Undergraduate Course: Portfolio of Compositions (MUSI10115)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
| Course type | Dissertation |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 40 |
ECTS Credits | 20 |
| Summary | Through a combination of lectures and individual supervisions, this course helps you to explore and develop your compositional voice and practice, planning and creating a body of work in a genre and context of your choosing, under the supervision of a member of staff.
|
| Course description |
Lectures will be delivered by staff at the Reid, and examine areas such as composing for theatre and film, working with technology, writing for schools and community groups, improvising, producing and arranging, and concert hall commissions.
You will develop skills to plan, budget, and deliver work, with input from industry figures from organisations actively commissioning and supporting new music, and you will examine contemporary works, songs and soundtracks, take part in workshops and discussions, and have opportunities to discover and debate current ideas, practices and context in the field of composition.
In supervisions, you will receive input on your developing work from a member of the composition staff, and examine and discuss the opportunities and challenges that face emerging composers in the world today.
The course is open for you to create music across any genre and will support you to combine professional considerations with artistic goals. The course will celebrate innovation and originality within the context of your chosen genres.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 25 |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
400
(
Lecture Hours 24,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Summative Assessment Hours 4,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 8,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
344 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Assessment will consist of two components:
Submission 1 - End of First Semester (40%) (LOs 1,2 and 4)
-One new piece of music (duration - between 8 and 12 minutes) - 25%
-One Project Plan (800 words) - detailing/budgeting/promoting a large scale work to be completed in the second semester - 15%
Submission 2 - End of Second Semester (60%) (LOs 1,2,3 and 4)
-One large scale piece of work (duration - between 18 and 25 minutes) - E.g. one single movement work/ film score/ theatre production/ fully recorded EP / collection of shorter songs/pieces) - 50%
-Short project report (800 words) - detailing the methodology/process involved in the creation of the large scale creative work. - 10%
Both assessment components are submitted during the exam diet. Written feedback will be given within 15 working days. |
| Feedback |
Summative feedback will be given no more than 3 weeks after both Submission 1 and 2, and will demonstrate how well the work meets with the learning outcomes.
Formative feedback on creative practice in progress will be given during fortnightly meetings with supervisors. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Define and extend their own creative practice in musical composition and invention.
- Plan and present work at a professional standard.
- Reflect upon their work in an illustrative and illuminative way that demonstrates a contextual awareness of their field.
- Translate ideas encountered in lectures, supervisions, and creative practice, into a critical understanding of the creative and cultural context of contemporary musical composition.
|
Reading List
Brant, Henry Textures and Timbres: An Orchestrator¿s handbook (2009) Carl Fischer Music
Nelson, Peter (ed.) Contemporary Music Review. Online journal 1984-present
Oliveros, P. (2005) Deep Listening : A Composer's Sound Practice. iUniverse
Gould, E (2011) Behind Bars: The Definitive Guide to Music Notation. Faber Music Ltd
Varga, B.A. (2015) Three Questions for Sixty-Five Composers. University of Rochester Press
Rutherford-Johnson, T. 2017. Music after the Fall: Modern Composition and Culture since 1989. Oakland: University of California Press.
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
- You will leave this course with a critical understanding of how new music can be imagined and produced. You will also have an analytical appreciation for a wide range of compositional approaches and attitudes, and the courage to expand and experiment in order to fulfil your potential as a creative artist.
PRACTICE: APPLIED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND UNDERSTANDING
- You will leave this course with an enhanced ability to generate and develop musical ideas, and turn them into a sustainable creative practice.
GENERIC COGNITIVE SKILLS
- You will develop your sonic imagination, musical literacy and ability to interpret and analyse existing works of new music, across genres.
COMMUNICATION, ICT AND NUMERACY SKILLS
- You will have had opportunity to share your ideas with others and communicate your musical ideas to other musicians. You may also develop score reading, listening, sound production and score production skills.
- AUTONOMY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND WORKING WITH OTHERS
- You will design a project brief and create new music in response. You will have opportunity to work independently to problem solve through creative practice, and to share and discuss your ongoing creative practice in a safe yet challenging environment.
|
| Keywords | composition,creative practice,research,industry |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Gareth Williams
Tel: (0131 6)50 2429
Email: gareth.williams@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Carrie Parker
Tel: (0131 6)50 2422
Email: Carrie.Parker@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage