IMPACT IGCSE MUSIC PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

A structured two-year pathway for Cambridge IGCSE (9–1) Music 0978

The IMPACT IGCSE Music Programme is designed to support students through the full two-year Cambridge IGCSE Music course in Years 10 and 11.

The programme develops musical knowledge, understanding and practical musicianship through the three interconnected areas of Listening, Performing and Composing. Students study seven areas of study: Baroque music, Classical music, Romantic music, Music and Words, Music for Dance, Music for Small Ensemble, and Music for Stage and Screen.

ASSESSMENT STRUCTURE

Listening — 40%
Written examination based on recorded extracts.

Performing — 30%
Solo performance and performing with others.

Composing — 30%
Two contrasting original compositions.

The programme is organised so that listening, performance and composition develop continuously across both years rather than being taught as separate blocks.

YEAR 10 — BUILDING THE MUSICAL LANGUAGE

Year 10 begins by identifying students’ existing strengths and gaps in listening, performance, composition, notation and score reading.

The course then develops through a deliberate progression:

Core Musical Language
Notation, clefs, rhythm, metre, key signatures, intervals, dynamics, articulation, harmony, chords and cadences.

Baroque Music
Concerto, concerto grosso, basso continuo, imitation, polyphony, ornamentation and Baroque performance practice.

Classical Music
Balanced phrasing, homophonic texture, cadences, sonata form, harmonic direction and thematic development.

Romantic Music
Expanded orchestration, expressive harmony, programme music, national identity and thematic development.

Music and Words
Art song, choir, popular song and musical theatre, including word setting, accompaniment, text expression and structure.

Music for Dance
Tango, Salsa and EDM, developing understanding of rhythm, metre, syncopation, instrumentation, layering and production.

Music for Small Ensemble
Chinese Silk and Bamboo, Hindustani Classical Music and Arab Takht, including instrumentation, texture, improvisation, rāga, tāla, maqām and īqā’āt.

Throughout Year 10, students also develop solo and ensemble repertoire and move from short creative tasks towards sustained composition work.

YEAR 11 — APPLICATION, COURSEWORK & EXAM PREPARATION

Year 11 introduces the final area of study:

Music for Stage and Screen
Ballet, film and video-game music, with a focus on atmosphere, tension, action, leitmotif, orchestration, synchronisation, layering and thematic transformation.

Students then revisit all seven areas of study while completing coursework and preparing for the final listening examination.

Year 11 includes:

Listening Development
Full-syllabus listening, unfamiliar extracts, score reading, musical terminology and evidence-based written responses.

Performance Development
Refinement and recording of solo and ensemble repertoire.

Composition Development
Completion of two original compositions, including planning, structure, notation, recording and final refinement.

Examination Preparation
Mock examinations, timed listening practice, targeted intervention, retrieval and final revision.

CUMULATIVE MUSICAL LANGUAGE

Musical language is revisited throughout Years 10 and 11 rather than taught once and then abandoned.

Students progressively develop:

• Melody

• Scales and modes

• Rhythm and metre

• Tonality

• Harmony

• Texture

• Musical devices

• Dynamics and articulation

• Structure

• Instruments and voices

• Music technology

• Notation and transposition

PERFORMING PROGRESSION

Performance develops continuously from the beginning of Year 10.

Students move from diagnostic performance and repertoire selection towards technical development, regular performance opportunities, recorded progress checks and final solo and ensemble recordings in Year 11.

COMPOSING PROGRESSION

Composition also develops progressively.

Students begin with short tasks linked to musical language and historical styles before moving into motif development, harmony, form, texture and idiomatic instrumental writing.

By the end of the course, students complete two original compositions. The second responds to a candidate-defined brief linked to Music and Words, Music for Dance, Music for Small Ensemble or Music for Stage and Screen.

THE IMPACT APPROACH TO IGCSE MUSIC

The IMPACT IGCSE Music Programme is not intended to replace the Cambridge syllabus.

It provides a structured teaching pathway through it.

The aim is to help students connect what they hear, perform, read, understand and create, so that listening, performing and composing reinforce one another throughout the course.

One course. Three interconnected disciplines. Progressive preparation from Year 10 to final examination.