Lesson 3
La música.
Music — the types you like, how you listen, playing instruments and going to concerts, and your opinions. Work through the eight steps below: learn the words, read, listen, translate, then practise the photo card, role-play and writing exactly as they appear in the AQA exam.
Refresh your KS3 music words.
You met all of these in earlier years. Tap any word to hear it, and check the model sentence to see it in action. These are the building blocks — make sure they're solid before the new GCSE words.
Twenty new GCSE words.
Each card shows the word, its meaning, a model sentence and a tag: F on the AQA list (Foundation & Higher), H Higher only, útil not on AQA's list but very useful for speaking & writing. Tap to listen.
Read, then answer.
Two texts on the same topic — a Foundation text and a tougher Higher text. Read each one, then answer the questions in English underneath. They mark themselves: tap your answer and you'll see straight away if you're right.
La música es mi pasión — Diego
La música en directo — Elena
Listen, then answer.
Press play to hear the passage read aloud, as many times as you need, then answer the English questions. You can reveal the transcript afterwards to check what you heard.
🎧 Native-quality audio. Play it as many times as you need — just like the real exam, where each recording is played twice.
La música pop — Marta
Toco en un grupo — Hugo
Translate both ways.
First Spanish → English (reading translation), then English → Spanish (the harder direction, tested in Paper 4). Have a go on paper, then tap to reveal the model answer and compare.
Translate into English
Translate into Spanish
Describe the photo card.
In the speaking exam you get a card with two photos from one theme. You must say at least one thing about each photo, then have a conversation on the topic. Here are two photos about music and the kind of questions you'll be asked.
- 1.¿Qué hay en las fotos? Describe la escena. Compulsory
- 2.¿Qué tipo de música te gusta y por qué?
- 3.¿Tocas algún instrumento? ¿Vas a conciertos?
- 4.¿Es importante la música en tu vida? (opinión + razón)
Describing the photos — model answer
The first question is compulsory: say at least one thing about each photo. Below are two model descriptions you can adapt to whoever is in the picture — tap the speaker to hear them.
Foto A — at a nightclub. En la primera foto hay mucha gente bailando en una discoteca. Hay luces de colores por todas partes y todos parecen pasarlo muy bien escuchando música. Salir a bailar es una forma muy popular de disfrutar de la música los fines de semana.
In the first photo there are lots of people dancing in a nightclub. There are coloured lights everywhere and everyone seems to be having a great time listening to music. Going out dancing is a very popular way to enjoy music at weekends.
Foto B — a concert. En la segunda foto se ve un concierto de música en directo. Un músico toca la guitarra en el escenario y el público levanta las manos y canta. El ambiente parece increíble. Ir a conciertos es una forma muy emocionante de disfrutar de la música.
In the second photo you can see a live music concert. A musician is playing the guitar on stage and the audience has their hands up, singing along. The atmosphere looks amazing. Going to concerts is a very exciting way to enjoy music.
Useful vocabulary & phrases
Para empezar: en la primera / segunda foto hay… (there is) · se ve a… (you can see) · unos jóvenes / un grupo de amigos
La música: escuchar música · tocar la guitarra / el piano · cantar · ir a conciertos · el grupo · el/la cantante
Tipos y opiniones: el pop / el rock / la clásica / el reguetón · animado · relajante · pegadizo · emocionante
Opinar (tu turno): mi tipo de música favorito es… · me gusta … porque tiene buen ritmo · la música me ayuda a relajarme
Then the conversation
- Q2 — what you like: Mi tipo de música favorito es el pop porque tiene buen ritmo.
- Q3 — instrument / concerts: Toco la guitarra y, el año pasado, fui a un concierto increíble.
- Q4 — opinion + reason (this is where Higher students score): Para mí, la música es esencial porque me ayuda a relajarme y une a la gente.
- Higher tier: add a tense — Antes tocaba el violín… (imperfect) or me gustaría tocar en un festival (conditional) — and an opinion with creo que / pienso que.
The role-play.
The instructions are in English. You must answer the prompts and ask one question (the ! bullet). Try it out loud first, then reveal the model answers.
Your Spanish friend asks you about music and what you like to listen to. Your teacher plays your friend.
Model answers & tips
Write your answer.
Two tasks in the real exam style — a Foundation ~50-word task (five bullets) and a Higher ~90-word task (three bullets). Use the sentence starters (tap to drop them into the pad) and the useful vocab, then compare with a model answer.
La música
≈ 50 words · 5 bullets · 10 marksDescribe la música que te gusta. Menciona los cinco puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 50 palabras en español.
La música en mi vida
≈ 90 words · 3 bullets · 15 marksDescribe la música que te gusta, qué escuchabas o tocabas antes y tus planes para el futuro. Menciona los tres puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 90 palabras en español.
Foundation answers cover all the bullets with clear, accurate present-tense sentences joined by y, pero and porque, plus at least one opinion. Higher answers do all that and then reach further: more than one tense (e.g. imperfect vivía, near future voy a, conditional me gustaría), opinions with developed reasons, a wider range of connectives (aunque, sin embargo, además) and more ambitious vocabulary. The biggest single lift from Foundation to Higher is justifying opinions and using a second and third tense accurately.