Music Objectives in Middle Year Program

Four Essential Objectives

Based on IB Subject Guide 2014, Music as Performing Arts in MYP has four essential objectives :

1. Knowing and Understanding

Through the study of theorists and practitioners of the arts, students discover the aesthetics of art forms and are able to analyse and communicate in specialized language. Using explicit and tacit knowledge alongside an understanding of the role of the arts in a global context, students inform their work and artistic perspectives.

In order to reach the aims of arts, students should be able to :
i. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the art form studied, including concepts, processes, and the use of subject-specific terminology
ii. demonstrate an understanding of the role of the art form in original or displaced contexts
iii. use acquired knowledge to purposefully inform artistic decisions in the process of creating artwork

2. Developing skills

The acqusition and development of skills provide the opportunity for active participation in the art form and in the process of creating art. Skill application allows students to develop their artistic ideas to a point of realization. The point of realization could take many forms. However, it is recognized as the moment when student makes a final commitment to her artwork by presenting it to audience. Skills are evident both process AND product.

In order to reach the aims of arts, students should be able to:
i. demonstrate the acquisition and development of the skills and techniques of the art form studied
ii. demonstrate the application of skills and techniques to create, perform and/or present art

3. Thinking creatively

The arts motivate students to develop curiosity and purposefully explore and challenge boundaries. Thinking creatively encourages students to explore the unfamiliar and experiment in innovative ways to develop their artistic intentions, their processes and their work. Thinking creatively enables students to discover their personal signature and realize their artistic identity.

In order to reach the aims of arts, students should be able to :
i. develop a feasible, clear, imaginative and coherent artistic intention
ii. demonstrate a range and depth of creative-thinking behaviors
iii. demonstrate the exploration of ideas to shape artistic intention through to a point of realization

4. Responding

Students should have the opportunity to respond to their world, to their own art and to the art of others. A response can come in many forms; creating art as a response encourages students to make connections and transfer their learning to new settings. Through reflecting on their artistic intention and the impact of their work for audience and themselves, students become more aware of their own artistic development and the role that arts play in their lives. Students learn that the arts may initiate change as well as being a response to change.

In order to reach the aims of arts, students should be able to :
i.  construct meaning and transfer learning to new settings
ii. create an artistic response that intends to reflect or impact on the world around them
iii. critique the artwork of self and others.

EXAMPLES for Music in Four Objectives :

What might students KNOW and UNDERSTAND in music?

• Tradition and musical heritage from different parts of the world, i.e popular music, music industry, musical theater, developments in music technology
• Current and emerging musical practices
• Methods of recording and communicating musical ideas such as various notation systems

What skills might students DEVELOP in music? 

• Their ability to develop and carry out performances
• Skills, techniques and process to create their own music, finding ways to capture it in performance, notation, recording or presentation
• An ability to experiment with sound sources, improvisation, practice and rehearsal routines

How might students think CREATIVELY in music? 

• By experimenting with the artistic processes involved in making music
• By initiating, exploring and developing projects that are rewarding and challenging
• By creating their own music or improvising sections added to publish musical scores

How might students RESPOND to or through music? 

• By developing their own musical style inspired by a particular genre or artist
• Through participating in "listen and respond" activities
• By creating music that demonstrates their exposure to various musical cultures