4 minute read
Music
Courses offered:
Music (HL) Music (SL)
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1. What is the nature of Music at IB level?
In this course, students and teachers engage in a journey of imagination and discovery through partnership and collaboration. Students develop and affirm their unique musical identities while expanding and refining their musicianship. They are encouraged to explore music in varied and sometimes unfamiliar contexts. Additionally, by experimenting with music, students gain hands-on experience while honing musical skills. Through realizing and presenting samples of their musical work with others, students also learn to communicate critical and artistic intentions and purpose. The course challenges them to engage practically with music as researchers, performers and creators, and to be driven by their unique passions and interests while broadening their musical and artistic perspectives.
2. What will be the approach to learning?
Students are asked to embody the roles of researcher, creator and performer when engaging with the material in the course. While in these roles, they investigate and reflect on the aims of the main 3 units (described in the course content). To help focus their learning, a range of diverse musical material is presented to them through four Areas of Inquiry:
1. Music for sociocultural and political expression ○ (e.g. protest songs, liturgical music, national anthems) 2. Music for listening and performance ○ (e.g. cool jazz, chamber music of the Western art tradition, experimental music) 3. Music for dramatic impact, movement and entertainment ○ (e.g. music for film, ballet or musical theatre) 4. Music technology in the electronic and digital age ○ (e.g. electronic dance music, technology in popular music production) Engagement with these Areas of Inquiry takes place across three contexts:
● Personal context – music that has significance to the student, and that they are most familiar with. Students consider their immediate cultural context and interests. ● Local context – music that has local significance, but that may be unfamiliar to the student.
This can be music from within the student’s local, regional or cultural communities. ● Global context – unfamiliar music from a variety of places, societies and cultures. This will include music that the student has not yet connected or engaged with.
Music HL students are additionally required to plan and create a long term project that combines skills from all the musical roles studied throughout the course.
3. What will be the subject content?
The syllabus is broken up into 3 units for SL, with HL undertaking 1 additional unit:
Exploring music in context
When exploring music in context, students will learn how to engage with a diverse range of music that will broaden their musical horizons and provide stimuli to expand their own music-making. Students will demonstrate diversity and breadth in their exploration by engaging with music from the areas of inquiry in personal, local and global contexts.
Experimenting with music
When experimenting with music, students connect theoretical studies to practical work and gain a deeper understanding of the music they engage with. Through this theoretical and practical work as researchers, creators and performers, students will learn to experiment with a range of musical material and stimuli from the areas of inquiry across local and global contexts.
Presenting music
When presenting music, students learn to practise and prepare finished pieces that will be performed or presented to an audience. In working towards completed musical works, students expand their musical identity, demonstrate their level of musicianship, and learn to share and communicate their music as researchers, creators and performers.
The contemporary music maker (HL only)
Music at higher level (HL) builds on the learning of musical competencies and challenges students to engage with the musical processes in settings of contemporary music-making. For the HL component, students plan and collaboratively create a project that draws on the competencies, skills and processes in all of the musical roles of the music course, and is inspired by real-life practices of music-making.
Format of assessment
Exploring music in context
Students select samples of their work for a portfolio submission (maximum 2,400 words). The submission contains:
a. Exploring as a researcher
● written work demonstrating engagement with, and understanding of, diverse musical material from at least two areas of inquiry
b. Exploring as a creator and as a performer
● one practical creating exercise (score max 32 bars and/or audio 1 min as appropriate to style) ● one performed adaptation of music from a local or global context for the student’s own instrument (max 2 mins)
c. supporting audio reference material (not assessed).
Experimenting with music
Students submit an experimentation report with evidence of their musical processes in creating and performing focused through at least two areas of inquiry in a local and/or global context. The report provides a rationale and commentary for each process. Students submit:
a. Experimenting as a researcher
● a written experimentation report that supports the experimentation (max 1,500 words)
b. Experimenting as a creator and as a performer
● Practical musical evidence of the experimentation in the form of o three related excerpts of creating (total max 5 mins) o three related excerpts of performing (total max 5 mins)
Presenting music
Students submit a collection of works demonstrating engagement with diverse musical material from four areas of inquiry. The submission contains:
a. Presenting as a researcher
● programme notes (max 600 words)
b. Presenting as a creator
● composition and/or improvisation (max 6 mins)
c. Presenting as a performer
● solo and/or ensemble (max 12 mins) ● excerpts, where applicable (max 2 mins)
The contemporary music-maker (HL only)
Students submit a continuous multimedia presentation documenting their real-life project, evidencing: a. the project proposal b. the process and evaluation c. the realized project, or curated selections of it.
