What a great day. Lucky to announce our new TOP 110 IB Music Extended Essay research questions, handpicked by our top IB writers and organized according to IB criteria and structured in five categories:

• ✅ 25 Simple but Interesting
• ✅ 25 Unique and Not Overused
• ✅ 25 Complex and Challenging
• ✅ 25 Current and Up-to-Date
• ✅ 10 Fun and Unusual

All questions are phrased as formal research questions appropriate for IB Music (not performance-based), focusing on musical elements, genre, structure, culture, and comparative analysis — with plenty of opportunities to use score analysis, recordings, and musicological sources.

🟩 25 Simple but Interesting Music Extended Essay Topics

(great for students new to music analysis or writing about music)

1. To what extent does the use of syncopation contribute to the rhythmic feel of jazz in Louis Armstrong’s West End Blues?
2. How does the instrumentation in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 contribute to its dramatic character?
3. To what extent does melody repetition create tension and release in Pachelbel’s Canon in D?
4. How does Tchaikovsky use dynamics to express emotion in Swan Lake?
5. To what extent does the 12-bar blues structure influence the overall form of B.B. King’s The Thrill is Gone?
6. How does tempo affect the perception of mood in Debussy’s Clair de Lune?
7. In what ways does the use of pentatonic scales shape the melody in traditional Chinese folk music?
8. How is call and response used in African drumming to enhance musical communication?
9. To what extent does the use of motifs in Star Wars: A New Hope by John Williams reinforce character identity?
10. How do dynamics and texture change throughout Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, and what effect does this have?
11. To what extent does reggae use rhythm and timbre to reflect its cultural origins?
12. How is texture layered to create contrast in Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody?
13. To what extent does the instrumentation in Holst’s The Planets contribute to its programmatic narrative?
14. How is harmony used to convey tension in Schubert’s Erlkönig?
15. To what extent do tempo and rhythm create a danceable feel in ABBA’s Dancing Queen?
16. How does the opening motif in Beethoven’s 5th Symphony unify the entire first movement?
17. How is drone used in traditional Indian music to anchor melodic improvisation?
18. How do repeating chord progressions shape the structure of Ed Sheeran’s Perfect?
19. To what extent does Bach use counterpoint to develop ideas in Fugue in G minor?
20. How does vocal harmony enhance the emotional expression in Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence?
21. To what extent does changing time signature affect musical phrasing in Dave Brubeck’s Take Five?
22. How is polyphony used to create texture in Renaissance choral music?
23. How does ornamentation affect the expressive quality of a Baroque solo violin piece?
24. To what extent does ostinato drive the rhythm in Ravel’s Boléro?
25. How does the guitar riff in Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit contribute to the grunge aesthetic?

🟦 25 Unique and Not Overused Music EE Questions

(creative angles, world music, underused genres and works)

26. To what extent does Yoko Kanno blend jazz and electronic elements in Tank! (from Cowboy Bebop) to create stylistic hybridity?
27. How does the use of silence influence the emotional atmosphere in Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel?
28. In what ways does musical minimalism contribute to the meditative quality of Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians?
29. How does vocal ornamentation in traditional Arabic maqam performance shape melodic development?
30. To what extent does the rhythmic layering in Afro-Cuban music reflect its cultural and spiritual roots?
31. How does Björk use unconventional timbre and texture in Vespertine to construct an ethereal sonic landscape?
32. How is the pentatonic scale manipulated in Japanese shakuhachi music to convey emotion?
33. How does meter modulation in contemporary math rock (e.g., Battles) contribute to listener disorientation?
34. To what extent does Sondheim use melodic motif to reflect psychological tension in Sweeney Todd?
35. How is gamelan music structured around cyclical form and layered rhythm in Balinese temple music?
36. How does microtonality function in Persian classical music and affect melodic contour?
37. To what extent does funk use rhythm guitar and syncopation to establish groove in James Brown’s Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine?
38. How does musical storytelling evolve through vocal phrasing in Portuguese fado?
39. How do film composers like Jóhann Jóhannsson use electronic textures in Arrival to reflect sci-fi ambiguity?
40. To what extent is klezmer clarinet ornamentation used to express emotion in traditional Jewish dance music?
41. How does distortion and vocal delivery reflect emotional alienation in Radiohead’s OK Computer?
42. How is voice leading used creatively in contemporary a cappella arrangements like Pentatonix’s covers?
43. How do environmental soundscapes contribute to the structure and message in ambient music (e.g., Brian Eno)?
44. To what extent do changing harmonic centers contribute to suspense in horror video game music (e.g., Silent Hill)?
45. How does throat singing in Tuvan music blur the lines between melody and harmony?
46. How is symmetry used in serialism to structure pitch in Schoenberg’s Suite for Piano, Op. 25?
47. To what extent do vocal timbres convey gendered identity in contemporary R&B ballads?
48. How does minimal harmonic progression in Lana Del Rey’s music reflect emotional stasis?
49. In what ways does traditional Mongolian music use timbral shifts as a primary expressive tool?
50. How does Travis Scott’s use of autotune shape melodic phrasing and emotional impact?

🟥 25 Complex and Challenging Questions for IB Music EE

(advanced score analysis, extended harmony, and theoretical frameworks)

51. How does the development of harmonic function shape form in Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 23 (Appassionata)?
52. To what extent does Stravinsky’s use of irregular meter and dissonance in The Rite of Spring redefine rhythmic hierarchy?
53. How is chromaticism used to delay resolution and build harmonic tension in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde?
54. How does pitch class set theory explain the atonal structure of Webern’s Op. 5 string quartet?
55. How does Bartók’s use of axis system and symmetrical scales contribute to melodic construction in Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta?
56. To what extent does Debussy subvert tonal expectation through whole-tone and pentatonic scales in Voiles?
57. How is proportional rhythm used as an organizing principle in Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time?
58. How does Ligeti manipulate texture to create tension in Atmosphères?
59. To what extent do quartal and quintal harmonies in jazz compositions replace traditional harmonic function?
60. How is sonata form distorted and recontextualized in Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 7?
61. How does timbral transformation function as thematic development in Berio’s Sequenza series?
62. In what ways does polytonality affect thematic clarity in Charles Ives’ The Unanswered Question?
63. How does Xenakis use stochastic processes to generate musical form in Metastaseis?
64. To what extent does spectral analysis explain the harmonic structure of Grisey’s Partiels?
65. How does Schoenberg’s 12-tone technique eliminate tonal hierarchy in Piano Suite Op. 25?
66. To what extent is form in John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes derived from rhythmic structure?
67. How does modulation function structurally in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2?
68. How does John Adams use additive processes in Short Ride in a Fast Machine?
69. To what extent is layering used in Thomas Adès’s Asyla to challenge listener expectations?
70. How does thematic fragmentation contribute to the unity of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8?
71. How is hocketing used in Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint to manipulate rhythmic texture?
72. How does pitch organization in Elliott Carter’s music reflect time-based form rather than harmonic function?
73. To what extent does tempo rubato affect phrasing and structure in Chopin’s Nocturnes?
74. How do extended techniques redefine timbre and articulation in Helmut Lachenmann’s music?
75. How does formal ambiguity enhance emotional ambiguity in Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto?

🟨 25 IB Music EE – Current and Up-to-Date Questions

(music since 2000, digital culture, and global trends)

76. How does Billie Eilish use whispery vocal production and minimal harmony to convey vulnerability in When the Party’s Over?
77. To what extent does algorithm-driven beat production shape the structure of contemporary trap music?
78. How do syncopated rhythms in Afrobeats contribute to the genre’s international appeal?
79. How is lo-fi aesthetic intentionally created through distortion and EQ in modern chillhop tracks?
80. In what ways does the use of vocal layering in Olivia Rodrigo’s Drivers License contribute to emotional storytelling?
81. To what extent does digital sampling redefine authorship in modern hip-hop music?
82. How does rhythmic instability in Jacob Collier’s arrangements affect harmonic interpretation?
83. How is the concept of virtual space created in video game soundtracks like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild?
84. How does autotune become a stylistic rather than corrective tool in T-Pain’s Buy U a Drank?
85. How is pitch shifting used in contemporary pop music to create tension and release?
86. How does K-pop production blend global musical idioms to target international audiences?
87. How does Spotify’s data-driven playlist model influence structural conventions in pop music?
88. How do modern film composers like Hildur Guðnadóttir integrate ambient textures into cinematic scores?
89. How do TikTok trends influence tempo and form in viral pop songs?
90. How is trap instrumentation integrated into Latin genres in Bad Bunny’s discography?
91. How does musical structure in Tyler, The Creator’s Igor reflect nonlinear narrative?
92. How do harmonies in Renaissance by Beyoncé draw from gospel and funk traditions?
93. How does sound design in Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever change across the two-part song structure?
94. To what extent does glitch aesthetic in experimental electronic music reflect digital error?
95. How does the score of The Last of Us use minimalist guitar motifs to convey isolation?
96. How do songs by Phoebe Bridgers use minimal orchestration to amplify lyrical storytelling?
97. How is artificial intelligence being used to generate harmonic progressions in contemporary music production?
98. To what extent does the use of silence in Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly enhance its narrative power?
99. How does the structure of Get Lucky by Daft Punk reflect disco revivalism?
100. In what ways does music from Studio Ghibli films blend traditional and modern idioms?

🟪 10 Fun and Unusual Questions for Your Music Extended Essay

(playful, offbeat, but still analytical and grounded in musical study)

101. How does video game music adapt to player actions in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild?
102. To what extent does comedic timing in The Muppet Show theme music rely on musical phrasing?
103. How is tension built through orchestration in horror movie jump-scare sound cues?
104. How does the Super Mario Bros. theme use melodic hooks to create memorability?
105. To what extent do internet meme remixes manipulate original song structure for humor?
106. How is musical irony created in Bo Burnham: Inside through chord progression and lyrical contrast?
107. How does musical pacing affect emotional payoff in film trailers?
108. To what extent does soundtrack music in The Sims reflect psychological game states?
109. How does use of leitmotif parody in The Lego Movie create comedic effect?
110. How is nostalgia generated through retro synth use in Stranger Things music?