Module description
This module provides students with an introduction to the technical skills required to compose music in a 20th-century or contemporary style. Familiar parameters such as melody, harmony and rhythm will be reconsidered in a new context, and the expanded technical and aesthetic possibilities developed by composers since 1900 will be explored. Students will submit a portfolio of four compositions; the portfolio will typically consist of a piece for solo melody instrument, a piece for solo piano, a piece for two or three instruments of the student's choice and a song for voice and piano. While there are no fixed stylistic requirements, students are expected to acquaint themselves with a variety of 20th- and 21st-century music and to assimilate musical developments of the last 100 years into their own compositional voice.
Assessment details
Portfolio of four original compositions [100%]
Educational aims & objectives
This module provides students with an introduction to the technical skills required to compose music in a 20th-century or contemporary style. Familiar parameters such as melody, harmony and rhythm will be reconsidered in a new context, and the expanded technical and aesthetic possibilities developed by composers since 1900 will be explored. Students will submit a portfolio of four compositions; the portfolio will typically consist of a piece for solo melody instrument, a piece for solo piano, a piece for two or three instruments of the student's choice and a song for voice and piano. While there are no fixed stylistic requirements, students are expected to acquaint themselves with a variety of 20th- and 21st-century music and to assimilate musical developments of the last 100 years into their own compositional voice.
Learning outcomes
- To introduce students to some of the technical skills required to compose music in a 20th-century or contemporary style;
- To provide an introduction to developments in compositional technique and aesthetics over the last 100 years, and the ability to apply that understanding to their own work.
Teaching pattern
The module will be taught via lectures and tutorials.