Please note: Due to alternative arrangements for teaching and
assessment in place from 18 March 2020 to mitigate against the restrictions in
place due to COVID-19, information shown for 2019/20 may not always be accurate.
Please note: you are viewing unit and programme information
for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.
Unit name |
Composition Portfolio |
Unit code |
MUSIM0011 |
Credit points |
60 |
Level of study |
M/7
|
Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
|
Unit director |
Professor. Pickard |
Open unit status |
Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None
|
Co-requisites |
None
|
School/department |
Department of Music |
Faculty |
Faculty of Arts |
Description including Unit Aims
The Composition Portfolio has a status equivalent to the Dissertation written by musicologists and scholars of most arts and humanities. The submission should therefore demonstrate a professional level of presentation, compositional accomplishment and imaginative aspiration. It typically comprises one large-scale work (such as a concerto of duration c. 15 minutes), or else a strongly argued chamber work (such as a string quartet perhaps) together with a short piece or pieces perhaps for voices or large ensemble totalling ca. 20-25 minutes. The norm is not a rule, however, and works for electronic or electro-acoustic media, non-standard ensembles, works with mixed media or film etc. are all permitted, while timing must be related to pace and density of musical thought. All submissions should be realistically performable and not merely conceptual.
Intended Learning Outcomes
- Comprehensive technical skills for professional score writing, including instrumental and other resources, instrumentation, orchestration, score layout and presentation.
- Up to date knowledge of and critical understanding of contemporary musical repertoire and related cultural ideas based on listening, score study and reading
- Acquisition of technical foundations of contemporary composition, supplemented by analysis of relevant scores
- As a Composer, to demonstrate a high level of technical assurance, the ability to select and generate appropriate constructional tools to bring about the articulation of a musical concept, to use form and argument effectively and clearly, to assess creative ideas objectively in relation to emotional and cultural context, and to develop a reflective and self-critical attitude.
- clarity and objectivity in expressing musical ideas
- capacity for creative and lateral thinking
Teaching Information
Individual tutorial meetings during TB 2 (typically six meetings in total).
Assessment Information
Portfolio (100%) comprising either a single large-scale work or a collection of shorter works
Successful attainment of outcome (4) will enable the student to demonstrate (1) - (3) and (5). A successful Project submission will also embody (6).
Reading and References
- Adler, Samuel,The study of orchestration [3rd ed.] New York : Norton, 2002.
- Gould, Elaine, Behind Bars - The Definitive Guide to Music Notation, London, Faber 2011
- Read, Gardner, Compendium of modern instrumental techniques. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1993
- Read, Gardner, Modern rhythmic notation London : Victor Gollancz, 1980.
- Read, Gardner, Music notation :a manual of modern practice [2nd ed].. London : Victor Gollancz, 1974