AQA GCSE Music Past Papers & Mark Schemes

AQA GCSE Music (specification code 8271) combines a written listening examination with performance and composition components. The written exam (Understanding music) accounts for 40% of the final grade. Performance accounts for 30% and composition accounts for 30%. Component 1, the written exam, lasts 1 hour 30 minutes and is worth 80 marks. Students listen to a series of musical extracts — both set works (which they have studied in advance) and unfamiliar music — and answer questions about what they hear. The questions test: musical vocabulary and terminology (dynamics, tempo, texture, tonality, rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre, structure), understanding of musical context, and analytical listening skills. AQA specifies a set list of works that must be studied. These span different genres and periods — typically including pieces from Western Classical, Popular, and World Music traditions. Students must be able to identify and describe musical features of the set works in detail, and compare them with unfamiliar extracts from the same or similar traditions. Component 2 (Performance) is internally assessed and externally moderated. Students perform one solo and one ensemble piece, recorded for moderation. Component 3 (Composition) involves creating two pieces of music — one in response to a brief set by AQA and one free composition. Both compositions are submitted with a score or lead sheet. The composition resources available in the past papers may include marking guidance and annotated examples.