Unit name | Practical Studies: Instrumentation, Conducting & Performance |
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Unit code | MUSI10050 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | C/4 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
Unit director | Professor. Ellis |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Music |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The instrumentation/conducting element of this unit comprises an introduction to two fundamental aspects of practical musicianship: instrumentation and conducting. The unit takes as its starting-point the contention that converting notated music into sound is a social act, that music is written not just for a certain instrument or voice-range but for a performer who has to produce the sound. Practical experience of turning the notated arrangement into living sound is gained in the conducting sessions (in which students conduct ensembles drawn from the rest of the group in rehearsals of the notated arrangements). The performance element aims to develop existing practical ability by means of a programme of instrumental or vocal lessons pursued throughout the year, and a test of solo performance aptitude in the summer term. Through a programme of lessons and workshops, students will learn how form a vision of how a notated work should be represented in sound and how to communicate that vision to others.
Aims:
This unit aims to develop existing practical skills in the field of instrumentation and conducting (by means of weekly workshop sessions in semester 1), a programme of instrumental or vocal lessons pursued throughout the year, and a test of solo performance ability in the summer term. The instrumentation and conducting components of this unit allow students to gain 'hands-on' experience of the social act of rehearsing a group of individuals that lies behind successful ensemble performance. It has to do with the formation of a vision of how a notated work should be represented in sound and the communication of that vision to others. The process of negotiation required in producing the desired sound from the notated scores, and communicating the individual interpretation of that score in performance, is common to both ensemble and solo performance and it is expected that the experience of the semester 1 workshop rehearsals will translate into the semester 2 solo performance (eg effective liaison of a flautist with his/her accompanist). The unit is intended to provide a secure foundation for further performance units involving solo and ensemble work at subsequent stages in the BA programme and is an essential pre-requisite for those units.
Successful completion of this unit will enable students to:
Lectures; workshops; seminars
Instrumentation & Conducting:
Solo Performance: