IB Music
Survival Guide
Higher Level and Standard Level
Course requirements - Marking Criteria – Examples of Work
Examiners Feedback – Coursework Deadlines
What do I need to do?
Higher Level
Exam
Analysis of 2 set works
Study of the History of Western Music and World Music
Coursework - Composing
2 Compositions
1 Bach Choral
1 Haydn String Quartet
Coursework – Performing
Produce a CD of solo performances (20 minutes)
(5 minutes of these can be an ensemble performance)
Coursework – Project
1800 word Music Investigation – finding links between two
musical cultures
WARNING!
There is a LOT of coursework.
You will need to work for three hours a week at home if you
want to achieve a level 5 or higher.
What do I need to do?
Standard Level
Exam
Analysis of 2 set works
Study of the History of Western Music and World Music
Coursework
Produce a CD of solo performances (15 minutes)
Or
Produce a CD of ensemble performances (15 minutes)
Or
Produce 2 compositions
Coursework – Project
1800 word Music Investigation – finding links between two
musical cultures
WARNING!
There is a LOT of coursework.
You will need to do three hours a week at home if you want
to achieve a level 5 or higher.
Mission: Performing
(HL=25% 20 mins)
(SL=50% 15 mins)
Your final recital programme should be varied, incorporating
contrasting pieces which demonstrate your technical ability as a
musician and an awareness of how to perform different genres
and styles.
Strategy
You must work on these pieces in your weekly lessons with your
instrumental teacher.
You should arrange regular rehearsal times with Miss Frazer or
another pianist so that you can practise with the piano
accompaniment.
Recording will begin from September of your 2nd year.
Deadline:
CD must be complete by the end of February
IB Music
Performing
What is a reflective statement?
This short piece of writing (300 words) tells the examiner what
you have learned from the compositional process. There are
three main sections: intention process outcome
Here is an example
This is what the examiner said:
Here is another example
This is what the examiner said:
Performing: Assessment Criteria
(is your repertoire varied?)
(can you play the notes and control your instrument?)
(Do you understand and convey the style of your pieces?)
(Do you communicate with your audience or are you
in your own bubble?)
Mission: Composing (Higher Level – 25%)
There are several possible combinations for this section
.
1 original composition
1 arrangement
Stylistic techniques (a Bach Chorale and String Quartet)
2 original compositions
Stylistic techniques (a Bach Choral and String Quartet)
2 original compositions
1 arrangement
Each compositionmust be accompanied by a 300 word
reflective statement.
Strategy
The best way to complete a composition is to work on it
frequently, ideally every day. It might be that you only complete
7 or 8 bars but this little and often approach is essential.
You cannot produce a good composition the night before it is
due to be recorded.
Also remember that you need to give the parts out to the
musicians in advance so that you are happy with the final
recording.
Composing: Assessment Criteria (Max 30 marks)
History, Set Works and Listening Exam
Higher Level
= 7 essay questions 3hrs (30%)
Standard Level = 5 essay questions 2.5hrs (30%)
You will be studying 2 set works.
All information relating to these pieces is in the separate study booklets.
The listening paper requires you to have an understanding of music from
the:
Medieval Period
Renaissance Period
Baroque Period
Classical Period
Romantic Period
Twentieth Century
You will also be expected to recognise musical forms and structures:
Binary and Ternary
Ground Bass
Fugue
Theme and Variations
Rondo
Sonata Form
And be able to comment intelligently on world music including:
Indonesian Gamelan
Music of Sub-Saharan Africa
Chinese Music
Music of India
Bhangra
Arab Music
Music of the Caribbean
Salsa
Tango
Music of Latin-America
You will also be expected to comment on specific genres and styles:
The Growth of the Orchestra
The Symphony
The Concerto
Chamber Music
The Romantic Lied
Ballet Music
Dance Music
Opera
Music for the Church
Nationalism
Serialism
Neo-Classicism
Impressionist Music
Minimalism
Experimental and Electronic
These topics wil be covered in class but you will need to do a lot of
your own studying at home. This is how you do it.
1.Google ‘Norton Online Listening Lab’ and click on the top link.
2. Click on Premium Content
3. Enter your e mail address
and password to log in
4.You will now be on the main home page and as you can see, have access to
over 54000 CDs. You can explore the sections for yourself but the most
important one is the Study Area.
5. Click on Study Area and United Kingdom
and you will see a long list of topics on the left
hand side. These are all the topics which you
need to revise for the exam
6. Choose the topic that
you want to study and
click. Information about
that period will appear.
When the name of a piece
of music appears in blue,
click on it and it will
automatically start
playing.
Listening Exam Criteria
In the exam you will be asked to comment on the period, genre, style, structure
and all the musical elements in pieces of music that you will probably have never
heard before. You don’t get asked specific questions however, so have an empty
piece of A4 paper to fill. It’s important that you practice your exam technique so
hat you don’t miss anything out and lose marks. Here are the criteria:
Strategy:
In order to fulfill the criteria above, you should practice
using the following structure. Try to write in full sentences
when you can – if you are running out of time switch to
bullet points.
Suggested Exam Structure –
start by practicing the structure using bullet points then
when you can remember the structure start using full sentences.
Context – (where why who when what)
Europe
Tchaikovsky – Romantic Period
String Orchestra/ Ensemble
Written for the Concert Hall
Most important musical features
Melody: Long melodic lines
Harmony: Broken Chords
Tempo: Adagio
Dynamics: wide range from p to ff
Texture: Homophonic: Melody and accompaniment and homorhythmic
Tonality: Major
Articulation/ Techniques: Legato, staccato, portamento
Dialogue between instruments and countermelodies used.
Structure (using bar numbers or minutes)
0.00 – 0.30 Legato Introduction, chromatic, use of crescendos
0.30 – 0.34 Silence/ Pause
0.34 – 1.23 Pizzicato triplet broken chord accompaniment under legato vioin
melody
Long melodic lines ascending & descending in step shaped by cresc/dim
1.24 – 1.46 Melody passed to lower strings whilst upper strings have a
countermelody which is more elaborate than the imain melody.
1.47- 2.40 Dialogue between upper and lower strings begins – one phrase passed
back and forth.Melody contains sequence. Sometimes all play together.
2.41Dialogue continues as music crescendos to fortissimo homophonic
sequence – the climax of the extract.
Answer Template
Context – (where why who when what)
Most important musical features
Structure (using bar numbers or minutes)
0.00
Musical Investigation
(SL and HL = 20%)
(1500 – 2000 words)
This is a written project in which you investigate the musical links
between two musical cultures. Finding an appropriate topic takes a lot
of thought and is probably the hardest part of the project! Your
teacher will discuss this with you. Projects from past PBS students are
available to look at in the IB file in the Music Room as are also
examples from the IB website. Here are some examiners comments to
help you know what you are aiming for.
(Example A in IB file in Music Room)
(Example B in IB file in Music Room)
Extract from MI(B)
Criteria: Musical Investigation