Module MUSI1311: Study of Skills in Music

Department: Music

MUSI1311: Study of Skills in Music

Prerequisites

• • A Level Music or the equivalent (see also https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/courses/music-w300/).

Corequisites

• • None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• • None.

Aims

• To prepare students for further undergraduate Music studies by consolidating skills in several areas: musical literacy and the interpretation of musical texts; research skills; academic ethics, especially with regard to plagiarism, paraphrasing, citation etc.; other essay-writing skills, including linguistic and critical skills regarding the analysis of discourse on music.

Content

• The module outlines the main sub-disciplinary areas in music scholarship and ways in which they inter-relate. Sessions focus on three main areas. The first develops foundational music-analytical skills, focusing on score-reading. The second is on technical skills required for advanced written work on music. The third is to do with analytical thinking and argumentation. The module thus provides tools and skills that are relevant across the curriculum.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will understand at an appropriate level the nature of Music as an academic discipline, and contextualise it within major contextual debates.
• Students will become familiar with undergraduate-level research methods, principles of good practice in scholarly work, foundational concepts of musical structure, and underlying principles of various sub-disciplines.

• Foundational music-analytical skills (e.g., recognition of harmonic patterns; classification of theme types), which will serve as a basis for more far-reaching analytic projects in other modules.
• Skills needed in undertaking research and writing musicological essays or preparing presentations, e.g., optimal use of databases; appropriate citation.

• Critical skills in analysing concepts and texts; constructive self-criticism in essay-writing and argumentation.

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

• The module will be taught in a single term. Weekly lectures will cover the main topics. Lectures work in conjunction with directed reading, which may be discussed in the lecture.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Formative exercises will be set in preparation for the summative assessments and/or to address specific topics.

■ 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