Remove and 5th Form CurriculumThe new Edexcel GCSE in Music has a clear structure and is designed to allow candidates to study music through the integration of performing, composing, listening and appraising with opportunities to use music technology. The Areas of Study cover a wide range of music: classical music, world music and popular music. The specification caters for a wide spectrum of musical abilities and requirements.
For Solo Performing, students play or sing one piece. For Performing during the Course, students play or sing two pieces, which must include one of their compositions and at least one ensemble performance. Any instrument or voice is acceptable for this paper (including music technology). Performances may take place at any time during the course.
In this paper students develop musical ideas in the form of compositions or arrangements. They compose two pieces lasting at least three minutes in total. Both pieces are composed according to a brief which may be set by the teacher or chosen by the candidate. The brief should be linked to one of the topics taken from an Area of Study.
In this paper students take an examination lasting 1 hour 30 minutes. They respond to questions on recorded extracts of music on CD. The questions are based on music in a variety of styles and traditions across all of the following four Areas of Study:
