This article compares and evaluates the music components of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) and the NSW Creative Arts K-6 Syllabus. To guide the analysis, this article employs Bernstein's (1971) concepts of classification and frame, and the two levels of 'best practice' in primary music education proposed by Jeanneret and Stevens-Ballenger (2013). Adoption of the PYP by schools has increased significantly throughout the past decade to the extent that it is now the most widely implemented of the four IB programs currently available in Australia (Kidson, Odhiambo, & Wilson, 2018). However, despite its growth in popularity, little research within Australia has focused on the PYP and even fewer, if any, studies have explored its implications for music education practice both nationally and internationally.