Module MUSI2561: THEORY AND MUSICOLOGY

Department: Music

MUSI2561: THEORY AND MUSICOLOGY

Prerequisites

• Readings in Musicology OR Analysis and Perception of Music OR Music in Culture and Society OR Techniques of Composition OR Issues and Methods in Musicology.

Corequisites

• Single honours ONLY: Historical Trends and Issues in the 19th and 20th Centuries.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To build on and develop first-year work on analysis and musicology, specifically, the two modules 'Analysis and Perception of Music', and 'Issues & Methods of Musicology'.
• The course adopts a more speculative and advanced outlook, and trains students to reflect on analytical and musicological methods more independently.
• Furthermore, the course equips students with a range of skills with which to undertake independent research in their third year.
• These skills bear upon both discursive work, such as dissertation, and the exploration of musical materials as composers and analysts.

Content

• An exploration of advanced theoretical and musicological approaches, building on the introductory courses taught in Preliminary Honours, and designed to complement the historical work of its partner module.
• Term 1 will focus on analytical techniques appropriate to tonal and post-tonal music, such as Schenkerian reduction, Neo-Riemannian functional harmony, and pitch-class set theory.
• Term 2 will be dedicated to a range of critical and interdisciplinary perspectives, encompassing issues of editing and transcribing early music.
• Topics in Term 1 will draw from the following: Schenkerian graphic notation.
• Concepts of voice-leading, diminution, reduction, and prolongation.
• Late 19th-century chromatic harmony.
• Riemannian and Neo-Riemannian theories of harmonic function.
• Pitch-class set theory and analysis.
• Topics in Term 2 will be drawn from the following: The new musicology and the concept of criticism.
• Post-modern musicology.
• The idea of close reading.
• Interdisciplinary musicology and relations to literature, science and philosophy.
• Historiography of music.
• Educational theories and their influence on teaching practice.
• Term 3 constitute revision seminars, drawing from all the above.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will become familiar with a set of selected readings in the analytical literature and will explore the main concepts of analytical theory.

• Students will achieve a basic competence in applying these skills practically through a series of formative exercises.

• Analytical skills will be drawn from key readings in relevant areas and will be used to establish and embed fundamental principles of musicological investigation and research through a range of methodologically-orientated research tasks.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Consists of 19 lectures, 3 seminars and 3 tutorials.
• The teaching takes place through weekly lectures with accompanying directed reading and formative exercises/essays.
• The reading may take the form of seminar texts to be discussed in tutorials, culminating in papers given in larger seminars.
• This format is designed to ensure the active participation of students in the learning process, offering opportunities for discussion and the development of critical thinking.
• Formative exercises 'bed down' analytical and musicological concepts taught in lectures, and may form the basis of discussion and hands-on training in tutorials.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Regular exercises and essays, plus preparation for and participation within tutorials and seminars.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University