gcse music essay questions

AQA GCSE MUSIC Past Papers

Edexcel gcse music past papers, ocr gcse music past papers, ccea gcse music past papers, wjec gcse music past papers.

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Practice Questions & Practice Papers

Practice Questions & Papers

Watch the video explaining how to navigate the practice papers and questions and why this form of revision is important

We have hundreds of individual practice questions and at least five practice papers. As each academic year passes with the current specification (OCR J536) another complete practice paper is added so the number of practice papers will grow.

Due to the number of questions and papers available it can be very confusing to navigate so please read the guidance below very carefully, here you will find, exam practice questions organised into these four categories:.

general knowledge questions

comparison questions

extended writing questions

notation/dictation questions

General knowledge questions

These are usually multiple choice, tick-a-box, circle your answer, one word (e.g. give one feature/name an instrument/name a composer or artist etc) or multiple point answers (e.g. give three features/name two instruments/compare the tempo of both etc). General knowledge questions make up the bulk of the listening paper and can be considered the easiest type of question in the paper.

You can find these questions AND practice tasks for general knowledge questions here

Extended writing questions.

Each exam will contain only one extended writing question. This is a question usually worth 8-9 marks which is approximately 10% of the entire exam. Students are asked to write an extended paragraph - one A4 page - describing an extract of music.

Sometimes the question is linked to a theme and students must link their descriptive writing to that theme. For example 'this extract describes the movement of hens and chickens'. With this particular example students' responses must relate to how the music successfully represents the movement of the hens and chickens . This is the ONLY question in the listening exam where the quality of students' responses are also assessed .

You can find these questions AND practice tasks for extended writing questions here

Comparison questions.

Each exam will only contain one comparison question. The comparison question is typically worth anywhere between 12-16 marks.

This type of question involves students listening to two extracts and answering questions in which they are comparing the two extracts, both similarities and differences. Sometimes the comparison question will contain a short extended writing style question, like you will have read about above. However, the extended writing portion will never be as substantial as the actual extended writing question itself and will be worth considerably less marks.

You can find these questions AND practice tasks for comparison questions here

Melodic dictation questions.

Each exam will only contain one notation/dictation question. This type of question is worth 12-16 marks, occasionally more.

The notation/dictation question involves students studying a printed score (notated extract of music using traditional staff notation) and answering questions related to the score. This question involves students filling in missing notes in one or two bars of music, which itself is a sub-question worth 6 to 8 marks. The other sub-questions are general knowledge questions.

You can find these questions AND practice tasks for notation dictation questions here

Complete practice papers organised into these four categories:, these are from the orange and black rhinegold ocr gcse music revision guides. linked here: http://www.rhinegoldeducation.co.uk/product/ocr-gcse-music-exam-pack/, cgp study guide, these are from the purple topic books that we use for almost all of our revision and study. linked here: https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/secondary-books/gcse/music/murs41-gcse-music-ocr-complete-revision-practi, ocr specimen, these are specimen (sample) papers from the exam board (ocr), ocr past papers, these are actual past papers from the exam board (ocr). these are the most accurate complete papers that there are and best represent the questions students will answer in their final exam.

Both the exam practice questions AND the practice papers are from the four sources above; Rhinegold, CGP, OCR specimen, OCR

Practice questions labelling system

There are only a handful of complete papers but there are hundreds of exam questions. The labelling system can be very confusing. Please follow this guidance very carefully to avoid confusion when searching THROUGH THE EXAM PRACTICE QUESTIONS .

Questions are first labelled according to their source e.g. ' Rhinegold '

They are then labelled according to one of the four Areas of Study e.g. ' Conventions of Pop ' (there are three more - Film Music, Rhythms of the World, The Concerto Through Time )

They are then labelled according to their category e.g. ' Comparison Question'

They are then labelled according to their ( paper number for Rhinegold only then) question number e.g. ' P2 Q7 ' which stands for paper 2, question 7 (Rhinegold)

The mark sheet is labelled as ' ANSWERS ' at the end

There are two file formats - pdf which is a document, and mp3 which is the audio file (music)

For example here is an actual practice question that you will come across that uses the file labelling system:

Rhinegold Practice Papers P3 Q6 Comparison Question.pdf Note that this is a pdf file

Rhinegold Practice Papers P3 Q6A Comparison Question.mp3 THIS IS EXTRACT A OF THE AUDIO FILE FOR THE SAME QUESTION

Rhinegold Practice Papers P3 Q6A Comparison Question.mp3 THIS IS EXTRACT B OF THE AUDIO FILE FOR THE SAME QUESTION

Rhinegold Practice Papers P3 Q6 Comparison Question ANSWERS.pdf THIS IS THE ANSWER SHEET

As you can see, it can be very confusing but if you can think of a better way to organise the hundreds of questions available then please do tell!

Practice Questions

Practice Papers

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Essay Questions  

P - Point - What musical feature relating to to whatever the question specifies - go even further an explain what it is

E - Evidence - Where in the extract? bar number, location or lyric

E - Explanation -  Why has the compose done this? Link to the question. Mention context e.g. Baroque/Jazz/Romantic features. Can you be critical - more successful than the other piece?

Marking Criteria

Click here for Beethoven Essay Questions

Click here for Music For A While Essay Questions

Click here for Brandenburg Essay Questions

Click here for Killer Queen Essay Questions

Defying Gravity Questions

Defying Gravity comes at the end of Act 1 of Wicked and is a climatic end to the act. Bruce come at the end of Matilda the musical . Evaluate how Schwartz and Minchin use instrumentation and the musical elements to create a sense of climax.

Wicked - 4.10 - end - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEq3xM-i0Ng

Matilda - 2. 50 - end - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA5Goo7AmXM  

Click for example pupil answer

In Stephen Schwartz’ Defying gravity, a sense of intense excitement and climax is created though emphasizing a build of unease and unrelenting tension through the use of rests and dotted notes to create a sense of free time. In bars 169—171, this can be seen in both the homophonic chordal accompaniment and in the vocal line. This makes the listener unsure of the tempo, and builds suspense due to the almost inconsistent nature of the coda. This could allow the listener to connote that this is the part of the play where Elphaba reaches her final straw, and under the pressure of the people around her- shown by the seemingly relentless chords and vocal stabs which are thrown at her, will break free from the constraints of her town- signalling a sense of climax in not only the song but in Elphaba’s confidence. This confidence of Elphaba also creates a sense of climax as it could illuminate of the reader that Elphaba’s finally coming into her own persona, thus coming to a climax of her own confidence. This is shown through the use of her high vocal register, with her reaching her highest vocal note in the entire piece in bar 156 on the line “defy”, where she reaches a f sharp, over two octaves above her lowest note of the piece. And also belting this  This high note and the tremendous tessitura of Elphaba’s vocal line suggests her confidence rising throughout the piece and her highest vocal notes as a sign of soaring self believe, highlighting it as the most intense feeling of conviction that she must leave, signifying the culmination of many years of being judged and of her feeling of mis belonging resulting with the need to escape, which closes the act of the production. Similarly, Minchin’s, “bruce”, the vocalists are also seen stretching to extremely high notes as we near the end of the piece, their highest note being an Eb, as seen on the word “coming” on the line “but here it is com-ing true’. This creates a sense of climax as it shows the very top end of the vocalist’s register being utilised, which suggests there is something special to come alluding to a the pinnacle of the plot of the song-the climax . You could compare one is solo one is ensemble – which is more successful? This is further supported by use of chromaticism. Chromaticism is the use of notes/chords that are not seen in the key signature. These are seen many times throughout the extract, which is the end of the song. An example of where they are found is in the accompaniment of the melody, especially in the bass which plays under the first “ahhhh” where an Ab should be played but an A natural is played instead. The use of chromaticism could connote that there is change coming or that, due to it being a semitone higher, that slightly upwards direction of the chromaticism signifies reaching the pinnacle of the piece and can be quite unsettling – both are risky songs in terms of story, not sure on the outcome. 

In defying Gravity, Schwartz employs the use of tremolandos in the strings as a method of creating tension and suspense. This is seen in the strings, especially the violin in bar 162. By highlighting the long crescendo to the final contrapuntal movement of the piece with the use of subtle tremolandos, it creates anticipation and a faster pace which creates a sense of an incoming climax. By bringing in the entire pit orchestra in bar 168 to the end, it also suggests a climax due to it giving the last but of the piece a sense of importance and a thick texture, drawing attention to it unlike any other part of the piece due to the sheer dynamics of it, creating a sense of climax. In Minchins’ “Bruce”, on the line ,”come on bruce, be our hero”, in between the pauses of lyrics, the piano employs a trill, which much like Defying Gravity’s tremolandos, instils a sense of suspense and tension and increases the pace, signifying an oncoming climax. This also happens in the build up section after the spoken line of, “come on bruce, do it”, a cello plays trill – its a tremolo which has an identical effect, allowing for the entrance of the last chorus, which acts as the climax of the song. There is also a pedal note under this line, building tension 

Finally, in Schwartz’s Defying gravity, the change from homophony to a contrapuntal polyphony highlights the climax of the piece. In bars 168- end, a polyphonic texture is introduced, with three different vocal lines over the whole band playing homophonic chords. Could also emphasis her coming away from the norm, stepping out on her own. This increases the dynamics of the piece and instils a sense of chaos. This all acts as an explosion of not only this song, but of the entire act and encapsulates all of the mental warring and bullying that Elphaba has endured, and the explosive and complex nature of the end at the end of the crescendo acts as a pinnacle of emotions for Elphaba, between the confidence of herself and the contrasting sarcasm and bullying of Glinda and the ensemble, highlighting the ‘point of no return’ in Elphaba’s persona in the play. 

FInish with closing statement going back to the question, which was more successful at creating that climatic moment?  Can you be critical about both pieces in how they handle the musical elements?  

2. Defying Gravity comes at the end of Act 1 of Wicked and is a climatic end to the act. I’d Give my life for you from Miss Saigon is also at the end of Act 1. Evaluate how Schwartz and Schoenberg uses tonality, tempo and instrumentation to create a sense of climax.

Miss Saigon - 2.29 - 4.52 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtUFxPIdycE

Manwaring Music Education Blog

Life in a Music Department

Long Answer Question 1 – Bach

Bach & Handel

This is the first question in my Long Answer Question series. Hopefully you have seen the first part in this blog series that explains how to approach these questions. Let me explain how these question blogs will work.

This post will introduce the question and look at some of the ways of approaching it. I will give some of the key information needed to complete the question and then the question can be downloaded. This is a 12 Mark Edexcel GCSE Music style question, however it is relevant to anyone studying music.

Each question will look at two pieces of music. One of them is an Edexcel set work and the other will be an “unfamiliar” piece. These questions could easily be adapted if you are not with that board. But everything is useful in terms of studying music and Wider Listening .

Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5

For every set work there are accompanying notes on the Edexcel website. It might be good to download these notes and read them ahead of answering this question. Here is the link to the Bach Set Work Notes .

But I want to add some further thoughts and some ideas for you to more fully understand this piece of music.

When learning about a piece of music it is important to understand:

• Who Composed it?
• When They Composed it?
• For what reason, event or place did they compose it?
• What is the Genre, Style & Structure of the piece?

For the Bach Set work it is crucial to have a good understanding of the Baroque Period. This piece was composed around 1720-1721. What was going on in 1720/1 that might have affected this piece of music? What was happening in music making at the time.

One way of understanding more about 1720-1721 is to listen to some other pieces composed in the same year:

• Handel – Keyboard Sonatina in G minor, HWV 583
• Rameau – Orphée , RCT 27
• Giovanni Bononcini –   Cantate e Duetti

Listening to these pieces will give you even more Wider Listening work and also help you to understand the period in musical history more clearly. Once you have completed this additional Wider Listening you can start to fill out the sheet from my previous blog , this is a planning document for the Long Answer Question.

Handel Water Music – No. 5, Air

This piece is an example of an Unfamiliar piece. You may have heard it before, but, this is the term used in the Edexcel GSCE Music Exam. Firstly you need to listen to this piece of music, either on Apple Music & YouTube .

Composed in or around 1717, this piece is fairly close to the date of the Bach Set Work. This piece of music is part of a Suite, and there are three Suites in this Water Music series. A suite is a collection of orchestral pieces, often dances, and suites date back to the 14th Century.

An Orchestra Suite in the Barouque period would often have the following movements:

• Overture – slow movement to start the suite
• Allemande – Moderate tempo dance
• Courante – A lively dance in triple metre
• Sarabande – Spanish, Slow & Serious
• Gigue – Upbeat and lively dance
• Gavotte – Starts on the third beat of the bar, in 4/4 time.
• Bourrée – 2/2 time Moderate tempo
• Minuet – Triple metre dance

It might be good to read up on these dances and listen to the other pieces that make up Water Music. Here are some other pieces composed in 1717 that will support understanding even further:

• Bach – Violin Sonata in E major, BWV 1016
• Handel – Concerto Grosso in G major , HWV 314
• Vivaldi – Concerto for Strings in C major, RV 114

Here is a link to the score on IMSLP

The Question

Each question is laid out in a similar style to the Edexcel GCSE Music Section B. Feel free to adapt these questions or change the elements of music. There is a PDF document for the question that can be downloaded and filled in. A full mark-scheme is not provided, but I am sure that teachers & students can work out what should or could be included. Skeleton scores are not provided for copyright reasons.

The generic mark-scheme for this question is really useful and so I have that here for you to use:

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GCSE Music Notes: Badinerie (Bach) and Essay Question Prep

Subject: Music

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Assessment and revision

Last updated

25 April 2023

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GCSE Revision Notes for the set work “Badinerie” by J.S Bach, and preparation and advice for the essay question based on an unexpected extract. Suitable for Eduquas but also any other exam board that studies Badinerie, or has an essay question.

The Badinerie analysis includes brief notes on several elements of the piece, as well as specific musical analysis, and a list of facts that could come up as one or two mark questions.

The general music study includes elements of music to consider, and an example analysis of a film music piece for a film about war, including a list of features and instruments that are commonly heard.

At the end of the document there is feedback on the example analysis, as well as a review from the examiner’s reports, for last-minute exam technique support.

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