Aims

• to be able to work effectively in response to a set creative challenge
• to encounter new working processes in the realisation of musically creative works, broadening the range of techniques and approaches to contemporary creativity
• to develop imagination and confidence in creative risk-taking
• to be able to constructively and critically evaluate one’s own work and that of others

This module introduces students to a range of contemporary creative practices through a series of projects in improvised, notated, and electroacoustic music-making. It is a practical and experience-based course, delivered through lectures which outline the aims and expected achievements for each project, followed by weekly practical workshops in which students work with the project leaders, receiving support and feedback on their work. Students are also required to work independently in groups to develop their projects, and to engage in self-reflection and critical debate through peer-review.

Outline Of Syllabus

This module introduces students to a range of contemporary creative practices through a series of directed projects that include notated, and electroacoustic composition and forms of free improvisation. It is a practical and experience-based course, delivered through lectures which outline the aims and expected achievements for each project, followed by weekly practical workshops in which students work with project leader(s), receiving support and feedback on their work. Students are also required to work independently, both on their own and in small groups, in order to develop their creative projects. Projects will include critical discussion and evaluation in modes appropriate for the different approaches, encouraging peer-review and self-critical reflection.

The module consists of several different creative projects, each of which is introduced by a lecture. Students develop their particular projects through a series of supervised practical workshops and independent meetings outside of the taught sessions. The module is designed to challenge some assumptions about musical creativity, and at the same time upon up new possibilities for ways of making and listening to contemporary musics.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Rationale and relationship to learning outcomes:
• lectures introduce and critically discuss creative techniques, demonstrating how they can be used, and illustrating this through reference to selected examples from the contemporary repertoire.
• seminars take the form of supervised workshops, supporting and critically evaluating the progress of each group of students, as well as suggesting possible strategies with which to approach the creative challenges set
• group learning puts the initiative into the students “court”, and also allows for the development of internal group creative dynamics, freedom to experiment, and also to practice, refine and hone creative and performance skills (rehearsal)
• group “crits” allow for peer-appraisal of work produced, foster a sense of collectivity and support, demonstrate the diversity of possible solutions to any given creative problem, and foster informed and constructive critical evaluation of the students’ own work, and the work of their peers
• surgery times make it possible for students to attend in small groups to discuss finer points of their compositions.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

• this is an experiential and practice-based course, and the success, or otherwise, of the students’ work is measured by the success with which they produce an engaged and creative response to the challenges set
• the group work also evidences the degree to which the students have mastered techniques for working collaboratively in a positive and productive manner
• written reports are included on each portfolio to act as both a measure of each individual student’s engagement with, and understanding of, the process of working collaboratively, and allows students the opportunity to evidence their critical skills, imaginative insights, and to show that they can appropriately contextualise their own creative work in relation to selected contemporary repertoire works.