Module MUSI43460: Research in Music

Department: Music

MUSI43460: Research in Music

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To impart foundational understanding of the nature of research in pertinent fields of music studies (both musicological and practice-based)
• To provide training in research methods and resources appropriate to the scholarly study of music
• To facilitate the transition from undergraduate studies to postgraduate research
• To stimulate critical thinking about issues pertaining to research on music
• To foster awareness of the wider scholarly community and of the professional standards and conventions concomitant with membership of that community
• To acquaint students with academic standards of intellectual rigour and ethical integrity
• To deepen understanding of key aspects of current work in the various fields of specialisation (e.g. performance, musicology, composition, psychology, ethnomusicology, and theory and analysis)
• To widen the students’ scope of research by engaging in cross-disciplinary research.

Content

• This module defines the intellectual framework for the MA in Music programme. It equips students with a strong research foundation through scaffolded learning, providing rigorous training in how to conduct research and scholarly exploration in the student’s chosen specialist interest area, including the exploration of cross-disciplinary synergies. Students choose their subdisciplinary specialism from the following list: Musicology, Performance, Composition, Analysis, Ethnomusicology, and Music Psychology. The module also cultivates presentation skills, critical thinking, and a rigorous approach to the close reading of sources. The knowledge and skills gained from this core module are intended to buttress the student’s progress in other aspects of the MA and promote effective functioning in diverse professional contexts.

Learning Outcomes

• appropriate awareness of research resources
• understanding of research methods for the specialist areas and more widely
• scholarly conventions of presentation
• critical understanding of theories and methodologies pertinent to the scholarly study of e.g. musicology, composition, performance, psychology, ethnomusicology, theory and analysis with opportunities for specialisation
• advanced knowledge of relevant musical repertories from a range of historical periods and geographical locations
• advanced knowledge of creative and performative praxes relevant to the chosen area of interest

• the ability to engage in close critical readings of a range of challenging texts (musical, verbal, and in other pertinent modalities of discourse)
• the ability to formulate intellectually viable research projects (both theoretical and practice-based)
• an advanced ability to describe and analyse works from a range of musical repertories, informed by an understanding of the socio-cultural matrices from which they emerged and of their specific formal and stylistic features
• an advanced ability to draw upon appropriate theoretical perspectives and methodologies to study, compose, and perform music while simultaneously deriving independent intellectual and creative insights from these activities
• advanced competence in musical literacy
• advanced competence in engaging with musical materials of different kinds, whether as physical objects (e.g. scores) and or in electronic formats (e.g. recordings, audio-visual materials)

• advanced ability to acquire information of diverse kinds in an intellectually disciplined and systematic manner
• advanced ability to assimilate information and sophisticated arguments
• advanced ability to interpret complex information
• expertise in conventions of scholarly presentation and bibliographical skills
• independence of thought and judgement, and the ability to undertake informed criticism of the ideas of others
• ability to communicate ideas cogently
• ability to deploy independent research skills using appropriate specialist tools and resources
• problem solving skills
• competence in information technology skills to support MA learning and research (e.g. by means of word-processing and music-processing software; databases; presentation software; audiovisual editing and analysis software; graph- and image-processing; web-based resources; relevant technologies)

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

• The module is delivered through a series of weekly sessions – lectures providing training in how to conduct research effectively and seminars exploring the student’s chosen specialist interest area as well as cross-disciplinary synergies.
• Assessment is comprised of a 2000-word essay on a topic relating to the student’s chosen subdiscipline and a 15-minute conference-style presentation. For practice-based subjects, the final presentation will integrate live performance, specifically to illustrate key points of their research.
• Two individual tutorials (one per teaching term) provide students with opportunities to seek more detailed guidance on specific points and to receive supplementary feedback. Please note that tutorials are not centrally timetabled and should be organised directly between the student and their tutor as schedules permit. These sessions fall under the hours referenced as Reading and Preparation in the Teaching Methods and Contact Hours table.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Written and oral presentation tasks relating to the topics covered on the module (e.g. writing of an abstract, doing analysis, demonstrating practice, oral reports, small composition assignments, etc).

■ Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.