What Do IGCSE Music Examiners Look for in a Composition?
What do IGCSE Music examiners look for in a composition? How are the marks divided? And what separates a composition that scores 15 out of 25 from one that scores full marks?
The short answer: examiners do not reward complexity for its own sake. They reward clear musical ideas, developed with skill, written well for the instruments you chose, and presented so that a performer could actually play them. Every mark you earn comes from five criteria, and once you know them, you can compose with the mark scheme in mind instead of hoping for the best.
Let's explore!
This guide follows the Cambridge IGCSE Music (0410) syllabus for exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028. The Cambridge IGCSE (9–1) Music (0978) syllabus uses the same composing structure. If you study a different syllabus, such as Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Music, check your own specification, because the details differ.
The IGCSE Music composing component at a glance
Composing is Component 3 of Cambridge IGCSE Music. It is coursework: your teacher marks it in school, and Cambridge then moderates the marks.
It is worth 30% of your IGCSE Music grade.
You submit two compositions, each marked out of 25, for 50 marks in total.
Each composition is marked against five criteria, worth 5 marks each.
Your recordings are submitted as MP3 files.
Composition 1 and Composition 2: what is the difference?
Composition 1 is your free choice. You submit a complete score in staff notation, together with a recording. The recording can be a live performance or made with music technology.
Composition 2 is written to a brief that you set yourself, linked to one of four areas of study:
Music and words
Music for dance
Music for small ensemble
Music for stage and screen
For Composition 2 you submit a recording plus one of two options: a detailed written commentary with timings, using the official template, or a short statement explaining how your piece answers the brief, together with a score. That score can use the notation that suits your style, such as staff notation, a lead sheet or cipher notation.
One rule is easy to miss. Your two compositions must use a different selection of instruments, voices or electronic sounds. If both pieces use exactly the same combination, Composition 2 scores 0 for Use of Medium. That is 5 marks lost before anything else is considered.
Two other things are not accepted: arrangements of existing pieces, and a theme and variations on a theme you did not write yourself. Your music must be your own.
The five criteria IGCSE Music examiners mark
Each composition is marked out of 25 across the same five criteria. Below, for each one, you will find what the top band asks for, where marks are typically lost, and what I advise my own students to do about it.
1. Ideas (5 marks)
For full marks, the mark scheme asks for strong, inventive ideas showing keen aural awareness. For Composition 2, your ideas must also be a convincing response to the brief you set.
In practice, this starts with a strong opening idea: a melody, a rhythm, a chord pattern or a texture that is memorable and has somewhere to go. Spend real time on it. Sing it, play it, live with it for a few days. If you cannot remember your main idea the next morning, a listener will not remember it either.
2. Structure (5 marks)
The top band describes a clear, appropriate structure that creates both contrast and continuity across the whole piece. Lower down, the mark scheme warns against pieces that are over-reliant on repetition.
Plan your form before you write: ternary (ABA), rondo, verse and chorus, or a form that grows out of your brief. Sketch the sections, and roughly how long each will last. Then ask two questions. Where is the contrast? Think key, tempo, texture, dynamics, and mood. And what holds the piece together? Think returning material and well-shaped transitions.
Copying and pasting a whole section in notation software is quick, but it rarely earns marks. Return to your material, but change something when you do.
3. Use of Medium (5 marks)
This criterion is about writing for your chosen instruments or voices. Full marks go to imaginative use of resources throughout, with a broad range of varied textures. The middle band mentions balance problems or awkward writing.
Notation software will happily play anything you write. A real player cannot. Check the comfortable range of every instrument, write parts that suit the instrument, and make sure the melody is not buried under the accompaniment. Vary your textures: melody and accompaniment, a counter-melody, unison, a passage in imitation. If you can, ask a friend who plays the instrument to try your part. Their feedback is gold!
4. Compositional Technique (5 marks)
The top band asks for inventive, confident techniques to extend, develop and connect ideas, with convincing harmony where appropriate. The middle band describes reliance on stock devices.
Development is where good compositions become great ones. Take your main idea and work with it: sequence, inversion, augmentation and diminution, imitation between parts, a change of key, a new harmonisation of a familiar melody. A useful exercise is to write your opening motif out in three different ways before you decide how the piece continues.
5. Score Presentation or Written Commentary (5 marks)
If you submit a score, full marks need clear, well-presented notation with consistent attention to musical and performing detail. The mark scheme even gives omitted dynamics as an example of a score that lacks detail.
If you submit a written commentary for Composition 2, the top band asks for a detailed, consistently informative and accurate description of the structure and content of your piece, with timings.
This is the easiest criterion to improve in the final week, so do not waste it. Before you hand in, go through your score bar by bar and check tempo markings, dynamics, articulation, phrasing, and instrument names on every system.
Where IGCSE compositions most often lose marks
Read the middle bands of the mark scheme and a clear pattern appears. These are the things to check before you submit:
Both compositions use the same instruments, which costs 5 marks on Composition 2.
Sections repeat literally instead of returning with variation.
Parts sit outside an instrument's comfortable range, or the melody is buried.
Ideas are introduced but never developed.
Dynamics, articulation and tempo markings are missing from the score.
Composition 2 does not clearly connect to its brief.
The piece is an arrangement rather than an original composition.
How long should an IGCSE Music composition be?
The Cambridge syllabus sets no minimum or maximum length. Each piece should simply be long enough to show the skills being assessed. Cambridge provides example compositions for teachers, so ask your teacher to show you what a typical piece looks like.
Quality matters far more than length. A well-developed two-section piece will score higher than a long piece that repeats itself.
My advice for a top-band IGCSE composition
Compose with the mark scheme beside you. Know the five criteria and check your piece against each one as you work, not only at the end.
Plan before you write. Choose your instruments, your form and your main idea first. For Composition 2, write your brief carefully, because your piece is judged against it.
Get feedback early and often. An experienced teacher can hear in a few minutes what is not working yet, and show you how to fix it while there is still time.
Composing is a craft, and a craft can be taught!
If you are revising for the listening paper as well, you may also find my guide on how to revise for IGCSE and A Level Music exams helpful.
Personal help with your IGCSE Music composition
I offer live 1-on-1 online lessons in IGCSE Music, including composition coursework. Together we work through your ideas, structure, instrumentation and score, so you can submit a portfolio you are proud of. Every new student can start with a free 15-minute online consultation.
Frequently asked questions
How many marks is the IGCSE Music composition worth?
In Cambridge IGCSE Music (0410), composing is Component 3 and is worth 30% of the qualification. You submit two compositions, each marked out of 25, for 50 marks in total.
What are the IGCSE Music composition marking criteria?
Each composition is marked on five criteria worth 5 marks each: Ideas, Structure, Use of Medium, Compositional Technique, and either Score Presentation or Written Commentary.
Can my two IGCSE compositions use the same instruments?
No. The two compositions must use a different selection of instruments, voices or electronic sounds. If they are identical, Composition 2 receives 0 marks for Use of Medium.
Can I submit an arrangement for IGCSE Music composing?
No. Arrangements of existing pieces are not accepted, and neither is a theme and variations on a theme you did not write yourself.
Robert Boer | Music Educator, Founder and Owner of MusicTutorOnline
Comments