Subject guide
IB Music Internal Assessment guide
Written and cross-checked by IB Diploma graduates: Alexander (41), Alejandro (40), Martina (40), Victoria (38), Martin (35), Maria (34)
· Checked against official IB guidance · Editorial policy
The IB Music Experimentation report (Experimenting with Music IA) is graded against 2 IB assessment criteria worth 12 marks. This guide explains the mark scheme for each criterion and what the published criteria reward at each score level at Higher Level (HL) and Standard Level (SL).
IB assessment criteria
Each criterion is presented independently using the configured mark-band descriptors for this subject and assessment session.
| Criterion | Name | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Rationale and Commentary for Musical Experiments in Creating | Rationale and Commentary for Musical Experiments in Creating | 6 |
| Rationale and Commentary for Musical Experiments in Performing | Rationale and Commentary for Musical Experiments in Performing | 6 |
| Total | 12 | |
Criterion-by-criterion breakdown
Rationale and Commentary for Musical Experiments in Creating
Rationale and Commentary for Musical Experiments in Creating
What this criterion assesses
A purposeful rationale for the creating experiments that justifies the choice of source material, contexts and areas of inquiry, and a commentary that explains the experimentation process and the musical decision-making with clear reference to the excerpts.
Mark band descriptors
Criterion A: Rationale and commentary for musical experiments in creating (0–6). How well has the student justified their proposed experimentation and supported this with relevant source material and musical stimuli? Is the explanation of the experimentation process and of musical decision-making convincing? - 0: The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below. - 1–2: The student's rationale for musical experiments in creating is ineffective. The student outlines the experimentation process with rudimentary musical decision-making. [Ineffective, inaccurate, rudimentary, limited, superficial] - 3–4: The student's rationale for musical experiments in creating is suitable. The student describes the experimentation process with reasonable musical decision-making. [Inconsistent, formulaic, sufficient, suitable, reasonable] - 5–6: The student's rationale for musical experiments in creating is purposeful. The student explains the experimentation process with relevant musical decision-making. [Accurate, proficient, purposeful, relevant, competent]
Common mistakes
- Rationale that describes the music chosen but never justifies the choice
- Commentary narrates what was done without the musical reasoning
- No reference to the specific excerpts (timings, bars) in upload 2
- Contexts/areas of inquiry never identified for the stimuli
Rationale and Commentary for Musical Experiments in Performing
Rationale and Commentary for Musical Experiments in Performing
What this criterion assesses
A purposeful rationale for the performing experiments that justifies the choice of source material, contexts and areas of inquiry, and a commentary that explains the experimentation process and the musical decision-making with clear reference to the excerpts.
Mark band descriptors
Criterion C: Rationale and commentary for musical experiments in performing (0–6). How well has the student justified their proposed experimentation and supported this with relevant source material and musical stimuli? Is the explanation of the experimentation process and of musical decision-making convincing? - 0: The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below. - 1–2: The student's rationale for musical experiments in performing is ineffective. The student outlines the experimentation process with rudimentary musical decision-making. [Ineffective, inaccurate, rudimentary, limited, superficial] - 3–4: The student's rationale for musical experiments in performing is suitable. The student describes the experimentation process with reasonable musical decision-making. [Inconsistent, formulaic, sufficient, suitable, reasonable] - 5–6: The student's rationale for musical experiments in performing is purposeful. The student explains the experimentation process with relevant musical decision-making. [Accurate, proficient, purposeful, relevant, competent]
Common mistakes
- Rationale recycled from the creating section without performing-specific justification
- Decisions stated ("I changed the tempo") without the musical why
- Excerpts never referenced with timings
- Experiments stay inside familiar music (no local/global stretch)
Sources & verification
Primary-source references used to verify key assessment facts on this page. Last source check: September 22, 2026.
The exact subject guide for Music is the authority for the task, criteria and limits. Some IB subject guides do not have a stable public URL, so this page names the configured assessment session and links the official IB update hubs instead of fabricating a direct source link.
- IB — Diploma Programme assessment and examsOfficial overview of criterion-related assessment and internal assessment in the Diploma Programme.
- IB — current curriculum updatesOfficial update hub for subject and first-assessment changes. Use it to confirm that your exam session matches the criteria shown here.
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