Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This module aims to provide a platform for Postgraduate students in SACS to develop their own musical practice (across a range of genres) and to receive useful feedback from staff about the development of their creative practice throughout the year.

Outline Of Syllabus

Students will meet throughout the year with one (or occasionally more) staff to develop their own practical musical project. This should be distinct from their Major Creative Project if the student is not taking Dissertation.

Syllabus is student-led in that it is concerned with the student's individual creative ideas, which are developed iteratively across the year.

Students may choose to concentrate on composition, improvisation, performance, or multi-media projects, or combine various practices into a single project.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

Advanced awareness of the creative potential of music and/or sound art practice.

Advanced understanding of how practice research unfolds in the development of musical practice.

Development of an understanding of how to communicate practice research in music.

Development of the understanding of how to document and present the research process in practice research.

Ability to present a multimodal argument that demonstrates the research elements of the student's specific project, and how the notion of research as practice is manifested in their own, and others’, where relevant, musical composition.

Intended Skill Outcomes

Enhanced ability to undertake independent research to produce original musical or sound art work.

Enhanced ability to communicate the research process in practice research.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The balance between contact and non-contact time will be a matter for negotiation between the student and the programme director and will depend upon the nature of the project.

The module depends upon student-led tutorials and substantial independent study, which combine to provide a supportive and expert environment for practice research in music.

Guided Independent Study: to facilitate intended knowledge outcomes, improve performance skills substantially, and to develop both cognitive and key skills (e.g., technique, reflection, independent learning techniques, self-motivation, time-management) by providing a structured task for the student to complete independently.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

All Postgraduate students taking the module will be assessed by a creative practice portfolio. This is may include recordings, scores, installations, live performances, and video documentation/multi-media files depending on the student's specific project.

Assessment will be made in line with the following guidelines:
- The quality of the creative practice vis-à-vis the expected standard at postgraduate research in music and amongst the professional community of practice in the particular genre(s) of music/sound art.
- The quality of the communication of the research process demonstrated in the project as a whole, and in the essay (10%) detailing the research process and conceptual dimensions of the project.
- The ability to present the narrative of creative practice will be assessed in the essay.

The portfolio may consist of a series of component projects, or one larger project. In the case of a portfolio of component projects the relative percentage of the weightings of each element should be agreed with the supervisor and clearly stated in the submission. For composition/improvisation-based projects the sound file(s) with/without score(s) should be equivalent to between 25-55 minutes of music, to be agreed with the supervisor. For a live performance the recital should be normally be between 30 and 35 minutes in duration, but may be extended to 40 minutes if agreed in advance with the Degree Programme Director. Performance durations that lie outside of these limits may be allowed where approriate - for example, "durational" artworks - but this should be decided through negotiation with student, supervisor, and DPD.

General Notes

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