Experimenting: How to Do It

Reference
Assessment
Experimenting
A step-by-step guide through the Experimenting with Music component.

See also: Checklist · Assessment Rubrics → Experimenting

The Experimenting component is about musical process. You choose real music as a starting point, then conduct a series of experiments — trying things, adjusting, reflecting, trying again — and document what you discover. You do this twice: once in creating and once in performing.

What you submit:

The two strands

Both strands follow the same basic structure:

  1. Choose source material from a local or global context
  2. Write a rationale explaining why you chose it and how you plan to experiment
  3. Conduct a series of experiments — document each one
  4. Write a commentary reflecting on how the experiments developed and what you learned

The two strands must cover different areas of inquiry. Together with your Exploring pieces, all four areas of inquiry should be represented.

Step 1: Choose your source materials

Choose one piece for each strand. Both must be from local or global contexts (not personal). They must represent different areas of inquiry.

Think strategically:

  • What music genuinely interests you enough to experiment with over several attempts?
  • Which AOIs are not yet covered by your Exploring pieces?
  • For creating: does this style have clear, transferable conventions you can work with?
  • For performing: can you genuinely engage with this style on your instrument?

Step 2: Write the rationale

Write a rationale for each strand before you begin experimenting. It should explain:

  • Why you chose this source material
  • What area of inquiry it represents and why
  • What you plan to explore through experimentation
  • What musical questions or problems you expect to encounter

The rationale is prospective — it sets up the experiment. The commentary is retrospective — it reflects on what actually happened.

Step 3: Conduct the experiments

This is the heart of the component. Do not submit a single polished final piece. Instead, submit evidence of a genuine process: multiple distinct attempts, each building on the previous one.

For creating experiments:

  • Start by analyzing the source material closely — what makes it work?
  • Attempt 1: Try to apply a key convention or idea from the source
  • Reflect: what worked? what didn’t? why?
  • Attempt 2: Adjust based on what you learned. Try something slightly different
  • Continue until you have a meaningful series of experiments showing development

For performing experiments:

  • Identify the performing practices, techniques, or approaches distinctive to the style
  • Attempt 1: Try to apply those practices on your instrument
  • Reflect: where did the translation work? where did you need to adapt?
  • Attempt 2: Refine your approach based on the first attempt
  • Continue, building a genuine performing understanding across several experiments

The best submissions show genuine musical development — not just increasing technical polish, but a deepening understanding of the style.

Step 4: Write the commentary

Write the commentary after you have completed the experiments. It should:

  • Walk through each experiment chronologically, explaining the decisions made
  • Explain what each experiment revealed — including failures and surprises
  • Show how the later experiments grew from the earlier ones
  • Evaluate the overall process: what did you discover? what would you do differently?

The commentary is assessed as part of the written rationale (Criteria A and C). The practical experiments are assessed separately (Criteria B and D). Both must be strong — a brilliant commentary cannot compensate for weak experiments, and strong experiments need to be explained.

Step 5: Compile the submission

Upload 1 — Experimentation report (max 1,500 words):

Two sections in order:

  1. Section 1: Experimentation report — Creating (rationale + commentary)
  2. Section 2: Experimentation report — Performing (rationale + commentary)
  3. Section 3: Track list (with exact timings for each excerpt in Upload 2)
  4. Bibliography (not counted in the word limit)

Visual evidence (images, diagrams, screenshots, scores for both analysed works and experiments) is embedded in the text and is not counted in the word limit.

Upload 2 — Audio evidence (max 10 minutes):

Compiled in order:

  1. Section 1: Three related excerpts of the student’s experiments in creating (each excerpt approx. 20 seconds)
  2. Section 2: Three related excerpts of the student’s experiments in performing (each excerpt approx. 20 seconds)

Label each excerpt clearly so the examiner can match it to the commentary. Audio quality must be sufficient for the experiments to be fully assessed.

The key principle

Experimenting is not about producing a finished product. It is about demonstrating that you can think musically — form a hypothesis, test it, learn from it, and try again. The rubrics reward genuine intellectual engagement with the source material, not just technical execution.

Criterion B top level: the student transforms source material, and development of musical ideas is imaginative with compelling decision-making.

If your submission looks like a single polished piece with no visible process, you cannot access the higher marks for Criteria B and D.