Solway Community Technology College
Head of Department: Mr M Deakin
Subject information:
Performing
Up to 40% of the final mark is for musical performance. Pupils need to make
and record two performances - 1 solo and 1 group. You can have some say in what
you perform and we can record the pieces as many times as you like to get the best
performance. Opportunities for guitar and drums are built on in lessons.
Listening and Appraising
The final exam, worth 20 % of the final mark, is much as we do in lessons - listening
to the music and responding to the questions. The focuses for this include rhythm, harmony
and chords, texture, volume and form through topics on World Music, the Western Classical
tradition and Pop Music from the 1960s onwards.
Composing
These are controlled conditions assessments, both worth 20% of the final marks and you
have between 20 and 25 hours to complete each one. You need to compose two pieces of music
which feature one of the key areas which include 'Music from other Countries', 'Classical tradition'
and 'Pop music from the 60's onwards'. Composing programs are available in school to create your
masterpieces.
KS3 information:
Emphasis is placed on practical music making and composing. Opportunities
for playing and composing for a range of instruments is encouraged from Drums,
Keyboards and Guitars. Topics covered relate to the schools 'Opening Minds'
curriculum in Year 7 and 8, so Media, Music from other Cultures, Arranging and
Blues are just some of the areas covered.
Year 9 sees an emphasis on more popular music including different eras of pop and Dance.
Assessment how?
The pupils are assessed on all three areas. Performing, Composing and Appraising
are completed under controlled conditions and Listening is completed as a final exam.
Exam Info:
Exam Title:
Music
Exam Type:
GCSE
Exam Board:
AQA