IB Music SL study guide
IB Music SL · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
IB Music SL is the standard-level music course within the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, designed for students who want a rigorous, academically framed music education alongside their other subjects. It suits capable musicians who read notation, have some performing fluency, and are curious about music from different cultures and eras - not only Western classical repertoire. The course develops three connected skills: analysing music by ear and from scores, performing as a soloist, and creating music through composition or arrangement. Assessment combines external components - a listening paper covering prescribed works and unfamiliar music, and a musical links investigation comparing two distinct musical cultures - with internally assessed solo performing and creating. The IB Music SL study guide has 4 sections and about 1,374 words.
01Listening and Aural Analysis: Prescribed Works and Unfamiliar Music
The Listening and aural analysis component tests aural discrimination and the precision with which you can put it into words. Extracts come from the prescribed works you have prepared and from unfamiliar music you hear for the first time; marks are earned by audible evidence, not by biography, programme notes or trivia about the composer.
351 words, about 2 min02Musical Links Investigation
The Musical Links Investigation is an independent, externally assessed study of the musical relationships between two or more pieces from different musical cultures. It is presented as a media script of no more than 1,500 words, supported by score extracts or recordings.
360 words, about 2 min03Solo Performing
Solo performing is internally assessed and externally moderated. At SL you record a programme of roughly 15 minutes of contrasting solo music, unedited and in single takes, submitted with scores or lead sheets for the moderator.
314 words, about 2 min04Creating: Composition or Arranging
Creating asks you to compose or arrange a piece that realises a stated intention, submitted with a recording, a score or lead sheet, and a short written rationale. It is internally assessed and externally moderated.
349 words, about 2 min