should i take music gcse?

I do music, computer science and enterprise(not too sure if its similar to business) - as well as additional maths(+Cambridge international maths) double sciences, etc. I would say that music is a good subject if you are somewhat above grade 5 level because if you perform well enough(it doesn't have to be great), you will get full marks due to the difficulty of the piece. If you are good at composition, or have someone who can help you, it will make it easier. I'm horrible at composing but my teacher helps me improve. The listening is challenging at first because you have to know 8 pieces REALLY well. But, you will get the hang of it because you listen to the pieces so many times and also the questions are pretty standard - though sometimes its shockingly difficult as per the past papers, but then the boundaries will also be low(also you don't really need to know perfect music theory but the tests do have cadences/intervals/some vocab.. but it should be taught in school as well). Honestly music is fun... I'd just say that if you don't like computer science, don't choose it. The new syllabus is way harder than the previous one and honestly it gets boring sometimes(theory mostly). I prefer music over enterprise, but it is just a personal opinion - I'm not a big fan and sometimes dread going to class.
I have too much to say.. sorry!!

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 4

Amonraley2

I do Spanish and music for gcse and love them both. I was also about grade seven when I started and have found the performance aspect really easy. There’s only the one paper for music which takes a lot of pressure off and to be honest it isn’t really that tricky if you’ve been playing g music for a while- it’ll come quite natural. The composition component can take up quite a bit of time if you want a really good mark for it so just something to keep in mind if you struggle with that. I finished both of mine before Christmas so if you do choose music definitely crack on with the compositions as quickly as possible.

However I do know some people who’ve picked business who’ve said it’s all common sense with a bit of maths. But they find the presentations they do in class horrible.

Either way both great options!

Reply 5

iViewer

yes I am taking GCSE music edexcel and it is definitely interesting. there is not much theoretical revision to do so you would instead spend most of your revision time working on your composition after school. compared to other subjects, only twelve people took music in my school so lessons were much freer than other subjects. I'd recommend you be at least grade 5 on any instrument or be good as singing (I play the piano, you will have to perform for the GCSE regardless of exam board I think). hope this helps!

Reply 6

hellosaturday

Original post by lucypham

I'm in year nine and choosing my options next month. I want to do computer science, spanish, further maths, and either music or business. Along with english lang, english lit, maths and science (triple). I currently have no music actual music grades, but I have been practicing grade 7 songs with my guitar teacher. My music teacher think I should take music. I know how to read music and a bit of music theory. But, I have heard that business is easy and I want to get a grade 7+. I dont want to do either of these for a-level but i have to choose something.

This was very long but i would apreciate any reply

Hey I'm in year 11 and predicted a 9 in both music and business! I was really uncertain about choosing music as a GCSE but I enjoy it so much and am definitely glad I chose it, however to be honest with you, music GCSE will be difficult if you're not entirely familiar with an instrument. At my school, it is recommended that students who would like to take music GCSE has at least a grade 5, and most people have even done the ABRSM music theory test. Even though studying may get you full marks on the listening exam, your non-examined compositions will be quite difficult to do if you have not played an instrument for a long time or are not 'already just gifted' at it. However if you feel like you would ace compositions and have maybe even already tried making a few at home, then definitely go for it. You also need to do a solo performance and an ensemble performance so keep that in mind. On the other hand, you're right, I found business to be quite easy and mostly common sense. Especially if you're already aiming for grade 7+ I'm sure you'll find business a breeze, in fact most people at my school didn't even revise for it in the mock and still got 8s and 9s. But..... I would say do what you feel like you would enjoy! I chose art knowing I didn't like it for example, because I thought it would be easy and the teachers told me I would be great, but now I'm not getting the grade I had hoped for and kinda wish I had never picked it haha

Reply 7

pennymayyy

Original post by lucypham

I'm in year nine and choosing my options next month. I want to do computer science, spanish, further maths, and either music or business. Along with english lang, english lit, maths and science (triple). I currently have no music actual music grades, but I have been practicing grade 7 songs with my guitar teacher. My music teacher think I should take music. I know how to read music and a bit of music theory. But, I have heard that business is easy and I want to get a grade 7+. I dont want to do either of these for a-level but i have to choose something.

This was very long but i would apreciate any reply

see everybody has said very positive things about music gcse, however I take it and its probably one of my worst decisions ever and a lot of my peers say the same. If you are GOOD at your instrument and you're encouraged to continue playing then go for it. However if you think this gcse is gonna allow you to get better at guitar or help you with your learning, that's not true. learning about the curriculum is like learning another language and learning the history behind the language at the same time. and the questions you get asked in the exam are based mainly off listening, so if you have a bad attention span then maybe again its not the right way to go. the compositions are stressful, having to create two songs frong scratch and worry about a doing two performances ANDDD remembering your set pieces and all that knowledge ANDDDDD all of the elements and history of music. it just gets a bit overwhelming to add that onto revising all the other subjects too.

in my opinion, if you wanna take a career into music, or if you are already a really good guitar player AND ENJOY IT then I think its a brilliant idea. but if you think you kinda like guitar and you're okay at playing and you wanna be an astrophysicist them I wouldn't recommend it.
i wanna be a surgeon and I self taught myself guitar and just play it when I wanna, and now I genuinely hate guitar and the entire music course in general.

so overall, go for it if you're passionate, if you're not, id say do something else.
please don't let this discourage you, I just thought I've give my opinion as everyone else has positive views on it, sometimes its good to see the other *****ier side to stuff.

sorry this is so long too I'm a massive yapper

if you have any questions ask me!! been doing music gcse for 3 years and I've just finished my compositions and my performance exams.

Reply 8

murphybridget

Original post by pennymayyy

see everybody has said very positive things about music gcse, however I take it and its probably one of my worst decisions ever and a lot of my peers say the same. If you are GOOD at your instrument and you're encouraged to continue playing then go for it. However if you think this gcse is gonna allow you to get better at guitar or help you with your learning, that's not true. learning about the curriculum is like learning another language and learning the history behind the language at the same time. and the questions you get asked in the exam are based mainly off listening, so if you have a bad attention span then maybe again its not the right way to go. the compositions are stressful, having to create two songs frong scratch and worry about a doing two performances ANDDD remembering your set pieces and all that knowledge ANDDDDD all of the elements and history of music. it just gets a bit overwhelming to add that onto revising all the other subjects too.
in my opinion, if you wanna take a career into music, or if you are already a really good guitar player AND ENJOY IT then I think its a brilliant idea. but if you think you kinda like guitar and you're okay at playing and you wanna be an astrophysicist them I wouldn't recommend it.
i wanna be a surgeon and I self taught myself guitar and just play it when I wanna, and now I genuinely hate guitar and the entire music course in general.
so overall, go for it if you're passionate, if you're not, id say do something else.
please don't let this discourage you, I just thought I've give my opinion as everyone else has positive views on it, sometimes its good to see the other *****ier side to stuff.
sorry this is so long too I'm a massive yapper
if you have any questions ask me!! been doing music gcse for 3 years and I've just finished my compositions and my performance exams.

It sounds like you've had quite the journey with guitar and music. It's understandable that if it's not something you truly enjoy anymore, it might not be the best path to pursue professionally, especially if your passion lies elsewhere, like in becoming a surgeon. It's great that you've been able to explore different interests and find what truly resonates with you. Pursuing your passion in surgery sounds like a rewarding path for you!

Reply 9

yurigagarin

I take the exact same options (including Triple Science), and Music is definitely worth it if you're prepared to put the effort into practicing guitar regularly to get top marks! Theory is pretty easy and it's easy to memorise in my opinion, and only consists of 1 written paper (compared to Business, with 2 papers), while the rest is just being assessed on performance and composition! Good luck on your options :biggrin:

Reply 10

chocolemon08

Original post by lucypham

I'm in year nine and choosing my options next month. I want to do computer science, spanish, further maths, and either music or business. Along with english lang, english lit, maths and science (triple). I currently have no music actual music grades, but I have been practicing grade 7 songs with my guitar teacher. My music teacher think I should take music. I know how to read music and a bit of music theory. But, I have heard that business is easy and I want to get a grade 7+. I dont want to do either of these for a-level but i have to choose something.
This was very long but i would apreciate any reply

as someone who's relatively good at their instrument and has done the theory exam - music is honestly significantly more harder. from someone's perspective who has little to no theory knowledge l - it'd be imo, impossible to get a 7+ grade unless u r willing to put in the effort. i mean, the composition aspect (where u have to create ur own music) is hard enough, time-consuming and difficult in general. that already requires a lot of effort and i'm too lazy + got other subjects to worry abt to focus on. imo, composition was fun in the fact that i could work on it whenever i wanted to procrastinate (which was a lot of the time lol). not only u have to learn theory, u have to learn 2+ (depending on ur exam board) setworks in-depth, and also musical terminology abt baroque/classical/romantic, film, pop so if u aren't willing to learn allat then it doesn't rlly matter cuz u can still clutch a good grade but just know what ur getting into.

business however, is significantly easier. all the dumber ppl choose it into thinking theyre gonna become multi-millionaires just cuz they chose business so grade boundaries b lower lol. business just requires a few brain cells and learning the terminology so it's an easier gcse and a 7 is very very attainable. some may say it's boring but it's lowkey interesting for more to see how businesses earn money and shi. might not be ur thing though.

sooo overall. business > music easier to get higher grades.
music = business since although i disagree, business is objectively boring. music's fun if yk what ur doing but the exam appraising part is boring asf
business > music in the fact that u can put minimal effort into business and still get a high grade

Reply 11

murphybridget

It's fantastic to hear from someone who has taken similar options and found music to be a rewarding choice!

Your insight into the structure of the music GCSE, with its focus on performance and composition alongside theory, provides valuable information for someone considering the subject. It's great to know that theory can be manageable with regular practice and that the assessment includes practical elements like performance and composition.

Reply 12

xAspect

10

I take music GCSE, sitting my exam this summer. Absolutely kicking myself that I didn't take business instead of music. Business is a very easy subject; pretty much everyone in my school gets 8-9 in it. Music, on the other hand, our class average for a listening paper is UNDER 40/80!!! (At a grammar school too!!!) Just because you can play your instrument well, DOES NOT mean that you will do well in the GCSE!! I went in thinking it was a free grade 9... oh how wrong I was. 3 compositions and 2 performances later, I'm desperately hoping for a 7 in the GCSE, but most likely going to get a 6. Honestly my most stressful GCSE by far. Not even to mention the stress I went through for the coursework. On top of creating 3 of my own songs to an unreasonably tight deadline (which is EXTREMELY difficult as a piano player with no theory knowledge), I had to learn a whole DUET along with putting hours and hours of work into my ABRSM pieces to make sure they were perfect. As if that wasn't enough, I had to go and learn grade 5 ABRSM theory to even have a chance of getting a quarter of the marks. AND, on top of ALL OF THAT, we have to memorise every single aspect of 8 PIECES!!!!

My advice: AVOID MUSIC LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!

Reply 13

username6778467

0

13

Original post by lucypham

I'm in year nine and choosing my options next month. I want to do computer science, spanish, further maths, and either music or business. Along with english lang, english lit, maths and science (triple). I currently have no music actual music grades, but I have been practicing grade 7 songs with my guitar teacher. My music teacher think I should take music. I know how to read music and a bit of music theory. But, I have heard that business is easy and I want to get a grade 7+. I dont want to do either of these for a-level but i have to choose something.
This was very long but i would apreciate any reply

dont do something bc its 'easy' do things you are interested in, can do and is on your career path. if you enjoy music, go for it

Reply 14

chocolemon08

Original post by xAspect

I take music GCSE, sitting my exam this summer. Absolutely kicking myself that I didn't take business instead of music. Business is a very easy subject; pretty much everyone in my school gets 8-9 in it. Music, on the other hand, our class average for a listening paper is UNDER 40/80!!! (At a grammar school too!!!) Just because you can play your instrument well, DOES NOT mean that you will do well in the GCSE!! I went in thinking it was a free grade 9... oh how wrong I was. 3 compositions and 2 performances later, I'm desperately hoping for a 7 in the GCSE, but most likely going to get a 6. Honestly my most stressful GCSE by far. Not even to mention the stress I went through for the coursework. On top of creating 3 of my own songs to an unreasonably tight deadline (which is EXTREMELY difficult as a piano player with no theory knowledge), I had to learn a whole DUET along with putting hours and hours of work into my ABRSM pieces to make sure they were perfect. As if that wasn't enough, I had to go and learn grade 5 ABRSM theory to even have a chance of getting a quarter of the marks. AND, on top of ALL OF THAT, we have to memorise every single aspect of 8 PIECES!!!!
My advice: AVOID MUSIC LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!

lol what exam board is this? 3 compositions and 8 set works? sounds like hell

Reply 15

xAspect

10

Original post by chocolemon08

lol what exam board is this? 3 compositions and 8 set works? sounds like hell

This is Edexcel. Our teacher made us do 3 instead of 2 compositions so we could "choose the better one". It would've just been better to just do two instead of making the deadlines ridiculously tight 😒. And our set works are: Purcell, Bach, Beethoven, Release, Wicked, Star Wars, Samba em Preludio, and Queen. TOO MUCH!!

Reply 16

chocolemon08

Original post by xAspect

This is Edexcel. Our teacher made us do 3 instead of 2 compositions so we could "choose the better one". It would've just been better to just do two instead of making the deadlines ridiculously tight 😒. And our set works are: Purcell, Bach, Beethoven, Release, Wicked, Star Wars, Samba em Preludio, and Queen. TOO MUCH!!

yeesh 3 compositions is actually so excessive id cry, on the other hand pre-learning 8 songs in detail doesn't seem that bad. rather do that than having to analyse random songs which they give us (eduqas)

Reply 17

bt8

Original post by lucypham

I'm in year nine and choosing my options next month. I want to do computer science, spanish, further maths, and either music or business. Along with english lang, english lit, maths and science (triple). I currently have no music actual music grades, but I have been practicing grade 7 songs with my guitar teacher. My music teacher think I should take music. I know how to read music and a bit of music theory. But, I have heard that business is easy and I want to get a grade 7+. I dont want to do either of these for a-level but i have to choose something.
This was very long but i would apreciate any reply

I am a current GCSE music student, I would say it's ultumatelt up to you. Music stressed me out A LOT. 60% is coursework, 30 for composition, 30 for performance. Performance aspect is easy for me but i rarely write songs so composition is hard but i ended up doing really well when i got my grades back. For Edexcel, you have to learn 8 set pieces, i think 7 of the 8 come up in the written exam along with an unfamiliar listening, a 12 marker comparing music and musical dictation. I have to admit, i do find it stressful to revise but revising mark schemes is the most effective way for me. You should do what you enjoy at the end of the day <3

Reply 18

murphybridget