GCSE Edexcel

Edexcel GCSE course summary and notes

This page was last edited on 02/03/06

Page of links to help with Areas of study

One of my Performance Management Targets was:-
To become familiar with the new Edexcel GCSE syllabus (including seeking out and attending courses) and to have prepared a unit of work on one of the new "Areas of Study" by September 2001.
This document represents my attempts to familiarize myself with the syllabus. I find the syllabus booklet somewhat repetitive but reasonably clear so I have tried to bring comments together in sections. At least the syllabus tells teachers what pupils have to know. Since the syllabus (at http://www.edexcel.org.uk/) itself is copyright I have used "my own words" whenever possible.

Part or component Requirements Mode of assessment Weighting

Paper one

Solo Performing
Performing during the course
BOTH to be offered!

Candidates will perform one solo piece
Candidates will perform/direct Composition 1 and another piece.
One of these pieces MUST be an ensemble.
THREE pieces in all.

15% Internally assessed & externally moderated
DITTO.
Teacher must be present for both.
30%

NOTES:

As part of Performing (Paper 1), candidates take part in a performance of Composition 1
All pupils must have the chance to perform solos and in a group.
Any instrument or voice is acceptable (including IT or Multi-tracking)
The solo and ONE Performing during the course piece is to be recorded, but details of both are needed.
The moderator will want scores.
Maximum 5 minutes per piece.
If offering sequencing there must be THREE simultaneously sounding voices/timbres.
Improvisation can be accepted under certain conditions.
There are 3 difficulty levels; Easier - Standard - More difficult.
ASSESSMENT: Solo performances are marked using a grid to arrive at a mark out of 25. A Difficulty Level is then selected and the 1st mark is then 'scaled'. A similar method is used for Performing during the course, but the two marks are added and divided by two to give a mark out of 25. There are then 2 totals which, when added, give a mark out of 50.

Paper two

Composition 1

Composition 2

One composition, written to a brief, based on one of the Areas of Study.
This MUST be performed as Performing during the course.
DITTO, but on a different Area of study. So, TWO to be submitted

15% Internally assessed & externally moderated
30%

NOTES:

Pupils are to be given 'Briefs' which should describe the stimulus for the composition. A brief should include some or all of - purpose, resources, effect, time and place.
The two pieces must last a minimum of three minutes in TOTAL
Each submission must comprise of a notated score or written commentary; a recording; and the pro forma 'Understanding the Brief' which appraises their composing and performing activities in relation to the brief and the Area of Study
Two compositions, two arrangements or one of each may be submitted.
The syllabus contains sample briefs.
ASSESSMENT: Each composition is marked out of 30 using certain criteria. 20 marks are allocated to Core criteria and a further 10 to Optional criteria. Candidates need to select two of the latter appropriate to each of the pieces they have composed. Full details in the syllabus.

Paper three

Listening and appraising

Written paper 1 hour 30 minutes.
Candidates to answer questions on all four Areas of Study

40% Externally assessed
40%

NOTES:

Candidates are expected to respond to music from a variety of styles and traditions across all 4 Areas of Study.
Bullet point are OK if the question asks for 'paragraphs'
Peeters are preparing an Anthology and Rhinegold are bringing out a guide book.
There will be 10 minutes preparation time.
The syllabus gives the requirements for this paper as well as a list of vocabulary.

The Areas of Study

Pupils are expected, through performing, composing and appraising, to develop aural perception and musical knowledge and understanding of certain 'subsections' of each Area of Study.

Area of study 1

Repetition and contrast in Western Classical Music 1600-1899

Ground bass - look at continuously varying textures around the theme or ground; ways in which variety is introduced; musical characteristics such as prominent bass, changes of texture, melody, and harmony. Study the context in which the music was performed from the 17th onwards and the instrumental resources used.
Variations - Look at examples to find out how a simple theme is elaborated in various ways. Pupils should recognise and experiment with changes in harmony; rhythm; metre, tempo; texture and key. Listen to plenty of examples and establish, in pupils' minds, that Variation form has been around for a long time.
Ternary form - A study of pieces which fall into three clear sections; the middle section will differ from the outer sections. Again, pupils should explore this Area as deeply as possible and become familiar with examples. In their own compositions they could see how contrast can be introduced by using changes in mode, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, mood or texture.
Rondo - If Ternary form is ABA then Rondo is (for example ABACADA). Look at the way in which the elements of music have been used by composers to achieve contrast. Cover the use of Rondo form in symphonies and concertos.
______________________________________

Area of study 2
New directions in Western Classical Music; 1900 to the present day

Serialism - Examine the technique used by composers who have wanted to write music using a series of pitches heard only in a particular order. Consider the context in which the music was performed and the small groups on instruments which tended to play this kind of music.
Minimalism - Look at music in which the material undergoes gradual change. Issues include ostinati, interlocking repeated phrases and rhythms, phase shifting and so on. The origins of this music are American.
Experimental music (eg aleatoric music, performance art, the use of graphic notation) - A great deal of music uses non-standard notation (graphic scores) and pupils may have explored this at KS3. Pupils could construct an aleatoric piece. They might try (using musicians in the class) to extend the range of sounds available from instruments. (e.g. play cymbal with a violin bow, or play behind the bridge of a stringed instrument).
Electronic music - the ability composers now have to manipulate sound electronically is often taken for granted. However, pupils should be award of the milestones in the development of electronic music; the invention of tape, the coming of the synthesiser. Equipment such as sequencers and processes such as sampling and looping need to be covered.

______________________________________

Area of study 3
Popular song in context

12 bar blues - Pupils need to know chords I, IV and V, and to understand three line verses. They should be able to work with and/or recognise riffs; swing rhythm; blue notes; syncopation and the blues scale. They ought to be able to recognise improvisation and to have done some themselves. The context of the 12 bar blues needs to be covered (its origins in African and European music) and pupils should appreciate the influence of the style on the development of rock and pop music. Don't forget to examine the lyrics and the message carried by them.
Reggae - rhythmic structure noting the missing beats; riffs; syncopation; pentatonic and diatonic scales; texture; instruments; Jamaican roots; Rastafarianism.
Club dance remix - Topics to be covered include structure; origins in 1980s rave and dance culture, drum and bass and garage music. Pupils should appreciate that as music technology became better and better this led to the rise of dance music. Be aware of samplers; drum machines; loops.
Songs from musicals - Pupils need to hear examples of musicals from the West End (up to an including the present day) or Broadway (from 1920). Tell them about the importance of lyrics and point out the verse and chorus structure; middle eight, diatonic harmony; elements of jazz; and symmetrical eight bar phrases.
______________________________________

Area of study 4
Rhythms, scales and modes in music from around the world
I was unable (=too lazy) to sum up these topics more successfully than the syllabus itself.
Not wishing to infringe copyright I have left 3 of them blank.

Gamelan music - Indonesian beliefs and traditions concerning the Gamelan; layering; special scales; uses of gamelan music; oral tradition; notation (when and when not used)
Indian raga
African drumming
Music which draws together at least two different cultures

TOP

Part or component	Requirements	Mode of assessment	Weighting
Paper one
Solo Performing Performing during the course BOTH to be offered!	Candidates will perform one solo piece Candidates will perform/direct Composition 1 and another piece. One of these pieces MUST be an ensemble. THREE pieces in all.	15% Internally assessed & externally moderated DITTO. Teacher must be present for both.	30%
NOTES: As part of Performing (Paper 1), candidates take part in a performance of Composition 1 All pupils must have the chance to perform solos and in a group. Any instrument or voice is acceptable (including IT or Multi-tracking) The solo and ONE Performing during the course piece is to be recorded, but details of both are needed. The moderator will want scores. Maximum 5 minutes per piece. If offering sequencing there must be THREE simultaneously sounding voices/timbres. Improvisation can be accepted under certain conditions. There are 3 difficulty levels; Easier - Standard - More difficult. ASSESSMENT: Solo performances are marked using a grid to arrive at a mark out of 25. A Difficulty Level is then selected and the 1st mark is then 'scaled'. A similar method is used for Performing during the course, but the two marks are added and divided by two to give a mark out of 25. There are then 2 totals which, when added, give a mark out of 50.
Paper two
Composition 1 Composition 2	One composition, written to a brief, based on one of the Areas of Study. This MUST be performed as Performing during the course. DITTO, but on a different Area of study. So, TWO to be submitted	15% Internally assessed & externally moderated	30%
NOTES: Pupils are to be given 'Briefs' which should describe the stimulus for the composition. A brief should include some or all of - purpose, resources, effect, time and place. The two pieces must last a minimum of three minutes in TOTAL Each submission must comprise of a notated score or written commentary; a recording; and the pro forma 'Understanding the Brief' which appraises their composing and performing activities in relation to the brief and the Area of Study Two compositions, two arrangements or one of each may be submitted. The syllabus contains sample briefs. ASSESSMENT: Each composition is marked out of 30 using certain criteria. 20 marks are allocated to Core criteria and a further 10 to Optional criteria. Candidates need to select two of the latter appropriate to each of the pieces they have composed. Full details in the syllabus.
Paper three
Listening and appraising	Written paper 1 hour 30 minutes. Candidates to answer questions on all four Areas of Study	40% Externally assessed	40%
NOTES: Candidates are expected to respond to music from a variety of styles and traditions across all 4 Areas of Study. Bullet point are OK if the question asks for 'paragraphs' Peeters are preparing an Anthology and Rhinegold are bringing out a guide book. There will be 10 minutes preparation time. The syllabus gives the requirements for this paper as well as a list of vocabulary.