Music | ENFIELD GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Our music department is built on a strong and rich music pedigree of professional performers, composers and educators. We are incredibly proud of our past and our alumni but never rest on our laurels, providing innovative and modern facilities and practices to provide our students with the best education today for the musicians of tomorrow.

Key Stage 3

This section is under construction

Key Stage 4 - GCSE

Years 10 and 11

At Enfield Grammar School we follow the AQA Specification GCSE Music.

Is this the right subject for me? Yes, if you enjoy:

Composing and performing music
Learning an instrument or singing
Creating Music on your instrument, on a computer or in a recording studio
Learning about all types of music, including classical, popular and world music

In order to do well students must:

Attend regular instrumental / voice lessons – Performing places great physical strain on the body and students must train their bodies to cope with the rigours of performing in order to create successful performances. We have a highly committed and experienced roster of instrumental tutors who work very closely with the curriculum team, the parents and the students to support the coursework fully
Take part in ensembles – The department run over 20 ensembles a week and there is a clear link between success in music and engagement in musical ensembles. Taking part in groups makes preparing for your ensemble performance a lot easier
Choose an appropriate piece for performance – There are marks available for grades but a good, solid performance is what’s required. Always remember that an easier piece played well is always better than a difficult piece played badly
Listen to music – Sounds obvious right? But students must engage fully in listening lessons and complete all Homework tasks set (this will frequently involve learning facts about the set works in preparation for the exam).
– Listening to a wide range of music

– Attending live music performances

– Performing music as much music as possible from a wide range of repertoire will also help students to gain the musical understanding required for this area of the course.
Thorough revision as the exam approaches

The Structure of the GCSE is;

Unit 1: Performing – controlled assessment (30%)

Students must submit two performances

– One Solo Performance

– One Ensemble Performance

The recordings are made under controlled conditions i.e. with their teacher present and must be made within a time limit of 10 hours total recording time. In reality, students can do a number of recordings and we can select the best ones to submit.

Unit 2: Composing – controlled assessment (30%)

Students must create, record and make a score for 2 compositions. These are individual pieces of work and students may not compose in groups. However, many students will use other musicians both from the GCSE group and from the wider school community to perform on the final recordings of the work.

We encourage students to complete their composition work in the manner they feel most comfortable working within e.g. live recording, creating a composition using music technology or multi-track recording in our studio. Students have a total of 10 hours to complete each final recording and score, which are undertaken in controlled conditions.

In order to do well in Composing, students should listen to a wide variety of music in their own time. They should also spend some of their instrument / voice practise sessions improvising and trying-out their own ideas. It is very helpful if students have access to a keyboard at home when they are working on composition ideas so that they can experiment with harmony (chords).

Unit 3: Listening & Appraising – terminal exam (40%)

The final exam will consist of two sections;

Section A – 8 compulsory questions that require students to respond to extracts of music
Section B – 2 questions, of which students choose one to answer, it will require an extended, essay-type answer.

Both sections are based on 12 ‘set works’ – pieces of music that students will have studied during the course. The set works are drawn from 4 areas of study:

Western Classical Music
Music in the 20th Century
Popular Music in Context
World Music.

Students are given full revision notes for all 12 set works and these are also available below.

Further information: AQA GCSE Music (8271)

Key Stage 5 - 6th Form - Music Technology

Who is this course for?
This course is designed for students who have an interest in making music through technology and wish to develop their skills further.
The course has an emphasis on practical work and will allow you to cultivate a wide range of skills, including sequencing MIDI and audio, recording live instruments,
producing and composing using music technology.
Music Technology can lead to studying engineering or audio engineering at university but has a huge benefit to any university application as it shows creativity, attention to detail, the ability to work to a deadline, teamwork, and analytical skills.

How will I be assessed and what will I be studying?
Component 1: Recording (20%)
Students will learn how to use production tools and techniques to capture, edit, process and mix an audio recording.

One recording, chosen from a list of 10 songs provided by Pearson, consisting of a minimum of five compulsory instruments and two additional instruments.
Keyboard tracks may be sequenced
Total time must be between 3 minutes and 3½ minutes.
Logbook and authentication form must be supplied

Component 2: Technology-based composition (20%)
Students will create, edit, manipulate and structure sounds to produce a technology-based composition.

One technology-based composition chosen from three briefs set by Pearson
Synthesis and sampling/audio manipulation and creative effects use must be included
Total time must be 3 minutes
Logbook and authentication form must be supplied.

Component 3: Listening and analysing (25%)
This is a written exam that tests students’ knowledge and understanding of recording and production techniques through the listening of unfamiliar commercial recording.
The paper lasts 1 hour 30 mins.

Component 4: Producing and analysing (35%)
This component is a written/practical exam that tests students’ knowledge and understanding of editing, mixing and production techniques, to be applied to unfamiliar materials.
Each student will be provided with a set of audio/MIDI materials for the practical element of the exam.
The exam lasts 2 hours 15 minutes.

To find out more about our Music Department, please follow this link: www.enfieldgrammar.org/music-department