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KS4 Making the most of your instrument
KS5
Jane Werry is an by Jane Werry
AST, a specialist
leader in education,
and director of
music at Hayes
School in Bromley. IntroductIon
She is an A level
moderator for
OCR, and a regular This resource has two focuses: ensuring that students achieve the best possible results in their GCSE
contributor to Music performing, and tackling OCR’s GCSE AoS1, My Music, which involves composing a piece for the student’s
Teacher online
resources. own instrument. The information on performing is relevant to all GCSE boards.
There are two distinct types of GCSE music student: those who have instrumental tuition, and those who do
not. Chances are you have students of both categories in your GCSE class. All GCSE specifications are very
clear about the fact that only classroom tuition is expected in preparing for assessed performances. This
immediately gives teachers a dilemma: to what extent is it possible to cater for differing musical interests and
abilities in a classroom context? Some tactics for dealing with this are presented here.
PerforMIng: choIce of InStruMent
and rePertoIre
You may well have students in your GCSE class who have instrumental tuition and perhaps quite a lot of
performing experience. You may have some who are already working on higher grades, and have a distinct
identity as a flautist, pianist, guitarist or whatever. Others may be self-taught, or have had less formal instruction
and experience. Some may arrive in your GCSE class with nothing other than the experiences that they have
accumulated in their KS3 lessons, and may or may not have clear ideas about the route they will take through
their performing coursework. Let us consider each type of student in turn.
The esTablished Musician
You may think that there is little to consider here. Indeed, in many cases, these students are the least of your
worries. With individual tuition behind them, and with established skills as solo and ensemble performers, they
look as though they have GCSE performing all sewn up. However, caution needs to be exercised. Students,
and sometimes their instrumental teachers, need convincing that it really is not necessary to perform their
Grade 8 piece for their GCSE coursework, and that something else may be a better choice.
This is where having The bottom line is this: the solo performance is worth a hefty chunk of the ultimate GCSE grade. Experienced
a three-year KS4 musicians will want to ensure that they get full marks, or as close to full marks as possible. Playing whatever
comes in really
handy: the whole piece is being worked on for a Grade 6, 7 or 8 exam may seem like expedience, and will certainly bring the
of Year 9 with those maximum marks available for difficulty. However, unless the performance is rock-solid in terms of accuracy
who have opted for and communication, marks will be lost.
music, to work on
skills and repertoire,
and for teachers to It is often a much better choice to play a Grade 5 or even Grade 4 piece, utterly beautifully, than just perform
get to know their whatever is being practised at that moment, and risk making mistakes, however small. Students, and their
students, their teachers, often need convincing that it is worth taking time out from their practice schedule to brush up on
preferences and
capabilities. If you an ‘old’ piece. You may need to stand your ground, and insist on appropriate repertoire being offered. With
do not have this regards to ensemble performance, you will still need to run the usual checks to ensure that pieces meet the
luxury, planning your criteria (more on these later).
KS3 curriculum so
your students get
to try out a range of self-TaughT and inforMally TaughT Musicians
performing skills, This type of student may vary wildly in terms of their experience and skill. Those with high levels of existing skill
and so you get to will need the same kind of advice as described above. Others may have enough experience to self-identify as
know them well, is
vital. a singer, drummer, guitarist, rapper, etc but will need help with choosing and practising appropriate repertoire.
1 Music Teacher April 2015
This is where the range of knowledge required by the teacher becomes a little bit daunting. At the very least,
you are going to need to know where to look to find appropriate support for your students, and ideas for pieces
that they can perform to show off their skills to best advantage.
Musicians for WhoM Ks3 lessons are Their sole Musical experience
If you have this type of student opting for music at GCSE, it either says something very positive about what
they are getting in their KS3 lessons, or something about the way options are organised in your school. With
these students, the content of the KS3 curriculum will have a strong effect on what you do with them at GCSE.
I know of a school where the whole KS3 curriculum is designed to build keyboard skills, so that all GCSE
candidates offer keyboard for their coursework performances. This is one way of doing things, but not one that
I would advocate, for two reasons. First, it surely must be pretty dull to do nothing but keyboards for five years,
even if there is variety in terms of styles considered, and perhaps some singing thrown in. Secondly, there must
be some students who would be better suited to something else.
So, a more varied approach needs to be sought, and what that is depends very much on the resources
within the department, and the skills and interests of the teachers. Here are some ideas, which could be used
individually or in combination:
What you need advantages potential pitfalls
band skills Kit! You will need enough Likely to be very appealing needs careful management of
Students work on voice, guitars, basses and drum to students, with emphasis resources, including teachers
keyboards, guitar, bass and kits to go round, and either on rock/pop. Students get to being canny about the keys
drums, putting performances spaces to put bands in to try out different instruments/ that will be easiest for singing/
together in groups. could practise, or JamPods or skills to see which ones they playing. teachers may need a
include rapping, beatboxing or equivalent. like best. Lots of resources high chaos threshold!
dJing. available online. differentiation
is a dream.
rotation of focus to include enough instruments to go teaching instruments one at can be tricky to differentiate,
keyboards, guitars, ukuleles, round, competence and a time enables students to try although this can be overcome
singing, drumming… confidence of teachers. out a range of things for long with careful planning.
depending on resources enough to get a good flavour teachers may need to develop
available and teachers’ of them and build up initial their own skills.
expertise. skills.
Technology-based options enough computers for Leads on beautifully to Music requires teachers to take
– all exam boards allow students to have one technology a level. could be the plunge with technology
for sequencing to take the each, with appropriate a great option for students if this is not their natural
place of solo performance. sequencing software. with a particular interest in habitat, and can require quite
With edexcel there is also teacher knowledge and technology, or those who find a bit of teacher preparation.
an option to do multi-track confidence. live performance difficult or Many schools have problems
recording in place of ensemble scary. with keeping music tech
performance. functioning well, perhaps
owing to having old computers
or a lack of tech support.
Music Teacher April 2015 2
Repertoire – what to pick and where to find it
Unless each student comes to you with a fully formed idea about a piece that they want to perform and which
suits them and the assessment criteria perfectly, there is likely to be a certain amount of negotiation involved
between teacher and student. It is important that students like their pieces, but what they want to perform may
not be suitable for GCSE performing coursework, for one reason or another. These might include:
the piece is too demanding, and therefore not likely to be successfully performed.
the piece does not show the students’ skills to best effect, perhaps because it is too easy or repetitive, or
much too short.
Something about the piece causes it not to meet the criteria for ‘difficulty’.
Knowing students’ capabilities well is crucial to making the best suggestions regarding repertoire. This is why
work at KS3 or during any period of laying foundations for GCSE music is crucial. For example, if you know
that a particular singer has a strong falsetto range, then for him not to use it in his GCSE solo performance is
a wasted opportunity. If you know him and his singing well, you might be able to point him towards ‘Heard It
Through the Grapevine’ by Marvin Gaye, or ‘Gethsemane’ from Jesus Christ Superstar as appropriate, even if
he does not yet know these songs. On the other hand, an inexperienced singer without great control of her top
range would be unwise to attempt Mariah Carey’s ‘Without You’.
Even if it means being prepared to research suitable repertoire yourself in order to come up with a range of
appropriate pieces for a student to choose from, the time will be well spent if your students end up with a piece
that shows them to best advantage. So, where are the best places to look for repertoire?
Any links you Music Room and Music Notes are great for buying single songs as downloads, which can be altered
can make with in key and then printed once.
extracurricular
activities can be Sheet music is an iPad app that enables you to download sheet music and pay for it via iTunes. A
extremely useful, song is typically £2.49, and once you have it you can change the key as many times as you like (a real
even if it means bonus for teachers who are likely to use a song with more than one student). There is also a playback
modifying a
performance for function where you control tempos and which lines play, giving you some accompaniment options.
the purposes of the
coursework. For Ameritz Music has some of the best backing tracks around, mostly for £1.50 as a download. They have
example, a piece a four-step ‘what should I sing?’ questionnaire that might help you and your students find suitable
learnt in choir, songs. It is also worth having a look on Spotify and iTunes for backing tracks.
band or orchestra
could be performed There are some great ranges of books, including Really Easy Piano and All Woman, which provide a
one-to-a-part for the real investment in terms of pieces that you might use with a whole range of students. The All Woman
GCSE performance.
songbooks come with backing CDs, and there is a ‘bumper book’ of 30 of the most popular songs that
is well worth buying.
Rhinegold have a superb range of books called GCSE Performance Pieces, covering voice, drums,
guitar, bass, alto sax, flute, clarinet and piano. Each book contains ten contemporary pieces specifically
arranged for GCSE level performance, and including backing tracks and expert advice on how to tackle
each piece. There is also Rock Your GCSE Music book 2 which provides extremely useful material for
ensemble performances including such favourites as ‘Clocks’ and ‘Rolling in the Deep’, with parts for
all instruments, performance notes and backing tracks.
Rockschool, Trinity College London Rock & Pop and Faber Graded Rock & Pop Series grade books
are excellent, and having some Grade 3 or 4 books for vocals, guitar, drums, bass and keyboard will
prove extremely useful.
Ultimate Guitar is a useful place to look for pop/rock songs, and has some good tabs if you have
guitarists that find that the best way to learn. However, caution must be exercised, as there are a lot
of inaccuracies on some songs.
Gitika Partington’s Sing Pop A Cappella books are a great source of vocal ensemble pieces, and
have the advantage of CDs including individual parts that students can take away to learn aurally. The
repertoire will appeal to students, and Gitika’s arrangements are designed to be learnt by ear rather
than by reading from the score.
3 Music Teacher April 2015
checKing difficulTy level descripTors: advice for specific insTruMenTs
The great thing about using grade books, or a series like the Rhinegold GCSE Performance Pieces, is that you
know that there will be meaty enough technical demands in the pieces to reach the upper end of the marks
awarded for difficulty. If you are choosing repertoire in a more free-form way, there are a few things you will
need to bear in mind, and it is worth checking the specific requirements of your exam board carefully.
For singers, ensure that the song chosen has a wide enough range. Wider than a 10th will be needed to access
the highest marks for difficulty, together with some leaps that provide challenges of pitching. A requirement
for dexterity, or breath control in more sustained phrases, can also increase the difficulty level. Crossing the
‘break’ in the voice is a particular difficulty for girls. Choice of key for singers can make crucial differences in
how well they can tackle a song, and it’s worth spending time getting that right.
guitarists need to show that they can do more than basic chord shapes and strumming patterns. Pieces that
require a variety of right-hand techniques (finger-picking, different strumming patterns, damping) are good,
and if playing in a chord style, being able to demonstrate barre chords, added-note chords (7ths, 9ths, sus4s
and so on) or rapid chord changes is advantageous. Movement up the neck of the guitar, particularly beyond
the 12th fret, also increases difficulty.
In a similar way, avoiding too much repetition is also crucial on drumkit. Contrasting sections, especially
if there is a change of metre, are good for piling on the demands, as are more complex fills and rhythms
that require autonomy of the limbs and good left-foot control. As well as techniques such as rolls and flams,
stick control can be demonstrated through subtle gradations in dynamics. Drummers sometimes need to be
persuaded that loud does not always equal good!
With keyboard and piano, independence of the two hands is a critical factor in defining difficulty, as are rapid
changes of hand position. Harmony in the right hand, or melody in the left, increases difficulty. Key and any
modulations are of paramount importance. It is also worth
checking out your
Key, generally, is crucial to defining difficulty on most instruments, and it is impossible to make generalisations. exam board’s
For example, the key of A is easy on the guitar, but would definitely be classed as ‘more difficult’ on the piano. requirement
E flat is a comfortable key for many singers, but violinists and guitarists do not find it so easy. regarding doubling
of parts. It is likely in
an ensemble piece
Where students are doing two things at once, such as singing and accompanying themselves on guitar or that the assessed
piano, it is perfectly possible to view the performance as a whole, with the difficulty level enhanced by doing part will need to be
two things at once. GCSE specifications do not tend to give individual advice on this, but I have never had any undoubled, although
there may be
problems with taking a holistic view with marking in any submissions I have made. caveats depending
on whether doubling
You may have students that want to submit rapping, beatboxing or turntablism as their GCSE performance. is conventional for
the style. Even in a
Unless this is your own area of expertise, it will be crucial to check the specifics of the syllabus to ensure solo performance, it
that what they put forward fulfils the criteria. It would be a real pity to dissuade students from these options may be necessary
just because they are unfamiliar to the teacher. Check whether the exam board’s website has any exemplar to modify a piano
accompaniment if it
material. If necessary, contact the exam board and ask to be put in touch with the chief examiner/moderator contains too much
for the performing unit to seek any clarification you need. doubling of the solo
line.
sTudenTs perforMing Their oWn coMposiTions
This is always an option worth considering, although you will need to check the small print for your board: AQA,
for example, stipulates that any own compositions used for performing coursework cannot also be submitted
for composing coursework. Edexcel requires that there is a score or a ‘professional recording’ submitted, so
that accuracy of the performance can be assessed, although this can be annotated, if required, to show any
differences between the score and performance.
subMiTTing a sequenced perforMance
All of the exam boards permit this as an option for solo performance, with a minimum of three sequenced
parts. Choice of repertoire here is as important as with conventional performance, as is the way in which the
material is presented to students. You will need to consider whether they will be able to work predominantly
from a score (it is likely that this will need to be submitted to the moderator along with the realisation), whether
an annotated score will be needed (note names, etc) or whether working by ear from a recording will be best.
Music Teacher April 2015 4
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