IB Music Higher Level
Study, analysis and examination, comparing and contrasting of musical cultures.
In this portion of the course students will study a wide range of music from different cultures, parts of the world and time periods. Students will learn to identify musical elements, including form and structure, forms of notations, musical terminology and context. Students will also study in depth two prescribed works. These two works are Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 “Jupiter”, and Copland’s El Salon Mexico. Students are required to obtain a recorded copy of both of these works.
This portion of the course is worth 50% of the final assessment. This 50% is broken down into two components:
A: Listening Paper-3 hours
7 musical perception questions
Section A- Answer two of three questions: 1 or 2 and 3
Section B-Answer four questions: 4 or 5, 6 and 7.
Section C-Answer One question: 8
The listening paper is worth 30% of the final grade and is assessed EXTERNALLY
B: Musical Links Investigation (MLI)
A written media script of no more than 2000 words, investigating the significant musical links between two (or more) pieces from distinct musical cultures.
The MLI is worth 20% of the final grade and is assessed EXTERNALLY
The Music Higher Level student must do the following two music-making elements:
The Music Making section of the course is worth 50% of the final grade and is assessed INTERNALLY
1: Creating (25%)
Students must complete three pieces of coursework in one or more of the following areas:
o Composing-one, two or three compositions, each 3-6 min in length. Include a recorded performance, score and artistic statement
o Music Technology Composing-one, two or three compositions using purely electronic media (MIDI, Sequence based, etc) Include a recording and artistic statement.
o Improvising-only one. Can come from an ensemble improv, a solo imrov or a free improve. Must include a recording and artistic statement.
o Arranging-Only one. Arrange a work that already exists for another ensemble. 3-6 minutes in length. Presented in traditional western notation. Must also submit the original. Include an artistic statement.
o Stylistic Techniques-Only one. This is the study of the compositional style of other composers. Students must complete two of five exercises and demonstrate an understanding of the required compositional style. The five exercises are:
· Renaissance vocal counterpoint
· Bach Chorale
· Figured Bass in the Baroque Style
· Two-part 18th century instrumental counterpoint
· 18th century string quartet
· 19th century song accompaniment
· 12 tone techniques
each must be 16-14 bars in length.
2: Solo Performing (25%)
The student must submit 20 minutes of solo material recorded during one or more public performances. The pieces should be contrasting so as to represent a variety of performance styles and techniques. The students may perform on any instrument or voice, OR the computer as a musical instrument (not both).
Time will be allocated practice during class for students to practice and prepare this material.
The student may choose the from the following as options for their 20 minutes:
Small group- one work may feature the student as part of a small group, where he student is featured prominently.
Accompaniment-One work may feature the student as an accompanist, where the accompaniment part is equal to the solo part.