As contemporary music-makers, students should be driven by their passions, interests and skills, and inspired by their musical environment and learning in the course. Developing an artistic vision entails refining ideas for musical projects. The course’s framework of areas of inquiry and contexts are especially helpful to students as they develop and refine their musical intentions for a project.
Building on the knowledge gained about music from the areas of inquiry in different contexts helps students identify real-life practices of contemporary music-making that they would like to work with. Students may find that focusing on the areas of inquiry is helpful to guide both their research into a musical project as well as the artistic process of developing and completing the final presentation. In this sense, HL students are encouraged to engage with research of potential projects from the start of the course.
In the process of researching current musical practice, guided by the areas of inquiry and the contexts, students will draw on their skills and interests to design a project idea. Students will consider how their personal voice, their musical goals, and the audience or consumers, could inform the shape and design of their work. The music project must involve other students who will work in collaboration with the student.