IB Music SL flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Prescribed works

Two set works announced by IB for each examination session, one Western and one from another tradition, studied in depth for context, musical elements, and comparison questions.

Heterophonic texture

Texture in which two or more performers play the same melodic line simultaneously with individual ornamentation or variation, common in many Asian and Middle Eastern traditions.

Antiphonal texture

Texture created by alternating groups or soloist and ensemble, often in call-and-response patterns; distinct from imitative polyphony because the material is answered, not overlapped.

Pedal point

A sustained or repeated note held through changing harmony above it; distinguished from a drone, which typically persists without harmonic change around it.

Interrupted cadence

Cadence moving from dominant to submediant (V–vi), often called a deceptive cadence; it delays rather than confirms the tonic.

Melisma

A group of several pitches sung to a single syllable of text; contrasted with syllabic setting, where each syllable receives one note.

Structural map

A prepared outline of a prescribed work listing sections, timings or bar numbers, key centres, principal themes, and instrumentation changes for quick reference in analysis.

Timbre descriptor

Vocabulary for tone colour such as bright, nasal, covered, reedy, or muted; naming the instrument family and register strengthens an aural observation.

Rubato

Expressive flexibility of tempo within a steady underlying pulse; not a change of tempo marking, and judged stylistically rather than as rhythmic inaccuracy.

Musical links investigation

Internally assessed media script comparing two distinct musical cultures through specific shared or contrasting musical elements, supported by cited recordings and evaluated sources.

Cultural distinctness

Requirement that the two MLI traditions be genuinely separate musical cultures, not two genres or eras within a single tradition.

Musical link

A specific, audible element such as rhythm, texture, instrumentation, or function demonstrated in both cultures with named works and evidence, not a historical parallel.

MLI media script

The submitted format for the investigation: a written or web-based presentation integrating text, audio or video examples, a bibliography, and a discography.

Aural evidence

Timestamped or bar-referenced listening observations in the MLI that demonstrate the candidate heard the link rather than read about it.

Discography

A formatted list of recordings used in the MLI, giving performers, label, and year so that evidence can be located and verified.

Source evaluation

Judging the reliability of MLI sources by authorship, publication, and scholarly standing, rather than merely listing them in a bibliography.

MLI rationale

The stated reason for pairing the two cultures and the specific links to be investigated, usually set out in the introduction of the script.

Function comparison

A type of MLI link comparing the social or ceremonial role of music, such as work song, lament, or ritual, in each tradition.

Solo performance recording

Continuous, unedited audio or video of the candidate performing the declared programme, submitted for internal assessment and external moderation.

Programme contrast

Selection of repertoire differing in tempo, key, style, or period so the performance demonstrates a range of technical and interpretive skills.

Difficulty level

The technical and musical challenge of the chosen repertoire; it determines the mark band accessible to the candidate and must be appropriate to the level.

Accompanist balance

The ensemble relationship between soloist and accompanist, including tempo coordination and dynamic balance, assessed within musical understanding.

Stylistic rubato

Tempo flexibility appropriate to the period and style of the work; it is judged as interpretation, not as rhythmic error, when convincingly shaped.

Intonation judgement

Assessment of pitch accuracy relative to the instrument's tuning system and the chosen key, not to equal temperament alone for non-fixed-pitch instruments.

Performance programme notes

Submitted details of composer, work, movement, and duration for each piece, used to verify the declared programme during moderation.

Creating component

Internally assessed coursework submission of a composition or arrangement with a rationale, score, and recording demonstrating musical intention and process.

Arrangement

Reworking an existing source for new forces or idiom; credit comes from idiomatic transformation of texture, register, and instrumentation rather than transcription.

Composition rationale

A written explanation linking the candidate's musical decisions to form, harmony, texture, and instrumentation, and identifying models or influences used.

Score presentation

Consistency and legibility of notation, including clefs, signatures, transpositions, dynamics, articulation, and layout, which forms part of the assessment.

Stylistic coherence

The degree to which a composition consistently realises its declared style; deliberate fusion must be justified in the rationale.

Idiomatic writing

Writing that respects the capabilities and character of the chosen instruments or voices, including range, articulation, and practical playability.

Acknowledged quotation

Borrowed or pastiche material clearly credited in the score and rationale, keeping the proportion of original material evident and avoiding plagiarism.