Overview

Ever wanted to be able to produce your own or others music with high sound quality?

Ever wanted to learn how hit records can now be produced with minimal equipment?

Then this is the course for you.

Exam Board: NCFE

This is a GCSE level vocational qualification focusing on how technology is used in the producing of Music.

In this course you will learn to:

• understand the place of music technology within the music business

• understand hardware components and software functions of a digital udio workstation (DAW)

• use DAW software to produce musical projects

• understand how music is composed through the study and analysis of musical elements

• analyse the developments in musical style enabled by technology

• select and apply musical elements to create stylistically appropriate musical outcomes

• use sound creation in different forms of media

• apply sound creation to achieve an outcome

• understand planning and undertake multitrack recording and mixing

• use recording equipment to capture and store multitrack audio recordings

Topics covered

Students can only study one of the following music courses; Music GCSE or Music Technology. Students should discuss their skills set suitability for these courses with the music department prior to signing up for the course.

Assessments

Non Examined Assessment (Coursework)

• 60% of the technical award 120 marks

• The completion time for the non-exam assessment is 17 hours.

• The non-exam assessment will assess the learner’s ability to effectively draw together their knowledge, understanding and skills from across the whole vocational area.

• This work is completed once all the content for the course has been covered

• A different non-exam assessment brief will be released every September.

Examined assessment - Externally-set Written examination

• 40% of technical award Written examination:

  • 80 marks

  • 1 hour 30 minutes

  • A mixture of multiple-choice, short-answer, and extended response questions The written examined assessment is a terminal assessment and will assess the learner’s knowledge and understanding of all content areas

• The examination date is expected to take place in May/June every year

FAQs

Are there any entry requirements for Music Technology?

Apart from an interest and a passion for the subject, there are no entry requirements. Things that are beneficial are:

Having some experience on a musical instrument

Having something to record musical ideas at home, which could be anything from a phone with a free music recording app to a full recording set up with computer and audio interface.

My son/daughter really wants to do Music, but is struggling with choosing between the Music GCSE or the Level 2 Technical award in Music Technology. How should they decide?

There are a few factors to consider here. Firstly, it is important to think about where your child’s musical interests and strengths lie. The GCSE option has a stronger focus on the building blocks of music and a greater breadth in terms of musical styles ranging from Classical music to modern styles, along with a strong practical performance element. The music tech option has a stronger focus on how sound is created, recorded, and manipulated. It will go into more depth looking at using hardware equipment and software to record mix and change sound sources using a range of effects and techniques. It does look at different styles of music but these are all modern eg twentieth century. Both options have plenty of scope for creativity with composing units, and whichever option is chosen, your child will be a confident user of recording software by the end of the course.

Secondly it is helpful to think about what your child may want to do with this qualification post 16. Both courses can lead to Music A Level or Music Technology A level, but it is strongly advised to take GCSE to lead to Music A level and Music Technology to lead to A level in Tech.

What styles and genres does it cover?

Answer: We will explore a range of popular music styles from the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as exploring film music.

Is it necessary to buy any musical equipment as part of the course?

Answer: No, all the equipment needed will be provided by the music department.