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2010 course information booklet (pdf)

100 Level Papers

=>MUSI 101 Materials of Music 1

Students enrolling in MUSI 101 must be able to read music and have some theoretical knowledge of music. Those who have not are advised to take MUSI 191 in the first semester.

(second semester) 0.15 EFTS 18 points

If we are to understand, perform or compose the widest range of music, we need to understand its basic building materials. These include scales, modes, chords, keys, time signatures, rhythm, syncopation etc. These are the tools which enable us to work with music. This paper provides the foundation for study in all areas of music and offers a voyage of discovery in terms of personal musical development.

Assessment: 100% internal

NOTE: MUSI 101 is a required paper in the BA (Music major and minor) and MusB degrees, and is a prerequisite for all second year performance papers.

=>MUSI 102 Music in Western Culture

Before enrolling in MUSI 102, students are strongly advised to have taken MUSI 191, or have an equivalent music background.

(first semester) 0.15 EFTS 18 points

We all know of Beethoven and Mozart and Bach—three composers who have made great and original contributions to the heritage of western art music—but do we know what were they really trying to say? In this paper we explore western art music in context. Why did Bach write music in the way he did, why did Beethoven write music differently, why did renaissance musicians sing madrigals, what was it like to be a medieval musician, why did everyone hate Lully, what secret message was Schumann sending to his fiancée in his songs? Focusing on particular composers at particular times and places, we enable students to understand the history of music in the context of its own times.

Assessment: 30% internal, 70% final examination

NOTE: MUSI 102 is a required paper in the new MusB degree, and is a prerequisite for MUSI 223/323, MUSI 261/361 and MUSI 263/363

=>MUSI 103 Music in Popular Culture

No prior musical knowledge is required.

(first semester) 0.15 EFTS 18 points

Popular music is a powerful contemporary phenomenon, but it is also part of a wider picture. Most of the songs we hear have been created within an international, globalised culture industry. They express cultural values and ideologies and we use them as a way of finding our personal and social identity. In this paper we investigate theories of popular culture as they relate to music, analyse the many functions of popular music (including its role in film and television) and discuss the music industry. This course includes a number of case studies through which these issues are explored.

Assessment: 35% internal, 65% final examination

Note: MUSI 103 is a required paper in the new MusB degree, and is a prerequisite for MUSI 269

=>MUSI 104 Music in World Cultures

No prior musical knowledge is required

(second semester) 0.15 EFTS 18 points

The world is full of music. In every culture people perform, compose and listen to music in a variety of ways and for different reasons. Music can influence people and people can influence music. Musicians are often inspired by the musics of other peoples and use ideas to enhance their own music. This paper is an exploration of the world's traditional, popular and contemporary musics in their cultural context. Music in World Cultures approaches music from Africa, South America, Asia, Australasia, North America and Europe to develop a broad knowledge of musics and an understanding of its various uses and functions. A practical component of playing gamelan (Indonesian percussion) is available as an assessment option.

Assessment: 50% internal, 50% final examination

Note: MUSI 104 is a required paper in the new MusB degree

=>MUSI 110 Musicianship Skills 1

No prior musical knowledge is required

(second semester) 0.15 EFTS 18 points

For a musician, the ears are the window to both the soul and the mind. To be able to hear a piece of music, even for the first time, and identify features of harmony, rhythm or the scale it employs is vital to the professional musician. Students learn basic skills in guitar, keyboards. sight-singing and choral singing. This paper develops students' knowledge of musical vocabulary by honing their listening skills in conjunction with practical instrumental skills and some basic musical notation of the elements of pitch and rhythm.

Assessment: 100% internal

=>MUSI 131 Composition 1

Before enrolling in MUSI 131, students are strongly advised to have taken MUSI 191, or have an equivalent music background.

(whole year) 0.15 EFTS 18 points

This course in creative writing caters for both those with previous experience and the first time composer. Through a number of set assignments it encourages the student to express themselves through the language of music. You will work on pieces for solo instrument, duos, trios and ensembles, and there will also be modules on song writing, writing for choir, and film music. Composition must be notated fully, and use of notation software such as Sibelius is encouraged.

Assessment: 100% internal

NOTE: MUSI 101 is a prerequisite for MUSI 231 as well as MUSI 131

=>MUSI 132 Music Technology

(first semester & second semester) 0.15 EFTS 18 points

With the availability of home studios, today's musician is able to produce top-quality digitally-recorded music with samples, beats and sequences. This paper provides a practical introduction to technology and looks at the roles the computer and specific music software play in the creation and arrangement of music. The course assesses the impact of technology on music and covers acoustics and definitions and terminology. It provides experience in computer sequencing, editing, mixing, and digital audio processing using Garageband and Logic Express software (note recording of audio is not a part of this paper). The course is taught through weekly lectures and laboratory tutorials.

Assessment: 100% internal

=>MUSI 135 Songwriting

Before enrolling in MUSI 135, students are strongly advised to have taken MUSI 191, or have an equivalent music background.

(whole year) 0.15 EFTS 18 points

A song is a magical marriage of words and music. For the popular songwriter this means being both a composer and, to a certain extent, a poet. Composing words and music and marrying them together can be very hard work (or as Jimmy Webb says if it isn't you're not doing it properly) but doing it well can also be extremely lucrative. This paper provides students with the fundamental skills to embark on a songwriting career including lyric writing, song structure and basic composition techniques. Students enrolling in MUSI 135 are strongly encouraged to also enroll in MUSI 132 (Music Technology)

Assessment: 100% internal

NOTE: MUSI 101 is a prerequisite for MUSI 235

=>MUSI 140 Performance Studies

(first semester or second semester or whole year) 0.15 EFTS 18 points

This 18-point paper caters for students wishing to develop their performance skills within a BA or MusB. It can be taken in one of the following ways: as a preliminary performance paper that can either lead into a higher level 18-point MUSI paper (i.e., MUSI 240) or a 36-point MUSI paper (i.e., MUSI 141), as a paper for the one-semester exchange student, as a paper in second-instrument study for existing performance students, or as a paper in Indonesian Gamelan performance for the interested beginner. Therefore there are two main areas:

=>MUSI 141 Performance 1

(whole year) 0.30 EFTS 36 points

The aim of the paper is to develop the technical and interpretative skills of musicians wishing to be performers of western art music. Students receive an individual weekly lesson, and are required to attend weekly classes for their instrument, as well as workshops for all performance students.

Applicants (except singers) are normally expected to be approximately at Grade Eight standard (RSM, TCM, AMEB). Tuition is usually available in piano, violin, viola, cello, voice, organ, harpsichord, fortepiano, and some woodwind and brass instruments.

Prerequisite: evidence of ability as a performer. Entry is by audition.

Assessment: 100% internal including a final recital

Restriction: Cannot be taken at the same time as MUSI 140

IMPORTANT NOTE: MUSI 101 is a compulsory prerequisite for MUSI 241 as well as MUSI 141.

=>MUSI 145 Contemporary Performance 1

(whole year) 0.3 EFTS 36 points

Performance is at the centre of a rock musician's life. The rock performer needs skills in instrumental technique, composition, arrangement, interpretation, rehearsal skills and stagecraft to create a combined musical and visual experience for the audience. This paper builds the performance- enhancing skills necessary for career success and for life-long learning.

Assessment: 100% internal

Prerequisite: evidence of ability as a performer. Entry is by audition.

IMPORTANT NOTE: MUSI 101 is a compulsory prerequisite for MUSI 245.

=>MUSI 146 Professional Practice 1A

(first semester) 0.15 EFTS 18 points

MUSI 146 develops musicianship skills necessary to enter and maintain a career in the popular music industry, particularly for those students intending to work as freelance musicians in a variety of musical contexts. The paper is constructed around a repertoire-based curriculum drawn from rhythm and blues music that includes studies in instrumental technique, sight reading/singing, and ensemble performance. The demands placed on modern professional musicians are such that musicians are expected to be jacks of all trades and masters of many. The course teaches you how to adopt a chameleon-like ability to adapt to highly specific stylistic musical areas.

Prerequisite: evidence of ability as a performer. Entry is by audition.

Assessment: 100% internal

Restrictions: MUSI 145

=>MUSI 156 Professional Practice 1B

(second semester)0.15 EFTS 18 points

MUSI 156 is also based on the development of musicianship skills necessary to enter and maintain a career in the popular music industry for those students intending to work as freelance musicians. The paper is constructed around a repertoire-based curriculum drawn from rock and progressive rock music that includes studies in instrumental technique, sight reading/singing, and ensemble performance necessary for performance in these genres. Students will perform using musical skills with awareness of the necessary instrumental concepts and their potential uses in the professional arena.

Assessment: 100% internal

Prerequisite: MUSI 146

Restrictions: MUSI 145. MUSI 146 if passed before 2008

IMPORTANT NOTE: MUSI 101 is a compulsory prerequisite for MUSI 246 and MUSI 256.

=>MUSI 185 Music Industry

(second semester) 0.15 EFTS 18 points

If ever the phrase knowledge is power were true, it is when it comes to working in the music industry. The popular perception that the music industry is a shark-infested pool may hold more than a grain of truth but you can protect yourself if you know how and why it works as it does. Music Industry provides a firm foundation in the business procedures used by managers, lawyers, agents, promoters and record companies. It also outlines the background and mechanics of publishing, royalty collection and, most importantly, survival skills as a creative artist in one of the toughest industrial environments.

Assessment: 100% internal

=>MUSI 191 Introduction to Music

(first semester) 0.15 EFTS 18 points

If you are not fluent in reading music or have little or no experience of music theory (or both), you should take MUSI 191 in your first semester.

Music is a language, and like any other language it has a way of writing it down, spelling, punctuation and all those grammatical things that languages have; and of course it also has an enormous, and enormously pleasurable, literature. If you couldn't read and write English, you might be able to get along in everyday life-but you'd have to rely on audiotapes, films and film adaptations for any literature. It's the same with music. You can get by just listening to your favourite records without understanding them, but if you're really interested, you want to be able to read and write music, and to know what's going on. This paper introduces you to the dots and squiggles and what they mean, and it looks at how music is put together: what notes are available, how you make tunes out of them, and how you put other notes with them to make harmony.

MUSI 191 cannot be credited to a degree if MUSI 101 has already been passed. However, it is quite possible to credit both papers to your degree, as long as you pass MUSI 191 before you pass MUSI 101.

Assessment: 30% internal, 70% final examination


What's new?

Masters Degrees in Performance, Composition and Studio Production

Doctoral Degrees in Performance, Composition and Studio Production

Music Majors and Minors.

Scottish Piping and Drumming

Our newly appointed William Evans Lecturer in Cello, Heleen Du Plessis will be joining the Department in January 2010.

Gamelan Postgraduate Opportunities (pdf)

Study Gamelan
Indonesian percussion
18 point paper, whole year
No prior musical knowledge required

Related Courses