Undergraduate Course: Music Analysis (MUSI08076)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Music pervades our lives, be it everyday background listening, video games and film music sound tracks, pieces that frame key moments in our lives, or music we perform. But how does music work? How is it constructed? How does it tell stories and affect our emotions?
In this course, we will analyse European art music and related practices from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century to explore these and other questions, drawing on music scores as well as audio and (where applicable) video recordings. |
| Course description |
Concentrating largely on European art music and related practices, we will analyse music from its smallest constituent parts to overall forms, examine the text-music relationship in vocal music, study a range of compositional techniques and investigate the features of different musical styles. We will draw on examples of instrumental and vocal music from the Middle Ages to the present, for example, motets, songs, opera arias, concertos, symphonies, chamber music, film music and video game soundtracks. Based on our findings and contextualised by readings, we will consider the purpose of the ways in which pieces of music are constructed and their effect on the listener, as well as approaches to music analysis and their implications.
Analysing music and writing about it will enhance your understanding of music and enable you to communicate about it clearly and strategically, which will be highly useful in Music Honours options and fundamental for music professionals, including composers, performers, technicians, arrangers, researchers and educators. The ability to analyse music, as well as the contextual information offered by the course, will also enhance your enjoyment of music as a listener and tie into analytical methodology in other disciplines.
The course is taught via weekly two-hour lectures and one-hour tutorials. You will be expected to prepare for lectures and tutorial discussions by reading book chapters and articles, studying music scores and/or audio/video recordings, as well as doing some analysis and writing exercises.
Please note: The following skills are essential for successful participation in this course: a) facility in reading Western musical notation and music scores; and b) a sound grasp of the fundamentals of Western music theory (key signatures, chords, harmonic functions, cadences, etc.). If in doubt, please contact the Course Organiser before enrolling.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed
Creative Musicianship (MUSI08077)
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Please note: The following skills are essential for successful participation in this course:
a) facility in reading musical notation and music scores;
and b) a sound grasp of the fundamentals of Western music theory (key signatures, chords, harmonic functions, cadences, etc.).
If in doubt, please contact the Course Organiser before enrolling.
This course does not require any additional costs to be met by the student. |
| Additional Costs | This course does not require any additional costs to be met by the student. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Please note: The following skills are essential for successful participation in this course:
a) facility in reading musical notation and music scores;
and b) a sound grasp of the fundamentals of Western music theory (key signatures, chords, harmonic functions, cadences, etc.).
If in doubt, please contact the Course Organiser before enrolling. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
161 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has 2 components of assessment:
1. Essay 1, 1,000 words, 30%, weeks 6-8, Learning Outcomes 1-4.
2. Essay 2, 2,000 words, 70%, December exam diet, Learning Outcomes 1-4.
Resubmission Information
The resubmission arrangements for this course are as follows:
1. The resubmission task for Essay 1 is an essay, 1,000 words, 30%. Students will write on a different essay topic.
2. The resubmission task for Essay 2 is an essay, 2,000 words, 70%. Students will write on a different essay topic.
Students will receive further resubmission information as per University regulations as necessary. |
| Feedback |
Formative Feedback
You will receive oral feedback on your progress and engagement with course materials via tutorial discussion with your course tutor and peers on an ongoing basis. Short, unassessed quizzes in lectures will offer you opportunities for testing your skills, understanding and knowledge. Prior to the first essay submission, one teaching hour will be dedicated to an essay workshop (weeks 4-6).
Summative Feedback
You will receive written feedback on your essays via LEARN. Your individual summative feedback for Essay 1, as well as general feedback on Essay 1 offered in a plenary session in one of the lectures, will serve as feedforward for Essay 2. Summative feedback for Essay 2 can also serve as feedforward for essays in your honours years. You will be offered opportunities to discuss your feedback on both essays with teaching staff.
Summative feedback will be provided according to University regulations. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Describe musical form and structure by talking about compositional components and their interactions.
- Identify specific information about a musical work or practice via a score or appropriate other medium (e.g. key stylistic and structural features).
- Analyse music critically by evaluating the compositional effect of such features, drawing on their broader musical knowledge to contextualise the findings
|
Reading List
Caplin, William E. Analyzing Classical Form: An Approach for the Classroom. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Loeffert, Kimberly Goddard, and John Peterson, John, (eds). Modeling Musical Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press, 2025.
NAXOS Music Library (Database)
Oxford Music Online (Reference)
Tymoczko, Dmitri. A Geometry of Music: Harmony and Counterpoint in the Extended Common Practice. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical thinking: Analysing music will offer you practice at identifying relevant and appropriate evidence as well as recognising wider themes and patterns. Critical discussion of approaches to music analysis will enhance your ability to think independently through questioning norms, practices and opinions.
Problem solving: You will develop skills at synthesising information and translating it into your own interpretations by analysing how different elements of music, such as form, harmony, compositional techniques, work together to affect the listener.
Communication and individuality: Constructing, discussing and writing about your own individual interpretations of music will help you develop both skill in communicating your own ideas and confidence in your thought process and findings. |
| Keywords | Music Analysis,western,medieval,twentieth,scores,listening,composition |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Anne Desler
Tel:
Email: a.desler@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Laura Duff
Tel:
Email: lduff4@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage