Bridging the Gap to GCSE Music
Help students with little formal musical background master the fundamentals and prepare for the challenging 2016 GCSE specifications!
- Clear student-friendly introduction to all theoretical concepts, from time signatures to transposition
- Thorough and systematic explanations develop knowledge and confidence — perfect for in-class or independent study
- Engaging activities in every chapter re-enforce learning and promote progress
- Gradually builds in difficulty to improve skills and expand understanding
The quality of writing is excellent...
...everything is covered in depth and detail, according to the needs of a pupil...
...there are many theoretical concepts which are clearly explained using student-friendly language
Plus! Answers to all activities – great for self-assessment or easy marking
A useful resource to aid teacher explanations, and for students to be able to refer back to
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What do teachers say about this resource? (9599)
An excellent resource. I used it at the very start of September/October this year with my Year 10 GCSE group. Being as they had missed so much Key Stage 3 time due to lockdown it was so useful to have a ready made set of activities that introduced the musical elements with activities along the way. It gave me a perfect starting point to then make sure that I was catering for my Grade 6 flautist as well as my guitar player who started in September and wasn't able to have any lessons!
I particularly liked the fact that there were practical activities throughout the pack that could be used for whole class practical (such as the clapping example in the rhythm section) and there were activities like identifying the interval and the notes in the pitch and notation section that could be completed individually and worked well as a homework task. I worked through every activity with my class (and obviously differentiated some for the students I have) but it was a fantastic resource. The students commented a number of times how helpful it was being as they had missed half of their Year 9 lessons!
It helped me by giving me a scheme of work to initially follow to introduce the musical elements and really focus upon each one. The students understanding now of intervals, consonance and dissonance and cadences is so much better already than any other GCSE class I have. The layout of information and inclusion of activities has just been so useful. In a way not being able to do practical this term meant that I looked for a resource that bridged the gap between Key Stage 3 and 4 and this does it perfectly.
I haven't found any other resources that bridge the gap between key stage 3 and 4 with so many activities to complete (and I really looked over the Easter holidays). The students have commented on how they feel that their theoretical knowledge has really benefitted from having a detailed set of resources and activities to work through. I wish I had discovered it a while ago!
It was great and saved me a huge amount of time getting lower ability pupils who had opted to study music GCSE up the the correct level... Significantly in-depth detail that can be taught to pupils of all abilities. There’s something for every kind of pupil in each activity... It broke each area of musical element into manageable chunks... It’s all there. It explains it proficiently in a format that pupils understand and then tests them on the knowledge they have attained... Covered the elements of music and all aspects of musical analysis and composition needed to access the top marks at GCSE.
Excellent resource... There are many lessons that can be done even without instruments... It enables us to cover music classes even by a non-specialist teacher. This is very important for us... Each lesson doesn't require prior knowledge... Very easy to use... It matches the specification well... Very good.
The quality of writing in this resource is excellent... All definitions are accurate and clearly presented... All answers are correct and very clearly set out... There are many theoretical concepts here, which are clearly explained using student-friendly language, enabling pupils to work through this booklet with minimal teacher input... There are many clear musical notation examples given, labelled where appropriate, and reference tables which clearly set out definitions, examples and symbols. Everything is covered in depth and detail, according to the needs of a pupil about to embark on the GCSE journey. The examples and activities are highly relevant and useful... The author clearly knows what is expected at GCSE level and where pupils need to increase their knowledge and understanding prior to starting the course... This is a thorough and comprehensive resource which would be a useful booklet for pupils to work through the term before starting GCSE, if not earlier! Overall a great resource.
This is very thorough and professional in its approach... comprehensive! The resource provides two clear aspects - one is technical explanations of the nuts and bolts of musical theory - this is a useful resource to aid teacher explanations, and also for students to be able to refer back to so their learning is consolidated. Secondly, the resource provides some clear examples to test students' learning and understanding.