Tinashe JeraMusic

For Schools · GCSE & IGCSE

Teach composition with confidence

The Complete Guide to Music Composition is a two-year composition course for GCSE and IGCSE classes, with everything a music department needs to teach it: a textbook, lesson slides, worksheets, recorded examples, answers and assessments.

  • 12 lessons ready now
  • 138 textbook pages
  • 120+ musical examples
  • 5 exam boards
See plans and pricingSee what’s inside
Cover of The Complete Guide to Music Composition, Part I: The Composer’s Toolkit

Term 1 · ready now

A complete term, ready to teach

Part I, The Composer’s Toolkit, takes students from pulse and rhythm to their first complete eight-bar composition with accompaniment. Every resource is coded by lesson and linked to the textbook, so a teacher can deliver the term with very little preparation.

  • TextbookPart I, The Composer’s Toolkit: 138 print-ready pages with engraved examples, guided tasks and a Composer’s Brief in every unit.
  • Lesson PowerPointsOne editable presentation per lesson. Audio plays only when you click, and answers stay hidden until you reveal them.
  • Teacher Handbook & scheme of workGuidance for every lesson, the term’s scheme of work and a start-here resource index.
  • Student Workbook & worksheetsA worksheet for every lesson, also compiled into one printable workbook.
  • Answers & marking guidanceAnswers, model compositions and marking guidance for every lesson, plus the compiled Teacher Answer Book.
  • Musical examplesEvery example as an engraved score, MusicXML, MIDI and MP3, with slow and part-by-part recordings.
  • Differentiation & extensionA pack for each two-week unit, with support and challenge tasks.
  • Assessment & trackingBaseline test, exit tickets, unit checkpoints, the A1 Final Project Pack and an Excel progress tracker.
  • Homework & question bankA homework sheet per lesson with time estimates, and a question bank ready for online quizzes.
  • Editable sourcesWord versions of every document, so you can adapt the materials for your classes.

Term 1 at a glance

Six units, twelve lessons

Each unit lasts two weeks and ends with a review. Students compose in every lesson and build towards a complete piece written to a brief.

  1. Unit 1Rhythm, Pitch and First Musical Ideas1 · Pulse, Rhythm and the Rhythmic Motif2 · Pitch, the Treble Clef and the Keyboard
  2. Unit 2Scales, Keys and Melodic Construction3 · Scales, Keys and the Tonic4 · Intervals, Contour and the Motif
  3. Unit 3Chords and Harmonic Foundations5 · Triads and Chord Symbols6 · Voicing, First Inversion and Accompaniment
  4. Unit 4Harmonic Progressions7 · Primary Chords and Harmonic Function8 · Common Progressions and the Eight-Bar Plan
  5. Unit 5Phrases, Cadences and Melody with Harmony9 · Phrases, Question and Answer, and Cadences10 · Writing a Melody over Chords
  6. Unit 6The First Complete Composition11 · From Brief to Draft12 · Refine, Perform and Submit

Look inside

Clear pages, real music

Engraved examples you can hear, step-by-step composing tasks, and briefs with a real purpose and audience.

  • Unit 1 opening page: Rhythm, Pitch and First Musical Ideas
    Every unit opens with its outcome and milestone
  • Textbook page on the rhythmic motif with notated examples
    Ideas taught through examples students can hear
  • A Composer’s Brief: a chant for sports day
    Composer’s Briefs with a purpose and an audience
  • Textbook page on chords and triads
    Harmony built up one step at a time
  • Student worksheet for Lesson 2
    A worksheet for every lesson, with answers

The two-year course

From first ideas to a finished portfolio

Written against the composition requirements of AQA, Pearson Edexcel, Eduqas, OCR and Cambridge IGCSE (0410/0978). Each term ends with an assessed piece, and the course finishes with the exam portfolio.

  1. Year 1 · Term 1The Composer’s ToolkitReady now
  2. Year 1 · Term 2Developing Musical IdeasIn preparation
  3. Year 1 · Term 3Popular Music CompositionIn preparation
  4. Year 2 · Term 1Composing Across Musical TraditionsIn preparation
  5. Year 2 · Term 2The Independent ComposerIn preparation
  6. Year 2 · Term 3Portfolio CompletionIn preparation

Subscriptions

Choose your plan

Essential teaching resources for one teacher, or the complete teaching library for the whole department.

For one teacher

Individual Educator

Essential Resources for Inspired Music Teaching

£149/year

Equivalent to £12.42 per month, billed annually.

  • Digital textbooks from the core teaching library
  • Lesson PowerPoint presentations
  • Model compositions and engraved scores
  • Audio examples and listening resources
  • Essential classroom activities
  • Updates to included resources

Worksheet packs, lesson plans and complete teaching bundles are available as separate purchases.

Licensed to one named teacher. Upgrade to Department at any time, with credit for your unused time.

Recommended for schools and music departments

Music Department Complete

The Complete Music Teaching Resource Library

£499/year

Equivalent to £41.58 per month, billed annually.

  • Everything in Individual Educator
  • Complete worksheet packs and lesson plans
  • Schemes of work and curriculum planning
  • Assessment materials and marking guides
  • Editable teaching resources
  • Every authorised music teacher at your school, each with their own login
  • Printable classroom resources shared across the department
  • Updates and new additions to the school library

One school or campus ·

Annual billing only; monthly figures are for comparison. Subscriptions renew automatically each year and can be cancelled at any time before renewal. New terms reach subscribers first. Prices include VAT where it applies. See the licence terms.

Compare the plans

What’s includedIndividual EducatorMusic Department Complete
Digital textbooksIncludedIncluded
Lesson PowerPointsIncludedIncluded
Model compositions and scoresIncludedIncluded
Audio examplesIncludedIncluded
Essential classroom activitiesIncludedIncluded
Complete worksheet packsAvailable separatelyIncluded
Detailed lesson plansAvailable separatelyIncluded
Schemes of workAvailable separatelyIncluded
Curriculum plannersAvailable separatelyIncluded
Assessment and marking resourcesAvailable separatelyIncluded
Complete teaching bundlesAvailable separatelyIncluded
Number of authorised educatorsOne named teacherAll authorised music teachers at one school or campus
Departmental sharing rightsNot includedInternal sharing within the school
Resource updatesUpdates to included resourcesUpdates and new additions

Subscription questions

Can I download the resources?

Yes. Included resources are downloadable for authorised teaching and educational use: print worksheets, present the PowerPoints, study the textbooks and use the scores and audio in class.

Can I print worksheets for my students?

Yes. Educators may print and distribute designated student-facing materials to students they directly teach, within their licence permissions.

Can I share my individual subscription with another teacher?

No. Individual subscriptions are licensed to one named educator. Logins are personal, and teacher resources may not be shared with colleagues.

Can I purchase worksheets and lesson plans separately?

Yes. Selected supplementary resources are available for individual purchase in the shop as teaching packs for each term, licensed to the buyer for their own teaching. When a new term is released, subscribers get it straight away; its teaching packs go on sale later.

Can I upgrade from Individual Educator to Music Department Complete?

Yes, at any time, from the Licence page in the teacher portal. Your department year starts the day you upgrade, and the unused part of your Individual year is credited against the price, so you never pay twice for the same time.

What is the difference between the two subscriptions?

The Individual Educator plan provides the essential teaching library for one teacher. Music Department Complete provides the full eligible school teaching library, including supplementary teaching packs, for all authorised teachers within one school.

Are all future books included?

No. Subscription access applies to the designated teaching library. Specialist premium publications and independent courses may be sold separately.

What happens when my subscription expires?

Access to the teacher portal, new downloads and updates ends when the subscription ends (with a 14-day grace period for renewals). Copies already printed for your students may continue to be used with those students until the end of that academic year. Downloaded files should not be used for new teaching or further copying unless you renew.

Can multiple schools share one department subscription?

No. Each Music Department Complete licence covers one school or campus, not an academy trust or multi-school organisation. Each school needs its own subscription.

How do renewal and cancellation work?

Subscriptions are billed annually and renew automatically. You can cancel at any time before the renewal date from the teacher portal, and access continues until the end of the paid year.

Questions from teachers

Which exam boards does it cover?

The course was planned from the composition requirements of AQA, Pearson Edexcel, Eduqas and OCR GCSE Music, and Cambridge IGCSE Music (0410/0978). It builds the skills all of them assess, and the later terms prepare students for each board’s brief and portfolio rules.

Can I adapt the materials?

Yes. The PowerPoints are editable, and Word versions of every document are included so you can change wording, examples or tasks for your classes.

What do I need to use the lesson slides?

Microsoft PowerPoint (or Keynote). Audio is built into the slides and plays only when you click, so nothing starts by itself in front of a class.

Is it suitable for students with little notation?

Yes. Term 1 starts from pulse and rhythm, every unit has support and challenge tasks, and students hear every example as well as reading it.