I'm doing GCSE Music (Edexcel), currently in Year 10, and we have just started to look at our first Set Work - the Handel from Area of Study 1. We are using the books that have all the scores in, but obviously can't make notes on the music, because the books have to be used next year, and the year after that, and so on. Although it's been suggested that we bring in blank CDs to have the tracks copied, and we'll be given photocopies, would it be worth it to get the anthology? (It is quite expensive - ?£20 ) I personally find it very helpful to write on music that I'm studying, but I don't know what my parents will say.

Anyone else doing this course? What are your views?

We're doing the same course, and we're given photocopies of all the set works, but we've been told we can buy the books if we want. We can also but the CD and the texbook that goes through the areas of study, but the school has all of these.

The teacher suggests that we buy a copy of the CD, and then maybe the textbook if we want it (it has been very useful so far), but says that as she is giving us each a copy of each set work anyway that we might not want to buy an anthology.

im did edexcel gcse i know the course has changed but iv heard from ny brother who is doing it this year that my teacher is doing it the same way as she does it for a level

i get photocopies for every peice and we write on them and also our teacher burns it onto c.ds for us, all our class has the set peices on our ipods which is good if we move rooms

i have gone through two years of set peices and i havn't seen the point of buying the book ask if you could take the book to photocopy or do it at school so you can write on the music.

You don't have to buy new...I picked up my anthology for £3.99 from my local Oxfam. You could try www.abebooks.com for a better secondhand price.
Buying expensive hardcopy tends to be "worth-it" when the quality of the material lasts. To be honest not all anthologies stay the test of time.

Which anthology is it for GCSE now? Is it the same as the A level one?

If so I'd recommend buying it if you're going on to A level.

I'm not sure - it has our 12 Set Works in. They include a bit of Handel's Messiah, a symphony by Mozart and a piano piece by Chopin (not very specific I know). I expect the A level ones are different, or there wouldn't be much point doing both.

In the meantime, I've found a solution - IMSLP

great you found a soloution but the anthology also has the set pieces for a level in it, as all music for edexcel is taken out of that book well i think thats how it works cause when i did gcse we didn't have set pieces so theres no point of bringing out a whole new book for gcses if there

Just in case anyone's still wondering, the Anthology for Edexcel GCSE is different to the A level Anthology. I teach both!

i bought it so i can annotate it, because i'm really bad with photocopies
just out of interest, why are you only just doing the first set work?

Our teacher made us work through the very beginnings of music, through plainsong and Renaissance, before reaching Baroque. She said it would make more sense - which I think it does, especially for those in the class who didn't realise Baroque was any different from 'classical' (by which they think anything but pop music ).

We have now also done the Miles Davis, the Moby and the Jeff Buckley, but I'm worried that we haven't spent enough time on them: the student teacher assumed we would know all the misuc-tech words, like EQ, reverb, filtering and didn't really explain them properly.

Have you done any practice papers? What do you think about the lack of unprepared listening questions in the new syllabus?

ohh that makes sense then we did a quick runthrough the earlier bits but most people in our set were pretty clued up on it anyway. we've done the miles davis, moby and jeff buckley too but i found them much harder than the handel, mozart and chopin, i suppose because im not used to playing in that style :/
i quite like the lack of unprepared listening, it seems to make more sense that its all based on stuff weve been working on rather than unprepared. we havent done any practise papers yet but we are in a few weeks
have you started the controlled assessment and done any recordings?

We've started preparing our compositions, the controlled assessment is the last two weeks of this term. Our teacher offers lunchtime and after-school 1-2-1 help with compositions. Mine started for piano but I have now changed it to piano with 2 clarinets. It's in Db major, because she told us not to do it in C

Luckily we play the Miles Davis 'All Blues' at Jazz Band fairly regularly, so I at least knew the tune and structure quite well! I haven't found the modern music that much harder, although I do find it harder to pick out each line, with some of it - I can almost never hear the bass guitar, and have to guess whether or not it's there.

we're doing controlled assessment at the moment, mine is a duet for a violin and a cello. it was meant to be based on handel but its definitely bach now, and i'm getting worried that i've actually heard it before becuase, and this sounds cocky but i dont mean it, it sounds too good to be mine. but i dont know where ive heard it from and i asked my teacher, who didnt recognise it, so it should be okay