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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2018/2019

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Edinburgh College of Art : Music

Postgraduate Course: Composers' Seminar B (MUSI11056)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh College of Art CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryMusic composition requires extensive understanding not just of the technicalities of inventing and notating musical materials, and the effective use of performance resources, but also of the intellectual, social, artistic and organisational contexts within which music operates. This weekly series of research seminars will follow from the materials developed in Composers¿ Seminar A. They will concentrate on the analysis and discussion of texts in the form of scores and recorded performances. The texts discussed will be guided both by contemporary concerns, and by the interests of the group. There will also be some practical workshops on aspects of music performance.
Course description Aims of the Course
- to develop a critical approach to the analysis and discussion of musical texts, and a critical approach to the nature of the text itself.
- to improve knowledge and understanding of the techniques of music performance, within a broad context.
- to develop skills of presentation and discourse .

This seminar will aim to survey current research in the field of creative work in music, in an inter-disciplinary context. Within that, three key components will be addressed:
- The nature of musical texts, notated, recorded or otherwise inscribed; including am investigation of the relationship between text and performance.
- Analytical strategies, appropriate for different texts, and for different types of engagement with a text.
- The nature of the relationship between composer and performer, both in terms of compositional approach and practical social engagement.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate the ability to approach musical texts with a critical awareness.
  2. Demonstrate an informed approach to the various situations of music performance.
  3. Demonstrate the ability to analyse, present and discuss practical and theoretical issues related to music creation.
Reading List
Clarke, E. and N. Cook (eds). 2004. Empirical Musicology: Aims, Methods, Prospects. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Barthes, R. 1984. Image, Music, Text. London: Fontana.
Goddard, M., B. Halligan and N. Spelman (eds). 2013. Resonances: Noise and Contemporary Music. London: Bloomsbury.
Attinello, P., C. Fox and M. Iddon (eds). 2007. Other Darmstadts. Contemporary Music Review, 26 (1).
Donin, N. (ed.). 2011. (De)Composing Sound. Contemporary Music Review, 30 (5).

Current issues of the journals:
Contemporary Music Review
Tempo
Computer Music Journal
Leonardo Music
The Wire
Organised Sound
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Analytical skills
Discussion and collaboration
Presentation skills.
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserProf Peter Nelson
Tel: (0131 6)50 2428
Email: P.Nelson@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Emma Binks
Tel: (0131 6)51 5735
Email: Emma.Binks@ed.ac.uk
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