Subject guide
IB Music Internal Assessment guide
The IB Music Experimentation report (Experimenting with Music IA) is graded against 2 criteria worth 12 marks total. This guide explains exactly what each criterion expects and what examiners look for at each mark level.
Assessment criteria
Examiners score each criterion independently using the mark band descriptors below.
| 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 choiceCommentary narrates what was done without the musical reasoningNo reference to the specific excerpts (timings, bars) in upload 2Contexts/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 justificationDecisions stated ("I changed the tempo") without the musical whyExcerpts never referenced with timingsExperiments stay inside familiar music (no local/global stretch)
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