Are music grades 'equivalent' to gcse's?

my guitar teacher told me that grade 4 and 5 on an instrument is equivelant to an a*-c gcse? Is this true, i've also heard that a distinction at grade 5 is equivalant to an a*, do any musicians or anyone in fact know the direct equivalance of a pass, merit or distinction at grade 4 or 5 to an a*-c gcse?

Reply 1

lil groovy dude

14

I thought they're equivalent to UCAS points.

Reply 2

afua12

15

I also heard that a grade 5 was an equivalent to a GCSE - I don't know the exact grades etc. though... have a look on the UCAS website - I think it gives an equivalent there...

Reply 3

Morgan141

2

It might have changed this year but in the past grade 6-8 are worth a certain amount of UCAS points depending on whether you got a pass, merit or distinction. They ranged from about 30 to 70, which is around what an AS level is worth. Grades 1-5 weren't worth anything.

edit: It's not changed apparently

Reply 4

Firebird

6

They can't be directly and formally equivalent - grade 4 & 5 pieces would be considered "more difficult" pieces by exam boards marking your performance though (and a grade 5 piece played to distinction level would easily get you an A*). This is for performance only, however.

A much better guide would be grade 5 practical and theory together, which would (in most places) enable you to start studying A level music if you hadn't done GCSE. However, the standard you need to ultimately reach at A-level for high grades is obviously higher than G5, and having Grade 5 theory & practical doesn't mean you have all the knowledge you gain in GCSE - e.g. I found I had all the knowledge I needed for performance & the parts of the listening paper where Western classical theory was needed, but that doesn't mean I knew anything about, say, Indian classical or Britpop.

So basically, Grade 5 dist. could easily be seen as equal to or better than A* GCSE performance and Grade 5 theory & practical could be seen as vaguely equivalent to GCSE but there's no formal equivalents. If you have Grade 5 practical and decent musical knowledge though, you're probably more than capable of an A* anyway though.

Hope that helps, it made my head hurt!

Reply 5

andymt

11

colemanator

my guitar teacher told me that grade 4 and 5 on an instrument is equivelant to an a*-c gcse? Is this true, i've also heard that a distinction at grade 5 is equivalant to an a*, do any musicians or anyone in fact know the direct equivalance of a pass, merit or distinction at grade 4 or 5 to an a*-c gcse?

do you want to know if grade 4-5 performing is equivilent to gcse music standard? if so see the post above.

in ucas points, there is a conversion table, and i think grade 5 distinction is equivilent to a c at gcse. i wouldnt bother too much with it, its not worth anything really.
grade 8 distinction is equivilent to a c at a level. stupid really as its way harder to get that than it is to get a c at a level.
dont bother with these conversions, waste of time mate.

Reply 6

luke512

I got an A* in my performance work an i played grade 5 violin.

Reply 7

Ashes_to_Ashes

2

They can give you UCAS points

Grade 6: 25-45
Grade 7:45-60
Grade 8: 60- 75

I think... the range is bcoz u get different marks for different results (pass, merit, distinction)

gud luk with the music :biggrin:

Reply 8

Zygroth

14

andymt

din ucas points, there is a conversion table, and i think grade 5 distinction is equivilent to a c at gcse.

In that they're both worth 0 pts? :p:

You get Ucas points for theory as well as the practical ones, from grade 6 onwards.

Reply 9

Cool.Zero

I don't think ABRSM music theory/instrument grades are comparable... everything in the music exams are theoretical/practical whereas music GCSE is very analytical, and the theory and notation in GCSE music is SO EASY (like grade 3 music theory).

UCAS only recognise grades 6-8... and you get points according to the pass you got (pass, merit or disctinction).

I got a distinction in grade 6 and grade 8 piano, and have passed the performance level 1 course...

For some odd reason, theory grades don't count anywhere near as many points as their equivilent instrumental counterparts.

Reply 10

Claren72

My son is 11 and has just passed his grade 4 violin exam :-)

Reply 11

owenj68

2

Grade 5 is GCSE equivalent I believe, and grade 8 A level equivalent

Original post by colemanator

my guitar teacher told me that grade 4 and 5 on an instrument is equivelant to an a*-c gcse? Is this true, i've also heard that a distinction at grade 5 is equivalant to an a*, do any musicians or anyone in fact know the direct equivalance of a pass, merit or distinction at grade 4 or 5 to an a*-c gcse?

Are music grades 'equivalent' to gcse's?

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