GCSEs - music or drama..?

[MusicOrDrama]

DD has to choose an option now at the end of year 8, which they will continue to GCSE. For her, it boils down to the choice between music and drama, they can't do both. She is struggling to choose. I'm wondering if anyone has any insight into GCSE music or drama as subjects?

She is naturally academic and is on course for some great results. She does both music and drama out of school. So, she is set up to do well with either but obviously wants the best mark she can get too!

School have suggested an instrument at grade 2-3 will allow them to access the performance element and the rest. But what sort of grade are we talking to access the top few GCSE grades? She is currently having a break from piano grade exams to just enjoy playing while settling with a new teacher and working her way through early theory grades. She's likely to start preparing for grade 4 soon. She's a good but not exceptional musician who practices but probably not as much as she should. Is this likely to be enough, or is she going to struggle?

Drama she loves and is going to do her first LAMDA exam this year with her drama class run by her dance school (she does a lot more dancing than drama!). She's a confident performer. I have read that drama as a subject is a lot more than that though, and can be quite hard going?

Anyway, any advice or opinions would be very welcome! I'm trying to get a better sense of what they both actually entail and which she's likely to do best in to help her decide, as I'm getting a bit bored of "I don't knoooow" and "it's not fair they make us chooose"! 😆

I have one who did Music (now doing A levels including Music Tech) and one currently doing (actually she has now done the exams) Drama.

My older one enjoyed music - although now has visceral hatred for Paul Simon! She wasn't actually at a very high grade for her instrument (3) so this didn't help with her Grade but she did well in the other bits - think she got a 6 from memory so definitely not a MN grade but she was happy with it and has gone on to do Music Technology A level and is predicted an A. She's actually been considering doing it at University but is worried about prospects and future earning capacity.

Younger DD just took Drama and enjoyed it during Y10 but was overjoyed to finish and didn't particularly enjoy her final performance as a few of her peers were unreliable and it just stressed her out. There was a lot more written work than expected although she was fine as she's quite good at English. I think it wasn't what she hoped it would be and she said that she wouldn't choose it again knowing what she knows now.

Not sure if that's much help but thought I would share my experiences. Am happy to ask them when they're home but they are in the midst of GCSEs and A levels so their answers may be slightly more angsty than usual 🤪

DC did Music GCSE, it was definitely not a favourite course. They had a lovely teacher and classmates were all nice so very much the course that he didn’t enjoy.

Music Tech seems to be a popular A Level and several are going on to uni to study similar. There are some good jobs out there. We have a friend who’s DC was a roadie and now has a tech related job covering all sorts of tech needs for schools and colleges across a whole county authority.

My DD did music gcse.

She was advised to choose a piece at about grade 5 standard and get it perfect rather than doing anything of a higher grade. (She was about grade 7 singing at the time)

She got a grade 9 in the music gcse.

My child also had to choose between the two and chose drama in year 9 for year 10 - she enjoyed music but has found it a bit technical in year 9 and decided she really just likes playing piano for fun. She is in several drama clubs including LAMDA so it was a no brainer for her. Drama is more what she can see herself doing after year 11, which I think is fairly key.

I would say music is an expensive hobby, but free in school, whereas drama is free to continue as a hobby for life. On that basis, I would consider it a point in music's favour, as she is being offered something in school she might not be able to source outside,

Choose the one with the better department. Music has a lot of composition and other elements, the playing aspect is maybe 25%.
Drama can involve group work, which can possibly be problematic.

My DS did music GCSE (and A level)
He was advised G5 level would get you top grades in performance if performed well (and you can do it repeatedly until it is!) . Your DD has time to get there.
He found it a fun GCSE, partly because it was a smaller class with like minded people. It's not an easy GCSE tho.
A level was even harder. By this point he was post G8 in his instrument. It's a rigorous A level and very hard.
I know nothing about Drama!!

DD did both, music is her passion but she has hated the technical and rather lack lustre format of the gcse whilst drama she has absolutely loved and was her favourite subject. She’s going on to study music but would have preferred not to do the gcse. Drama does require collaboration but each individual is marked separately. DD got top top marks whilst others in her group did not. I would consider that aspect though if that’s not a strength for your DC.

The music lessons in school do not generally equip you to learn the instrument. You would be expected to pay for music lessons on top of this.

I have one child who did music and one who did drama.

The main point is that music GCSE is not just about performing (which is only 30% - and being grade 5 standard is generally considered good enough for top results) and drama is also not just about performing - there is a high portfolio element and also a written paper. For drama specifically (but also music to some degree) you need to be good at critical appraisal and writing. Actually I'd say drama is quite akin to English Lit. DS found a downside of music was that after a decision in Year 8 he had to keep playing his instrument because he was doing GCSE. That's a long time to be sure you want to keep it up.

I'd suggest OP's DC has a careful look at GCSE syllabuses and does not focus solely on the performance elements.

DS is in the middle of his GCSE exams and music is one of his subjects. He has thoroughly enjoyed the course. They were a small group and there was a great atmosphere. He loved the composition aspect and the whole creative process around it. Performance-wise, similar to PPs he was advised to choose pieces at Grade 5 level as higher grades don't actually give you any bonus points. One of his pieces ended up being Grade 6 purely because he loved it so much. He is relieved to be coming to the exams with most of his music grade already in the bag (at least provisionally). It takes a lot of pressure off. Especially as he found the music listening exam the hardest part and it was by far his lowest mock result. He is still hoping for a high grade overall though due to the other assessment elements.

My best friend at school did drama GCSE (and went on to do it for A level and then degree). She found it quite stressful as there is a lot of group work and some of the kids in her class were not there for the love of drama.

Luckily for the GCSE pieces that counted they managed to fix the groups so that everyone who wanted to work hard were in one group and everyone who didn’t was in the other.

Thanks all for your thoughts, lots to think on, I really appreciate it!

The "group" element of drama does give me pause... At the last parent's evening her teacher described her as an "undercover leader", meaning she tends to lead a group a bit but isn't pushy - I think a random selection of kids might naturally follow someone who is confident in what they are doing when out of their comfort zone with something like drama? But, she isn't always a natural social 'fit' into larger groups and has had a few probs with girls in her form. But again, she does fit in well with the 'drama' crowd, and obviously this will self select to a large extent. Of her closest friends, one is choosing music, one something else entirely, and one undecided but I bet will go with music - so there will be an as yet unknown crowd to work with in drama.

Interesting point about "pick the best department". They are both decent and similar sized and she likes all the teachers. But, she spends more time with the drama dept doing after school clubs etc. The music dept runs things like rock band club, which she hasn't got involved in, and we quickly switched away from in school piano lessons last year as I got the impression traditional instruments and grades was not their priority and they kept changing piano teachers. So, maybe she wouldn't "fit" so well with her classmates there.

Hmm🤔
Kids man!

DD also debated that decision or rather music was a definite, it was between drama and a visual art subject.

She's Y10 now, and is G8 in her main study and around G6 in two others. There's a lot of composition so you would need to enjoy that aspect. Composition and performance are very much her focus and the bits she really enjoys. Another upside, only 1 written paper.

School have a superb music department which helps, and the 'group' bit in music is not massive.

She decided against drama in the end because of the group element (a lot of frustration in Y7 & 8 with kids refusing to participate or pull their weight in practicals which drives DD insane). Far too much potential to lose marks because of what others haven't done.

It's also very reading heavy and more like doing an extra English lit paper. So she does loads of it outside school with properly motivated kids and no essays!

MN elitist comment. Not true whatsoever.

My son is y10 and doing both. He is working on his second grade 8 and also is around g4 piano. He won’t use any piece above g5/6 for the gcse practical though as it won’t get extra marks. He does music on Saturdays but in a normalish place, not a junior conservatory, he doesn’t do out of school drama except for school shows. He’s getting better grades in music than drama, but enjoying both. He finds the drama coursework harder but it’s slowly improving, he was lucky with the group work so far and his group were very motivated. He doesn’t want to do A level drama though, would rather do English. There are pros and cons with both I think - maybe depends which one they’d like to take forward?

Why is this elitist? My DC go to a very average (below average if we're counting) comp and there was no provision for them to have paid for music lessons.

If OP's DC is choosing music on the basis that she will have lessons paid for then, maybe some schools offer this, but it's certainly not the case in any of the schools in my area. Actually the only "free" instrumental lessons my DC have had was a term in Year 4 in group of 8. I'm not saying this is good or right, but unless you can afford to pay or are musical enough to teach yourself, then music GCSE is not unfortunately not available to everyone in every school.

I'd be interested (and pleased) to know that in other areas there is free music provision to enable a child to get to Grade 5 standard.

Depending on the exam board Grade 4-5 will allow you to access the top grades in music. But be aware that composition counts for a third (it's the area many struggle with).

It's not elitist to say that in most cases private lessons will be needed. It's just fact. Very few are able to reach Grade 4-5 standard on an instrument without 1:1 lessons. I wish it were the case that lessons were provided free in schools as they were when I was at school.

I did both Music and Drama at A level. Thinking ahead if you plan on taking either subject at A level it is more difficult to access A level music not having done GCSE than it is to access A level drama.

I'd love it if schools provided free lessons to a decent grade standard. But that's not the case here sadly. We have paid for private piano lessons for several years and would continue to do so to make sure she has the required standard for GCSE. (We'll continue to do that whether she takes music GCSE or not for as long as she wants lessons too.) No way would the school curriculum be enough on its own. That said, one of her friends who will do music has taken up guitar this year, entirely self taught except for school rock band practice, and he is getting good quickly. A naturally good musician like that could do it, but most couldn't I reckon.

DS1 is just finishing his GCSE music. When he took music we saw it as his “fun” subject that he wouldn’t necessarily do that well in, but he has absolutely adored it, turned out to have a flair for composition, joined the school and county orchestras and flute groups, took up two other instruments and is on track for an 8 or 9. He is going to do it for A Level. When he started (year 9) I think he was maybe grade 4 on the flute, maybe 3, I can’t remember, now he is grade 7 standard. It helps that they have an absolutely inspirational music teacher.

DS2’s music department (different school) were very keen for him to choose music, which I find odd as he doesn’t play an instrument. He has singing lessons, but not because he is any good, more because he isn’t very good and he wants to be reasonable. They seemed to think he could “pass” GCSE music but I don’t think he would get a great grade. He is going to do drama which is a much better fit for him.

I’m actually horrified that a school would even offer music and not offer any provision for the child to actually learn an instrument. How are they even justifying running the course when they can’t support the teaching? That’s not access. I would be bringing that up with the governors. Is there no allocation for music teaching for those on limited incomes?

my children go to a comp and music lessons are included for free for anyone taking GCSE level work.

DD's school do fund instrument lessons in the school day for kids receiving FSMs (20mins/week), hopefully other schools do too.

From what you are describing, I think you and your daughter should enquire closely about the GCSE music syllabus and how it is taught. My impression from idly browsing the various music boards when my two were doing it, is that there is significant variation among the boards and also a high degree of flexibility as to how a school can approach the subject. Particularly in the composition and performance elements - if your school seems to prioritise rock band, music tech, non-classical music, and your daughter's preference is more in the classical direction (if it is), she may not enjoy the course as much and may not get the ensemble performance experiences she'd prefer. Certainly her standard sounds entirely adequate to do well at GCSE, but just like for, say, GCSE History, the teachers can make choices that impact the student experience. Can your daughter talk to any older students currently doing GCSE music?

Mine were both music scholars (different schools) but I made it clear to them that I didn't want them feeling they "had" to do GCSE music if there was another subject they didn't want to miss out on. In the end one did music A level, the other could have done but was put off by the teachers in the department, it was sadly noticeable that A level music was mostly taken only by new 6th form entrants.

All 3 of mine have done/are doing GCSE music (I think with 2 different exam boards). All were told to look for grade 4-5 performance pieces which they could play pretty much perfectly. Pieces were worth 30%, composition 30% and written exam 40%. Both eldest walked into the written exam already knowing they had achieved almost maximum marks on both practical elements and therefore were already guaranteed a reasonable grade. This really took the pressure off the written exam. And all enjoyed it, but they all enjoyed their instruments and continue to do so. If your DC enjoys playing and intends to continue with their instrument, it could well prove an easy option for them.

Schools usually try and get away with it by saying that those who don't play an instrument can sing. But as the wife of a singing teacher that is OK if someone is naturally gofted but singing needs to be taught the same as other instruments.