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IMPACT IGCSE STUDENT RESOURCES
A STRUCTURED APPROACH TO LISTENING, PERFORMING, COMPOSING & MUSICAL UNDERSTANDING

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LISTEN & ANALYSE

Develop your listening skills by identifying musical features, instruments, textures, structures and styles in a wide range of music.

PERFORM & DEVELOP

Build accuracy, fluency, expression and musical communication through solo and ensemble performance.

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COMPOSE & CREATE

Develop musical ideas into complete compositions using melody, harmony, rhythm, structure, texture and appropriate notation.

THEORY & CONTEXT

Strengthen your understanding of notation, scales, keys, chords, intervals, musical terms, instruments, styles and historical context.

YEAR 10

Build the core skills required for IGCSE Music through listening, score reading, performance and composition. Explore a wide range of musical styles and traditions while developing increasingly independent analytical, practical and creative work.

0 — IGCSE Introduction & Diagnostic
Understand the three IGCSE components and identify current strengths and areas for development in listening, performing and composing.

1 — Take Five — Listening & Musical Language
Introduce IGCSE listening through Take Five, developing recognition of metre, melody, texture, form and jazz style while applying 5/4 metre in practical ensemble work.

 

2 — Core Notation & Theory

Consolidate clefs, note values, rests, metre, score navigation, scales and intervals for confident IGCSE score reading.

 

3 — Harmony Foundations

Develop understanding of triads, inversions, primary chords and cadences and apply them in short harmonic writing.

 

4 — Introduction to Baroque Music

Recognise the instrumentation, texture, continuo, ornamentation and stylistic characteristics of Baroque music.

 

5 — Vivaldi: Spring — Thematic Material

Explore ritornello form, solo and tutti contrast, sequence, articulation, texture and harmony in Vivaldi’s Spring.

 

6 — Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 — Concerto Grosso and Ritornello Form
Explore concertino and ripieno contrast, ritornello form, imitation, sequence, polyphonic texture and the virtuosic role of the harpsichord in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5.

7 — Bach: Little Fugue in G minor, BWV 578 — Fugue & Imitation

Explore subject and answer, successive fugal entries, imitation, polyphonic texture, episodes and sequence, and examine how Bach develops a single musical idea throughout the fugue.

 

8 — Baroque Music — Consolidation

Secure key Baroque terminology and recognise its characteristic musical features independently by ear and from a score.

 

9 — Introduction to Classical Music

Recognise Classical phrasing, instrumentation, texture, balance and formal organisation.

 

10 — Mozart K.452 — Phrase & Harmony

Explore periodic phrasing, antecedent and consequent phrases, cadences and harmonic organisation in Mozart’s Quintet K.452.

 

11 — Mozart K.452 — Form & Thematic Contrast

Identify themes, contrast and structural organisation and learn how motifs are developed through repetition, sequence and variation.

 

12 — Classical Harmony & Keys

Develop understanding of tonic and dominant relationships, modulation, cadences and key relationships in Classical music.

 

13 — Classical Music — Application

Apply Classical style knowledge to unfamiliar listening and score-based questions involving keys, intervals, chords, cadences and texture.

 

14 — Baroque & Classical Comparison

Compare the musical language, instrumentation, texture, harmony and structure of Baroque and Classical music.

 

15 — Listening, Performing & Composing Review

Review progress across the three IGCSE components and identify specific areas for further development.

 

16 — Year 10 Progress Check

Demonstrate developing listening, performance and composition skills and establish individual targets for the next stage of the course.

 

17 — From Classical to Romantic

Explore how Romantic composers expanded orchestration, harmony, chromaticism, dynamics and musical expression.

 

18 — Smetana: Vltava — Programme Music

Explore how Smetana uses themes, orchestration and tone colour to represent ideas and events through music.

 

19 — Smetana: Vltava — Development & Structure

Analyse thematic transformation, chromaticism, modulation, texture and large-scale structure in Vltava.

 

20 — Music and Words — Art Song

Explore relationships between words and music through melody, accompaniment, syllabic and melismatic setting and expression.

 

21 — Music and Words — Vocal Styles

Compare choral music, popular song and musical theatre through vocal writing, texture, structure and expressive communication.

 

22 — Developing Composition

Develop an initial musical idea into a coherent composition through structure, harmony, contrast and effective use of medium.

 

23 — Composition & Performance Targets

Evaluate current composition and performance work and establish clear musical and technical priorities for further development.

 

24 — Introduction to Music for Dance

Explore how metre, rhythm, groove, tempo and musical structure support different forms of dance.

 

25 — Tango

Recognise and apply characteristic Tango rhythm, instrumentation, articulation and expressive style.

 

26 — Salsa

Explore clave, syncopation, percussion, bass patterns and layered textures characteristic of Salsa.

 

27 — Electronic Dance Music

Explore loops, ostinatos, layering, timbre, effects, technology and structure in EDM.

 

28 — Comparing Dance Styles

Compare Tango, Salsa and EDM using precise evidence about rhythm, metre, instrumentation, texture and structure.

 

29 — Music for Small Ensemble

Explore how instrumentation, texture, improvisation and ensemble roles vary across different musical traditions.

 

30 — Chinese Silk and Bamboo Music

Recognise characteristic instruments, heterophonic texture and melodic organisation in Jiangnan Sizhu music.

 

31 — Hindustani Classical Music

Explore raga, tala, drone, improvisation and the roles of performers in Hindustani classical music.

 

32 — Arab Takht

Explore the instruments, melodic organisation, ornamentation, texture and ensemble roles of the Arab takht tradition.

 

33 — Comparing World Music Traditions

Compare instrumentation, texture, rhythm and improvisation across contrasting small-ensemble traditions.

 

34 — Composition 1 Development

Develop a sustained original composition through stronger structure, contrast, harmony, instrumentation and notation.

 

35 — Performance Development

Evaluate solo and ensemble performance against IGCSE criteria and identify repertoire and technical priorities for Year 11.

 

36 — Year 10 Consolidation

Consolidate listening knowledge across the Areas of Study while reviewing composition, performance and individual Year 11 targets.

YEAR 11

Complete and refine your performing and composing coursework while consolidating knowledge across all IGCSE Areas of Study. Develop greater independence in analytical listening, score reading and examination technique as you prepare for the final Listening paper.

37 — Year 11 Diagnostic & Coursework Review

Review listening knowledge, performance progress and Composition 1 to establish priorities for the final year.

 

38 — Introduction to Music for Stage & Screen

Explore how music supports narrative, movement, atmosphere, character and dramatic action in ballet, film and video games.

 

39 — Film Music

Analyse leitmotif, orchestration, harmony, texture and thematic development and apply these techniques to music for moving image.

 

40 — Video-Game Music

Explore looping, adaptive structure, timbre and technology and consider how music responds to interactive media.

 

41 — Ballet & Stage Music

Explore how rhythm, movement, character and thematic transformation support dramatic and choreographic action.

 

42 — Baroque, Classical & Romantic Retrieval

Consolidate recognition and comparison of the principal stylistic features of the three major Western historical periods.

 

43 — Music and Words & Dance Retrieval

Apply listening knowledge to unfamiliar extracts from Music and Words and Music for Dance.

 

44 — Small Ensemble & Stage and Screen Retrieval

Consolidate recognition of world ensemble traditions and music written for stage, film and interactive media.

 

45 — Examination Technique I

Develop concise examination responses using command words, accurate terminology and efficient score navigation.

 

46 — Examination Technique II

Strengthen score-based skills involving keys, intervals, chords, cadences and other theoretical features.

 

47 — Composition 2 — Brief & Ideas

Respond to a chosen brief by generating suitable musical ideas and establishing an appropriate medium and structure.

 

48 — Composition 2 — Development

Extend and refine initial ideas through contrast, development, harmony, texture and effective use of instruments or voices.

 

49 — Performance Finalisation

Refine solo and ensemble repertoire through targeted work on accuracy, fluency, technique, style and musical communication.

 

50 — Coursework Development

Bring performance and composition work towards completion through focused rehearsal, editing, recording and evaluation.

 

51 — Mock Coursework Assessment

Evaluate performing and composing against the IGCSE criteria and identify the final improvements required before submission.

 

52 — Listening Mock & Intervention

Complete a timed listening assessment and use the results to identify specific theory, aural and stylistic gaps.

 

53 — Coursework Review

Audit performance and composition progress and establish a clear timetable for completing all remaining coursework.

54 — Coursework Audit

Check the status of solo performance, ensemble performance and both compositions and prioritise any unfinished work.

 

55 — Performance Refinement

Use mock recordings and feedback to improve technical control, stylistic accuracy, expression and overall performance quality.

 

56 — Composition 1 — Completion

Finalise structure, compositional technique, notation and recording so Composition 1 is ready for submission.

 

57 — Composition 2 — Refinement

Refine musical ideas, structure, use of medium and documentation to bring Composition 2 to final submission standard.

 

58 — Final Coursework Production

Complete final performance recordings, composition revisions and all supporting documentation.

 

59 — Coursework Submission Readiness

Check durations, recordings, scores, commentary and file organisation to ensure all coursework meets submission requirements.

 

60 — Final Coursework Checks & Listening Mock

Complete final coursework checks while using a full listening assessment to identify priorities for examination preparation.

 

61 — Diagnostic Listening Paper

Use a mixed listening paper to identify individual strengths and weaker areas before final examination revision begins.

 

62 — Baroque, Classical & Romantic Revision

Retrieve stylistic knowledge and practise applying it rapidly to unfamiliar recordings and score-based questions.

 

63 — Focused Aural Skills

Strengthen weaker aural skills through targeted listening, correction and repeated recognition practice.

64 — Music and Words & Dance Revision

Consolidate the characteristic musical features of vocal music and contrasting dance traditions through examination-style listening.

 

65 — Small Ensemble & Stage and Screen Revision

Review instrumentation, texture, cultural context, technology and stylistic features across these Areas of Study.

 

66 — Theory Under Timed Conditions

Practise recognising keys, scales, intervals, chords and cadences quickly and accurately within examination conditions.

 

67 — Score Reading & Transposition

Develop confidence in notation, score navigation, melodic and rhythmic completion and transposition.

 

68 — Full Past-Paper Practice

Apply listening, theory, score-reading and analytical skills independently under full examination conditions.

 

69 — Mock Examination & Feedback

Complete a full mock examination and use detailed feedback to target the final areas requiring improvement.

 

70 — Targeted Examination Preparation

Focus final revision on individual gaps through past papers, retrieval practice and precise evidence-based listening responses.

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MUSIC BOOKS & RESOURCES

These resources support your IGCSE Music studies through theory, notation, listening, score reading, performance and composition. Use them alongside your classroom work to strengthen musical understanding and independent study.

MUSIC FUNDAMENTALS

Music Fundamentals

 

Core theory, notation, rhythm, scales, intervals, dynamics and musical terminology.

LISTENING & MUSIC HISTORY READING

The Classical Music Book

 

A chronological guide to Western classical music, from early chant and medieval polyphony to the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and modern periods. Explore key composers, styles, forms and instruments.

PERFORMING & COMPOSING

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