Music

Why study GCSE music?

Studying for a GCSE in music can increase overall academic performance, offer a creative outlet for students and provide them with a well-rounded education. Collectively, these benefits can boost self-esteem, and help students make more competitive applications to universities and higher education institutions. 

Increase overall academic performance

Studying GCSE music can increase your performance in other academic subjects. In fact, a study published by Cambridge University Press found that studying music led to better academic outcomes. Specifically, performance in English and Maths improved for students involved in the study. 

Get a well-rounded education

Increasingly, universities and higher education institutions want to attract students with a ‘well-rounded’ education. By this, they mean students with GCSEs in a range of academic fields, from creative to more scientific subjects. By studying music, you can include a creative subject in your application, helping you to stand out from your peers. 

Find a creative outlet

Aside from the academic reasons to study music, it can also offer students a creative outlet. It offers a change of pace from more scientific subjects, and gives students a chance to express themselves in different ways. 

Boost self-esteem

A large part of studying a music GCSE is the performance aspect. You’ll be asked to perform with an instrument, your voice or music technology. Doing so may help you to gain confidence when performing in front of an audience, and boost self-esteem generally. 

Skills you’ll gain from GCSE music

A GCSE in music is both theoretical and practical. As well as subject-specific knowledge, it’ll equip you with many transferable skills, such as:

Teamwork

When you perform with a group in your assessment, you’ll have to work together to make the performance a success. This builds teamwork skills, which are applicable to many other subjects and careers. 

Independent Learning 

Likewise, you’ll also have to produce a lot of work independently as part of the course. For example, you’ll have to compose a piece of music from a brief, write essays and take an exam. This will demonstrate your ability to work independently and follow specific instructions. 

Listening

This course involves a lot of active listening. Not just hearing, but really listening to a piece of music and being able to understand and interpret it. This is a transferable skill that’s useful in a range of contexts, for example if you choose to study a foreign language. 

Analytical skills

As part of your assessment for this course, you’ll have to write answers to exam questions based on what you’ve learned in each module. You’ll listen to a piece of music and then be asked a series of questions. This requires analytical thinking to be able to understand, interpret and formulate a written and/or oral response to the prompt. 

Creative thinking

More so than other GCSE subjects, music will develop students’ creative thinking skills. They’ll be given a brief, then be asked to compose a piece of music, requiring them to use their own ideas to create the final piece. This is applicable to many other subjects and careers, and will help them stand out to future employers. 

Where Could GCSE Music Lead?

You may choose to continue with music, by studying A-level Music, but equally, you might want to study other subjects. Professions such as medicine, law, and accountancy view Music as a highly regarded academic subject, so Music can complement your other studies at A Level. Either way, choosing music at GCSE will have benefited you because it provides many important transferable skills such as presentation skills, independent learning and teamwork.