First year - Music

Compulsory modules

Music and its Cultures I

This module is an introductory guide to the study of music in its cultural contexts during the historical period 800 to 1800. Key examples of the principal genres of Western art music during these centuries will be discussed alongside an introduction to the traditions and histories of music in other geographical locations. In this way, students will begin to orientate themselves towards the disciplines of historical musicology and ethnomusicology as they are studied at university level. Topics covered briefly as part of this module will be offered in more depth in optional seminars available in the second and third years.

While the lectures for this module will concentrate on broader questions of musical culture, especially the characteristics of genres and their functions, in the associated seminars, students will work in more detail with short musical examples linked to the relevant week’s lecture. Students will thus learn to appreciate not only the place of music in a range of social, historical and cultural contexts, but also the variety of ways in which different kinds of music are constructed.

Music and its Cultures II

Music and its Cultures II extends the music-historical and ethnomusicological coverage provided in Music and its Cultures I, embracing a variety of repertoires and their contexts from 1800 to the present. The module crosses between Western art music and popular forms, aiming for breadth in terms of both geographical and methodological coverage, by means of a focus on the function and development of key musical genres. As with Music and its Cultures I, the module is intended as an introduction to topics that will be offered for more detailed study in years 2 and 3.

Lectures will address a range of political, institutional, social and cultural issues pertaining to music after 1800. In the seminars, students will focus on specific musical examples drawn from the lecture material. In this way, students will develop skills in both musical and cultural analysis that will enhance their music-historical and ethnomusicological engagement with music of the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Music and Ideas I

Music and Ideas I introduces students to issues of broad theoretical interest in the study of music. Guided by staff research specialisms, topics to be covered may include (among others): Music and the Internet, Music and Religion, Women in Music, Music and Globalisation, and Musical Notation. Lectures will cover two of these topics in detail during the semester, in such a way as not only to introduce students to the kind of theoretical reflection typically encountered today in university-level work, but also to prepare for the discussion of theoretical issues in greater depth in second- and third-year modules, and especially in the second-year core module, Critical Musicology.

The weekly lectures will be supported by seminars, in which the focus will be on the transition to university-level work with respect to essay-writing. Short written tasks will develop students’ command of academic register, paragraph construction and referencing, at the same time as fostering engagement with the theoretical material covered in the lectures. Students will also be helped with academic reading comprehension and introduced to the learning resources available at the University. During the semester, students will also have the option to work through the Micro-Employablity Course Creating a Professional Profile.

Music and Ideas II

Music and Ideas II continues the introduction to issues of broad theoretical interest in the study of music begun in Music and Ideas I. Guided by staff research specialisms, topics to be covered may include (among others): Music and the Internet, Music and Religion, Women in Music, Music and Globalisation, and Musical Notation. Lectures will cover two new topics in detail during the semester, continuing to introduce students to the kind of theoretical reflection typically encountered today in university-level work, and preparing them for the discussion of theoretical issues in greater depth in second- and third-year modules, especially the second-year core module, Critical Musicology.

The weekly lectures will be supported by seminars. Music and Ideas II will move beyond the focus on essay-writing in Music and Ideas I to include work on oral presentation. Students will continue to improve writing skills, and to engage intellectually with the theoretical material covered in the lectures, but will also gain experience in the presentation of their work to an audience of their peers. During this semester students will also have the option to work through the Micro-Employability Course Responding to Feedback.

Tonal Harmony and Counterpoint I

Tonal Harmony and Counterpoint 1 will foster students’ understanding and skills in tonal music theory, music analysis and practical application of principles of voice leading and harmonic structure. Supportive materials will promote students’ knowledge of important theoretical ideas, methods and approaches in a range of different styles of tonal music. Weekly seminars will allow students to secure and develop their understanding through completing practical exercises, informed by recent research in the relevant field. This module provides a technical and theoretical basis for further exploration of tonal harmony in the follow-up module, Tonal Harmony and Counterpoint 2.

Tonal Harmony and Counterpoint II

Tonal Harmony and Counterpoint 2 will further develop students’ understanding and skills in tonal music theory, music analysis and tonal composition, building on learning in Tonal Harmony and Counterpoint 1. Supportive materials will continue to promote students’ knowledge of theoretical background and introduce more advanced concepts within tonal harmony. Weekly seminars will allow students to explore practical application of their knowledge within a range of diverse tonal styles. Students will learn to apply their knowledge in a more creative manner, deploying more sophisticated processes in harmony and learning to recognise and apply patterns characteristic of particular styles and genres.

Solo Performance

This module comprises five elements; tuition and other activity begins in Semester 1 (and as such, the module must be taken across the two semesters and cannot be taken in Semester 2 only).

The module’s five elements are:

a) One-to-one instrumental/vocal tuition. This tuition (18 hours taken across the two semesters) is provided either by approved teachers at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, or by tutors employed directly by the Department of Music, or, for Early Music, through the Department's Centre for Early Music Performance and Research (CEMPR), and is normally divided equally between two studies, either two instruments or one instrument and voice. The aim is to make as much technical and musical progress as possible and to provide a basis for further specialisation in solo performance in the 2nd and Final Years. Teachers supply reports during the second semester;

b) Attendance at Barber Evening Concerts

c) Attendance at Seminars

d) Attendance at Platform sessions

e) Independent study of learning resources.

Studio Composition

If you are studying the Modern Languages and Music programme, this module is only available if you are taking two thirds of your degree in Music, subject to place availability and timetable restrictions.

The module will be taught in a variety of ways: in addition to ‘straight’ lectures, there will be demonstrations, workshops, electroacoustic studio sessions (including familiarity with computer-based editing, mixing and signal processing software) tutorials, and guided listening and reading. The aim is to stimulate the growth of composition and to use all available means to achieve it. Attendance at the weekly MiniBEAST listening sessions in the Dome Room is also encouraged.

Paper Composition

If you are studying the Modern Languages and Music programme, this module is only available if you are taking two thirds of your degree in Music, subject to place availability and timetable restrictions.

The module will be taught in a variety of ways: in addition to lectures, there will be demonstrations, workshops, tutorials, and guided listening and reading. The aim is to stimulate the growth of composition and to use all available means to achieve it. Attendance at workshops and seminars run in conjunction with the Department's link with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and other professional ensembles is strongly encouraged as they form an integral and quality aspect of the course.