GCSE music practice papers & audio?

[Timothyjohn]

Trying and failing to find past online edexcel GCSE Music appraisal papers with audio.
Anybody know?

Save my exams have some, with audio files.

https://www.savemyexams.com/gcse/music/edexcel/past-papers/

I have a subscription, so apologies if they aren’t part of the free content.

A lot of the audios on the Pearson website are restricted access. They are mostly available from 2021 and earlier, here’s the link:

https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/music-2016.coursematerials.html#%2FfilterQuery=category:Pearson-UK:Category%2FExam-materials

Past papers are limited bc of covid, limited access to recent ones and the spec being fairly new.

If you have exhausted the right board, it's not without use to look at others such as AQA - bear in mind any differences in exam structure obvs.

Happy to direct to other listening resources if needed. There is a big difference between Edexcel and other exam boards due to the set works, lots of ear training resources online if needed but as long as set works and descriptive musical language are known inside out should be fine 👍🏻

Ah OK if there is a big difference between boards then ignore my post! I am all too aware of the difficulty of finding audio for past papers which makes MFL listening super hard to source, and I find other boards are useful as exercises at least (tho the style of questions may differ) but if that's not helpful for music I am happy to be corrected.

@claryEdexcel is its own special nightmare for GCSE Music ☺️ Such a hard exam and I find so different from other boards, but very predictable style of questions.

@Timothyjohnjust had a thought. If you look at the mark scheme for each year then it will give you a track timing for each question. You could use this to play the track for each question. Make sure you use the edexcel version of each song, not just a random version. In YouTube- Music for a while GCSE Music Edexcel for example.

I hadn't realised there was such a difference between boards.

DD is doing Edexcel - has full marks in performance and composition but really struggles with the written paper (ND and severely dyslexic - musical notation as well as words is affected).

Anything she should specifically focus on (dictation will go badly whatever) or any tricks/strategies?

@OhCrumbsWhereNowcongrats to your daughter! Does it take the pressure of knowing that if she has full marks she’s walking into the exam with around a grade 5 already secured?

Theres loads of hacks. For dictation the answer is generally elsewhere in the musical extract, either a repetition or something written in sequence. If all else fails, look at how many marks are available for the question, draw that many coloured in circles in a stepwise direction from either the starting or ending note of the gap. Does that make sense? Should gain a mark.

if the question asks rhythmic device- answer is nearly always syncopation

if it asks harmonic device- answer pedal

it is asks melodic device- sequence

I get my students to learn each set work so they can regurgitate the facts about it. If this isn’t done- learn the key words associated with the set work. E.g music for a while has melisma and word painting. Don’t answer a question with melisma and word painting when talking about Mozart.

Hope that helps

Thank you - I will pass all that on.

Unfortunately it's her best subject and she's both desperate for top grade and slightly despairing that she may well not have that in her reach. Teachers are being amazing and doing everything they can to help.

I checked the boundaries and the full marks in the other sections only seemed to be a high 4?

She seems to mess up that 12 marker a lot - goes off on tangents and write about things that are correct and relevant but not what the examiners want and so don't get any marks.

Grade 5 has varied between 116-124 over the years.

For the essay is she remembering a conclusion, summing up her findings with how one piece is more atmospheric/ suitable than the other?

Is she reading the question and making sure she talks only about the key elements specified in bold?

How does the identify the answers for this question- score reading or listening?

She says she's using the score to identify the answers.

Suspect the conclusion is ropey, and question reading she needs to really focus on as she often reads things wrong.

I've supplied highlighters and feel like a broken record saying to use the reading pen and double check she knows what she's answering.

I've managed to download the papers you linked so I'm going to get her to do some of those over half-term.

Does she get extra time? It can be split two ways if she does so the extra time can be used to focus on 12 marker.

I suspect if she’s coming out with low marks then she isn’t making critical judgements at all. She really needs to say things like extract a uses a rising melody which shows positivity and hope. Or, a minor key used in extract b shows a lack of hope and is quite despairing.

Yes, she has 25% extra time. I'll check she knows it can be split.

Teachers are hoping for a solid 7 with aspirational 8 (this based on assuming she'd get the marks she has with the practicals). So not sure how that translates in terms of marks gained.

I know it was a total disaster in November and looking better in March mocks. It's not my subject at all, so really hard to help her - but I'm doing my best in terms of finding nice set pieces revisions sets etc.

This is all very helpful so thank you!

Not specifically music... but the dyslexic DD has discovered that asking the Invigilator to read a question she usually struggles with - so the 12 marker in this case - is often helpful in clarifying it. (That's assuming her dyslexia has meant she is allocated a reader of course).

Also can she learn specific types of paragraphs so she knows the points to include making sure she has everything... PETACP (point, explanation, terminology, ? Context and ? I can't remember!!) or PETAL paragraphs in English or I think it is SPICE and something else in history.... just to make sure she hits the mark points.

Refer to this document, but just because they have given an example doesn’t mean this is what your daughter has to do.

https://qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/pdf/GCSE/Music/2016/Forms-and-administration/gcse-music-extra-time.pdf

The listening questions are long with lots of time in between playings and after each question- my students get bored 😳 so perfectly possible to allocate all of the extra time to the essay.

@LittleOwl153i guess she could do that. The written essay is very short in music in comparison to other subjects.

She would just need to:

1. make a musical point
2. compare, contrast (to the extracts)
3. conclude (based on theme given)

PCCC?!
Point- compare- contrast- conclude

She doesn't have a reader - she does have a reading pen (that is apparently awful) but does things like read Three as The (biggest issue has been with wordy maths questions for doing things like that.

School seem quite good on all these acronym paragraphs which I have little clue about, but she's reluctant to discuss with me. So I will ask and expect rolled eyes.

I'm going to set her some of those past papers this week and if I can't mark them, I can probably ask one of the teachers to.

@littlecreeature "For dictation the answer is generally elsewhere in the musical extract, either a repetition or something written in sequence. If all else fails, look at how many marks are available for the question, draw that many coloured in circles in a stepwise direction from either the starting or ending note of the gap. Does that make sense?"

Hi thanks for all your advice on this its been invaluable.
The above points you made seem very important. I dont quite understand the explanations well enough to be able to explain to my daughter. I am a musician but not much of a reader. Would it be possible to post a basic visual aid to clarify the coloured circles thing please?

Also do you mean for a question on melodic "dictation" in your first sentence?

So there’s the mark scheme alongside the question. The rhythm is basically a repeat of the dotted rhythm in bar four. The melody is a repeat of the pitches in bar three and then stepwise from the last note given. Does that make sense?

If she has a reading pen she has the jcq allowance for a reader... this can be a pen, a computer or a human. She/you should talk to the exams officer. Dd won't use the pen and is reluctant to use the computer- basically they read without intonation so can be hard to handle. Reading pens are only really useful for odd words I think. She has had to be 'talked into' using the available help over a period of time so might be a bit to steep for your dd at this stage - but worth being aware of as she progresses.

I asked for a computer with read back function and they said no, but yes to the reading pen.

I've found the access things quite weird. She gets laptop, 25% time, reading pen and rest breaks... but only gets rest breaks in papers she writes by hand (hypermobiity) whereas I would have assumed she got them due to the ADHD.

I suspect a lot may come down to the reading pen being headphones and so doesn't need a separate room and invigilator

Exams officers are a bread of their own.... it depends on how much you want to push I suppose. It all does seem to be arbitrary what they get. Have you spoke to the senco? They should also get a say (or the slt send lead if the sendco is not slt.) I know my dd has been lucky in that she's got whatever she's asked for but certainly at this point in the session availability of invigilators will come into it ( though it shouldn't!)