Pearson Edexcel GCSE Music Past Papers & Mark Schemes

Pearson Edexcel GCSE Music (specification code 1MU0) develops students' musical understanding and creativity across three components — Performing, Composing, and Listening and Appraising — with 65 resources in this archive including examination papers, mark schemes, examiner reports, and composition briefs. Component 1 — Performing (1MU0/01) — accounts for 30% of the GCSE and is assessed through a portfolio of at least two performances, totalling at least four minutes of playing or singing. At least one performance must be a solo and at least one must be an ensemble. Performances are recorded and submitted for marking; they are not live examinations. Examiner reports for the performing component are included in this archive. Component 2 — Composing (1MU0/02) — also accounts for 30% and requires students to produce two compositions totalling at least three minutes of music. One composition responds to a brief set by Edexcel and one is a free composition. Composition briefs are included in this archive — the 2018 briefs are available as a reference for the type of compositional challenges set by the board. Examiner reports are included, providing detailed feedback on what distinguishes successful compositions. Component 3 — Listening and Appraising (1MU0/03) — is the written examination, accounting for 40% of the total GCSE marks. It lasts 1 hour 45 minutes and assesses students' ability to listen to and analyse music from across the four Areas of Study: Western Classical Tradition, Popular Music, Traditional Music, and Western Classical Tradition since 1910. This is the component most represented in the past paper archive. The Listening paper tests musical vocabulary, notation reading, identifying musical features from recordings, and written analysis of the set works and wider listening repertoire.