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🧬 GCSE Music

AQA Pearson Edexcel OCR Eduqas CCEA

Complete revision notes for GCSE Music covering all topics across AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, CCEA specifications.

Music — AQA (28 Topics)

MU1 Melody MU10 Musical Theatre Broadway 1950s 1990s MU11 Rock Music Of The 1960s And 1970s MU12 Film And Computer Gaming Music 1990s Present MU13 Aos2 Study Piece Queen MU14 Blues Music 1920 1950 MU15 African And Caribbean Fusion Music MU16 Contemporary Latin Music MU17 Aos3 Study Piece Esperanza Spalding MU18 Copland And British Orchestral Music MU19 Kodály And Bartók MU2 Harmony And Tonality MU20 Minimalist Music MU21 Aos4 Study Piece Bartók Hungarian Pictures MU22 Solo Performance MU23 Ensemble Performance MU24 Performance Preparation And Assessment MU25 Melody Writing MU26 Chords And Accompaniment Writing MU27 Composition Techniques And Development MU28 Free Composition And Composing To A Brief MU3 Structure And Form MU4 Rhythm Metre And Tempo MU5 Dynamics Texture And Sonority MU6 Baroque Music 1650 1750 MU7 Classical Music 1750 1820 MU8 Romantic Music 1815 1910 MU9 Aos1 Study Piece Beethoven Symphony No. 1

Music — Pearson Edexcel (28 Topics)

MU1 Melody MU10 Musical Theatre Broadway 1950s 1990s MU11 Rock Music Of The 1960s And 1970s MU12 Film And Computer Gaming Music 1990s Present MU13 Aos2 Study Piece Queen MU14 Blues Music 1920 1950 MU15 African And Caribbean Fusion Music MU16 Contemporary Latin Music MU17 Aos3 Study Piece Esperanza Spalding MU18 Copland And British Orchestral Music MU19 Kodály And Bartók MU2 Harmony And Tonality MU20 Minimalist Music MU21 Aos4 Study Piece Bartók Hungarian Pictures MU22 Solo Performance MU23 Ensemble Performance MU24 Performance Preparation And Assessment MU25 Melody Writing MU26 Chords And Accompaniment Writing MU27 Composition Techniques And Development MU28 Free Composition And Composing To A Brief MU3 Structure And Form MU4 Rhythm Metre And Tempo MU5 Dynamics Texture And Sonority MU6 Baroque Music 1650 1750 MU7 Classical Music 1750 1820 MU8 Romantic Music 1815 1910 MU9 Aos1 Study Piece Beethoven Symphony No. 1

Music — OCR (28 Topics)

MU1 Melody MU10 Musical Theatre Broadway 1950s 1990s MU11 Rock Music Of The 1960s And 1970s MU12 Film And Computer Gaming Music 1990s Present MU13 Aos2 Study Piece Queen MU14 Blues Music 1920 1950 MU15 African And Caribbean Fusion Music MU16 Contemporary Latin Music MU17 Aos3 Study Piece Esperanza Spalding MU18 Copland And British Orchestral Music MU19 Kodály And Bartók MU2 Harmony And Tonality MU20 Minimalist Music MU21 Aos4 Study Piece Bartók Hungarian Pictures MU22 Solo Performance MU23 Ensemble Performance MU24 Performance Preparation And Assessment MU25 Melody Writing MU26 Chords And Accompaniment Writing MU27 Composition Techniques And Development MU28 Free Composition And Composing To A Brief MU3 Structure And Form MU4 Rhythm Metre And Tempo MU5 Dynamics Texture And Sonority MU6 Baroque Music 1650 1750 MU7 Classical Music 1750 1820 MU8 Romantic Music 1815 1910 MU9 Aos1 Study Piece Beethoven Symphony No. 1

Music — Eduqas (28 Topics)

MU1 Melody MU10 Musical Theatre Broadway 1950s 1990s MU11 Rock Music Of The 1960s And 1970s MU12 Film And Computer Gaming Music 1990s Present MU13 Aos2 Study Piece Queen MU14 Blues Music 1920 1950 MU15 African And Caribbean Fusion Music MU16 Contemporary Latin Music MU17 Aos3 Study Piece Esperanza Spalding MU18 Copland And British Orchestral Music MU19 Kodály And Bartók MU2 Harmony And Tonality MU20 Minimalist Music MU21 Aos4 Study Piece Bartók Hungarian Pictures MU22 Solo Performance MU23 Ensemble Performance MU24 Performance Preparation And Assessment MU25 Melody Writing MU26 Chords And Accompaniment Writing MU27 Composition Techniques And Development MU28 Free Composition And Composing To A Brief MU3 Structure And Form MU4 Rhythm Metre And Tempo MU5 Dynamics Texture And Sonority MU6 Baroque Music 1650 1750 MU7 Classical Music 1750 1820 MU8 Romantic Music 1815 1910 MU9 Aos1 Study Piece Beethoven Symphony No. 1

Music — CCEA (28 Topics)

MU1 Melody MU10 Musical Theatre Broadway 1950s 1990s MU11 Rock Music Of The 1960s And 1970s MU12 Film And Computer Gaming Music 1990s Present MU13 Aos2 Study Piece Queen MU14 Blues Music 1920 1950 MU15 African And Caribbean Fusion Music MU16 Contemporary Latin Music MU17 Aos3 Study Piece Esperanza Spalding MU18 Copland And British Orchestral Music MU19 Kodály And Bartók MU2 Harmony And Tonality MU20 Minimalist Music MU21 Aos4 Study Piece Bartók Hungarian Pictures MU22 Solo Performance MU23 Ensemble Performance MU24 Performance Preparation And Assessment MU25 Melody Writing MU26 Chords And Accompaniment Writing MU27 Composition Techniques And Development MU28 Free Composition And Composing To A Brief MU3 Structure And Form MU4 Rhythm Metre And Tempo MU5 Dynamics Texture And Sonority MU6 Baroque Music 1650 1750 MU7 Classical Music 1750 1820 MU8 Romantic Music 1815 1910 MU9 Aos1 Study Piece Beethoven Symphony No. 1

🧭 Board Differences

AQA

Unitised assessment (Northern Ireland) with performing, composing and listening/appreciating units. Check your unit list and the set pieces for your exam year.

Pearson Edexcel

Unitised assessment (Northern Ireland) with performing, composing and listening/appreciating units. Check your unit list and the set pieces for your exam year.

OCR

Unitised assessment (Northern Ireland) with performing, composing and listening/appreciating units. Check your unit list and the set pieces for your exam year.

Eduqas

Unitised assessment (Northern Ireland) with performing, composing and listening/appreciating units. Check your unit list and the set pieces for your exam year.

CCEA

Unitised assessment (Northern Ireland) with performing, composing and listening/appreciating units. Check your unit list and the set pieces for your exam year.

🧭 Board Differences

AQA

Unitised assessment (Northern Ireland) with performing, composing and listening/appreciating units. Check your unit list and the set pieces for your exam year.

Pearson Edexcel

Unitised assessment (Northern Ireland) with performing, composing and listening/appreciating units. Check your unit list and the set pieces for your exam year.

OCR

Unitised assessment (Northern Ireland) with performing, composing and listening/appreciating units. Check your unit list and the set pieces for your exam year.

Eduqas

Unitised assessment (Northern Ireland) with performing, composing and listening/appreciating units. Check your unit list and the set pieces for your exam year.

CCEA

Unitised assessment (Northern Ireland) with performing, composing and listening/appreciating units. Check your unit list and the set pieces for your exam year.

🎯 Coursework & NEA Guide

How it is assessed (AQA 8271; other boards similar — check): performance ~30% (solo + ensemble recordings, roughly 4½+ minutes combined), composition ~30% (one free composition plus one to a set brief), listening/appraising exam ~40% on the set works and unfamiliar music.

Your NEA frame:

  • Performance: record EARLY and monthly — choose your strongest take, not your latest; ensemble pieces need evidence of the other players; keep programmes/notated parts with each recording
  • Free composition: keep a composition log — stimulus, planned structure, harmonic devices, revisions with dates; the log is your evidence of intentional craft
  • Brief composition: tick the brief's requirements literally (duration, forces, genre cues) — marks are lost on ignored stipulations
  • Listening: annotate your set-work scores; drill dictation weekly (the skill most candidates leave too late)

Top pitfalls: leaving recordings to May (microphones and halls get busy); compositions with no development log; ignoring the brief's technical requirements.