Yr 10 GCSE

Music
A guide to
composing for
GCSE

First of all,
You are ALL good musicians.
Composing is difficult, BUT, you CAN do
it!!
Composing is like writing an essay. As
long as you have good content and
follow the simple rules, it will get you
good marks.
Be positive and ask for help if you need it
that is what were here for.

The Basics what do you

need?
Structure
Key
Melody and
Accompaniment
Dynamics and phrasing
Rhythm

Structure
Your music must have a simple
structure that is easy identifiable.
There is no shame in repeating
musical ideas.
Examples of structures:
RONDO: ABACADA
BINARY: AABB
TERNARY/SONATA: ABA

Key
You MUST write your music in a
key! You need to be able to identify
and explain what key you are in.
Modulation: at some point in your
music (in a new section), you need
to change the key. This change of
key must happen smoothly!!
Keep it simple if in doubt use C
Major !

Melody and
Accompaniment
Write a simple tune
Add an accompaniment based on
the chords
ALWAYS think about whether your
music makes sense harmonically
(downwards!), not just in terms of
writing lots of good tunes. THIS
WILL NOT WORK!

Dynamics and Phrasing

Once your music is finished you
MUST add expression marks to
it. This can make the difference
between grades. It shows you
are a good and accomplished
musician.
Phrasing demonstrates that you
understand how music works.

Rhythm
Do NOT write rhythms that look like a
plague of ants across the page!! (Lots
of random rests and little short notes)
Although this may SOUND ok on
Sibelius, in practice it is impossible to
play rhythms like this and you will not
get a good mark
WARNING SIGN: Look out for rests and
notes with lots of tails.

BASIC HINTS
Your two compositions are worth 40% of
your grade. DO NOT think that
anything will do
Keep it simple!! Dont try and write the
most intricate piece of music ever, or
the most advanced drum part ever
heard this is not important at GCSE. It
is far more important to tick the
boxes.
Look back and ensure you have the five
basics