformance,thisappearstobeveryeasytodo!
Areperformancesrecorded?
Yes.Aswiththecurrentqualifications,audiorecordingsarerequired.Video
mayalsobeacceptable–checkwiththeindividualspecifications,althoughthere
doesn’tseemtobeaspecificmentionofthisinanyofthespecifications.
Whomarkstheperformances?
Youdo!Asamplefromeachcentreisalsomoderated.Noneoftheawarding
organisationsareusingvisitingexaminersatGCSE(butthisvariesatASandA
level).
AnythingelseIshouldwatchoutfor?
Ifthetotalamountoftimeapupilisperformingislessthan4minutesthenzero
marksareawarded.Theawardingorganisationshaveslightlydifferent‘rules’
aboutwhentheclockstartsandstops,socheckthisoutcarefully.Aminimum
timehasbeenimposedbyOfqualwho,forsomereason,consider‘quantity’tobe
important.
Compositioncomponent
Whathaschanged?
Allstudentswillberequiredtocomposetwopieces.Foroneofthepieces,
studentshaveacompletelyfreechoiceandshouldbeencouragedtocompose
anythingtheywantto.Hopefullythiswillencouragemorecreativecompositions
andallowstudentstoexploretheirowninterests.Theotherpiecewillbein
responsetoabriefsetbyeachawardingorganisationinearlySeptemberatthe
beginningofthefinalyearofstudy.
Whyisthereaminimumtimedurationimposed?
Ofqualhavedecidedthattheminimumdurationofbothpiecescombinedis3
minutes.ForOfqual,the‘quantity’isnowanimportantfactor.
Whathappensifthecombinedlengthofthecompositionsislessthan3
minutes?
ForAQA,EdexcelandOCR,nomarkswillbeawardedatallifthisisthecase.
Eduqasdeductupto6marksonaslidingscale,dependingbyhowmuchtimethe
portfolioisshortof3minutesintotal.
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Aretheredifferencesinthetypesofstimuliprovidedbytheawarding
organisationsforthesecondcomposition?
Yes.Thisisanotherofthefundamentaldifferencesbetweenthespecifications
fromtheawardingorganisations.Youshouldcarefullyconsiderwhichtypeof
stimuliandbriefswillencourageyourstudentstoengageanddevelopas
composers.
Arethereanyrulesabouthowandwhenthecompositionsarecompleted?
Thisvariesbetweentheawardingorganisations.Forexample,Edexcelstate:
“studentsmustworkontheircompositionsundercontrolledconditionsforatleast
fivehours.Thismustincludethefinalwriteupoftheircompositions,andcan
includeanyresearchanddevelopmenttime”.ForEduqas,aportfolioofthe
processovertimemustbesubmitted.Thiscanbemostlyaudiobased.AQAdo
notstatespecificconditionsunderwhichtheworkmustbecompleted,although
theteachermustbeabletoauthenticatetheworkandaprogrammenote
(around150words)mustbesubmittedforeachcomposition.Theteachermust
authenticatetheprocessatvariouspointstovalidatethatitisthepupil’sown
work.So,whilstthereisnominimumormaximumamountoftimeavailable,you
shouldcheckoutanyspecificregulations.
Willarangeofbriefsbeprovided?
Eachawardingorganisationmustofferarangeofbriefsandaminimumoffour.
Therearesignificantvariationsinthetypesofbriefs;thereisalsovariationin
thenumberofbriefsprovided.
Aretherevariationsinthewaymarksareawarded?
Yes.OCRuseholisticmarking,whereasthespecificationsfromalloftheother
awardingorganisationssplitcriteriaintodifferentsectionsandawardmarksin
eachsections.
Are‘process’marksawarded?
No.
Aregroupcompositionsallowed?
Unfortunatelynot.Ofqualhavedecidedthatitisnotpossibletofairlyaward
marksforcollaborativework;onlyindividualcompositionsareaccepted.
Doscoresneedtobesubmitted?
Eitherascore,leadsheetorwrittenaccountneedstobesubmitted(AQAexpect
aprogrammenoteinadditiontothescore,leadsheetoraudioguide).The
requirementsvaryslightlybetweenthedifferentawardingorganisations.Itdoes
notappearthatanymarksareawardedspecificallyforthescore,leadsheetor
writtenaccountbuttheydocomeintospecificjudgementsabout,forexample,
whetherthecomposer’sintentionsareclear.
Dorecordingsneedtobesubmitted?
Yes.Audiorecordingsmustbesubmitted.However,therealisationofthemusic
isitselfnotawardedmarks.
Whorecordsthecompositions?
Youdo.Asampleisalsomoderated.
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Examinablecomponent
Whyisthisnow40%ofthemarksforeveryawardingorganisation?
ThisiswhatOfqualhavedecided–flexibilityaroundthewayinwhich
specificationscanallocateweightingbetweendifferentcomponentsisnolonger
allowed.
Whatistheexaminablecomponent?
Thefocusisslightlydifferentforeachspecificationbutitisa‘listening’
examinationwithsomeextendedwritingincluded.ItisbasedupontheAreasof
Studyforeachspecification.
Isanythingnewanddifferenttestedinthisfromthatwhichisinthe
currentGCSEMusiccourses?
Therearesomesubtlechanges,particularlytherequirementthattheremustbe
questionsaboutmusicwhichhavenotbeenstudiedassetworks,andtheneed
forextendedwritingtobeincluded.Theseaffectsomeofthespecificationsmore
thanothers.
WhyaretheAreasofStudysodiversebetweendifferentspecifications?
Awardingorganisationsneededtoincludeaminimumof25%WesternClassical
Music(althoughthisterminitselfisrathermisleading).Outsideofthis,they
wereabletochooseanddefinewhatconstitutedanAreaofStudy.Thisisakey
considerationforyouwhenchoosingwhichspecificationtofollow.
Aresetworkscompulsory?
No.Theawardingorganisationshadautonomyoverwhetherornotsetworks
wereincludedinanyorallofthechosenAreasofStudy.Acombinationof
modelshasemergedandthisisakeydifferencebetweenthedifferent
specifications,andsomethingyoushouldcarefullyconsiderinrelationtoyour
ownstudentsandsetting.
Arealltheexaminationsofequallength?
No.Thereisonlyoneexaminationforeachawardingbody,takeninthesummer
ofthefinalyearofthecourse;thesevaryinlengthfrom1hours15minutes
(Eduqas)to1hour45minutes(Edexcel).Thismaybeanimportant
considerationforyouwhendecidingwhichawardingorganisationwillbebest
suitedtoyourstudents.
Isthereanychoicewithinthelisteningpaper?
TheonlychoiceofwhichquestiontoanswerappearstobeintheAQA
specification,inwhichstudentscanchooseonequestionfromachoiceofthree
inthefinalsectionofthepaper,baseduponthesetworkstheyhavestudied.
Doestheextendedwritingtaskvary?
Yes.Thevariationisinwhatstudentsareaskedtodoandhowmanymarksitis
worth.Theskillsaskedalsovary;willyourstudentsbebetterabletowrite
extendedresponsesaboutmusictheyarelisteningtointheexam,orthatthey
have‘knowledgeof’fromstudyingtheseassetworks?
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AQA
Thesecondpartofthepaper(30minutes)includesfoursetsof
linkedquestionsonthestudypiecesofwhichcandidatesmust
answertwo.Oneiscompulsory(thequestionlinkedtoAreaof
Study1)andtheotherisbasedonanAreaofStudyofthe
candidate’schoice.
Notethisthisappearsnottobealisteningexercisebutbased
uponacandidate’sknowledgeofthesetworksandtheir
abilitytodiscussspecificfeaturesofit.
Edexcel
Specificationstatesthat12marksoutof80(15%).Thiswillbe
onequestionthataskscandidatestocompareand/orevaluate
themusicalelementsandmusicallanguageofonesetwork
withoneunfamiliarpieceofmusic
OCR
Specimenexaminationpaper(whichOCRstateisa‘blueprint’)
includestwolongeranswerquestions–9marksoutof80for
onequestionand6marksoutof80foranother(totalling
18.75%)
WJECEduqas Onequestionof10marksoutof96(10.42%)onsamplepaper
–notsureifthisisthe‘blueprint’.
HowoftenwillsetworksandAreasofStudychange?
ThisisnotspecifiedatGCSE,althoughitisaconsiderationatASandAlevel.
Thereforetheassumptionisthatthesameareasofstudyandsetworkswillbein
placeuntilfurthernotice.
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