- Department: Music
- Module co-ordinator: Dr. Mark Hutchinson
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: C
- Academic year of delivery: 2023-24
This module develops the fundamental practical and theoretical abilities students will need to succeed as music students. It focuses on five areas: theory and notation; recording and editing audio; working with notation software; conducting and ensemble leadership; and improvisation.
Occurrence | Teaching cycle |
---|---|
A | Semester 1 2023-24 |
This module develops the fundamental practical and theoretical abilities students will need to make the most of the rest of the course. It is built around a fivefold set of core competencies: extracting musical information from a score; inputting and editing music using a DAW; working with digital notation software; conducting and ensemble leadership; and improvisation/playing by ear. At the beginning of the module, all students undertake a skills audit, where they discuss their existing experience and abilities in tutorial with a postgraduate mentor, noting their existing strengths and identifying areas for further development. The 10 teaching weeks are constructed as a series of lab-style practical workshops taught in split-cohort groups, supported by preparatory materials on the VLE where relevant: in each workshop you will follow specific tasks with support from staff or expert postgraduates, to build up a final portfolio of work which showcases their ability in each of the five core competencies.
By the end of the module you should be able to:
Work with and extract useful information from musical scores;
Use digital audio workstation (DAW) software to input and edit audio;
Use technologies to support musical research in fields such as notation, research and reference management;
Recognise essential elements of practical musicianship and ensemble leadership;
Participate in group improvisation and identify strategies for developing your own skills in this area.
Task | Length | % of module mark |
---|---|---|
Essay/coursework Portfolio of practical work |
N/A | 100 |
Pass/fail
100% Portfolio of practical work: after the end of each teaching cycle (usually two weeks), you will submit the tasks you have completed (documents, DAW files, and/or videos of practical work). This will be accompanied by your reflections on your initial skills audit and a brief (max. 500-word) reflection on your overall development through the module. If your are absent for a session or cycle, you will submit work afterwards based on provided task materials and support; for practice-based sessions (especially conducting and/or improvisation), you may be given an equivalent independent task which can be completed without other group members.
Task | Length | % of module mark |
---|---|---|
Essay/coursework Portfolio of practical work |
N/A | 100 |
Informal formative feedback will be given verbally within each topic cycle
You will receive notification of pass/fail inline with standard University turnaround times.
Relevant materials will be provided to accompany each thematic strand.