Undergraduate Course: Screen Music History: texts and contexts (MUSI10099)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Students will be introduced to a series of audiovisual texts, particularly films, as historical case studies. The music for these texts will be examined in terms of its relationship with the components of sound, image and narrative and in the context of wider social, technological and economic developments. |
| Course description |
This course introduces students to key concepts and contextual issues relevant to the understanding and interpretation of selected audiovisual texts--particularly films--in given historical periods, such as those heard during the so-called "silent era" of cinema, or the period of transition to synchronized sound. The focus is on musical and other sonic practices of and for screen-based media. The conceptual frameworks involve viewing these texts through historical and geographical lenses, in terms of socio-cultural, technological, and economic contexts. Students will be introduced to--and are expected to draw upon--relevant subject-specific theories and methodologies that illuminate and enrich our understanding of these texts, such as developing skills in audiovisual analysis, and historical and/or archival research, in relation to contexts such as race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality. Topics typically include the impact/s on screen music during wartime, in terms of socio-cultural mores, in relation to developments in the film and music industries, and in music production, recording and playback.
The course is taught by weekly seminars throughout the semester organised around set readings and screenings. The viewing of short online lecture-chunks may also form part of the learning experience. Students are required to engage critically with these to support participation in class discussion in appropriate ways. Students will be introduced to primary sources and how they may be used in screen music scholarship.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Students from outwith the Reid School of Music's Degree Programmes should contact the Course Organiser before applying, as students will be expected to have a knowledge of music theory at least up to an equivalent of ABRSM Grade V Theory. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 3,
Revision Session Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
170 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has 2 components of assessment:
1. Essay/project of 1,800-2000 words, or equivalent, 50% of course mark, due at the end of teaching, assessed against Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3. Individually assessed. This component must be passed.
2. 2-hour exam, 50% of course mark, December exam diet, assessed against Learning Outcomes 1, 3, 4. Individually assessed. This component must be passed.
Resubmission Information
The resubmission arrangements for this course are as follows:
1. The resubmission task for the Essay/Project is the same; students submit to the original assessment. 50%
2. The resubmission task for the exam is another exam attempt during the August resit period. 50%
Students will receive further resubmission information as per University regulations as necessary. |
| Feedback |
Formative Feedback
Examination of primary sources:
Students receive formative feedback on their responses to short extracts from primary source texts distributed through the course. This is delivered by the Course Organiser during seminars, primarily verbally. This feeds-forward in preparing students for the first half of the exam which is comprised of similar short extracts.
Essay/project outline
The course organiser will provide formative feedback on students' essay/project outlines (abstract, plan, (short) annotated bibliography) in verbal and/or written form.
Summative Feedback
Students will receive written feedback on essays/projects within three weeks of submission.
Exam papers will be made available to students at an appropriate date/time after course marks have been moderated and confirmed by the relevant Course Board. Script annotations will indicate the justification for marks. Students may request further detail from the CO if desired.
Summative feedback will be provided according to University regulations. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | | 15 | | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | Screen Music History: texts and contexts | 135 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify and describe the characteristics of music and sound for screens in the historical period (e.g., films).
- Apply key concepts and methodologies to analyse the use of music and sound for screens of the historical period.
- Situate analyses and arguments in terms of aesthetics, society and culture, technology and economics, as relevant.
- Understand, evaluate, and use primary source material of the period to produce screen music history scholarship.
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Reading List
Altman, Rick. Silent Film Sound. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
Barton, Ruth and Simon Tresize (eds). Music and Sound in Silent Film: From the Nickelodeon to The Artist. London: Routledge, 2018.
Brown, Julie and Annette Davison (eds.) The Sounds of the Silents in Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Johnston, Philip. Silent Films/Loud Music: New Ways of Listening to and Thinking about Silent Film Music. London: Bloomsbury Academic Press, 2021.
Kinematograph Weekly [trade paper]
Tieber, Claus and Anna Windisch (eds). The Sounds of Silent Films: New Perspectives on History, Theory and Practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical Thinking: developing independent thought through the consolidation of an area of knowledge as the basis of the essay/project, reviewing and evaluating evidence to build a coherent argument.
Communication: developing effective ways to characterise and articulate knowledge and analysis of historically distant sources. |
| Keywords | film music,music for screen,history |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Annette Davison
Tel: (0131 6)50 2426
Email: A.C.Davison@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Laura Duff
Tel:
Email: lduff4@ed.ac.uk |
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