Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

The module is focuses on introducing traditional folk tunes and airs to students who wish to learn in a safe environment in a slow session. Therefore students taking the module must be able to perform on a melodic instrument of any diatonic kind (the module is not available to singers or to non-Western tuned instruments). Many instruments are however encouraged for students e.g. fiddle (violin), guitar, banjo, clarinet, oboe, cello, viola, bagpipes (Scottish, Uillean, Border, Northumbrian etc.), flute (Boehm or wooden), whistle, harp, accordion (other free reed instrument), mandolin etc. Students who play accompanying instruments such as guitar or keyboard may wish to discuss the suitability of the module with Dr McKerrell prior to making module choices.

The module is explicitly designed for any melody player across any of the music programmes or elsewhere in the faculty; no prior performance expertise in traditional or folk musics is required and students from any degree programme are encouraged to attend—the focus is not on excellence of performance but on beginning to play and learn folk music in a slow session context and to thereby learn more about melodic structure, variation and improvisation in traditional tunes.

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

At the end of the module, a student should be able to demonstrate:
1.       a knowledge of the major genres and forms folk tunes in the British Isles and Ireland
2.       an ability to perform to at least a basic standard, several instrumental tunes and airs in recognisable sets that take account of traditional genres and styles of performance.
3.       familiarity with the etiquette and structure of folk performance and tune sessions.
4.       an ability to compare genres, themes and content across a number of British and Irish genres of melodic traditional music.
5.       the ability to recognise and identify by ear essential components of a musical style
6.       the ability to recognise and describe musical organisation, style, genre or tradition in a tightly defined musical tradition

Outline Of Syllabus

Students will be guided through learning folk tunes and selected critical listening of several key English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh musical traditions taking account of some key concepts and their manifestation in traditional music performance:
•       Key genres: jigs, reels, hornpipes, slow airs, Gaelic airs, marches, waltzes, Highlands, strathspeys, slides, polkas etc.will be learnt every week and will be arranged across the year into sets
•       Phrase structure and repetition
•       Melodic variation and contour in traditional tunes and airs
•       Regional style
•       Dance music genres
•       Improvisation within traditional music and the boundaries of aesthetic practice
•       Notational systems in British/Irish traditional music (Great Stave, ABC, canntaireachd, mnemonics, The Sliabh Luachra ‘Code’ etc.)

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

On completion of the module, students will be able to demonstrate:
•       An understanding of the repertoire of traditional tunes and airs in Britain and Ireland
•       Be able to understand the musical possibilities of their own instrument and how it relates to traditional music
•       Be able to perform in a structured, slow session environment with other musicians
•       Show an understanding of the key melodic aspects of musical style and improvisatory practice in traditional music.
•       Improved critical judgement in relation to sonic musical practice
•       Improved team work and critical listening skills in a performance context.
•       Be able to see parallels between different genres of musical practice and expertise and how these relate to traditional music (tunes and airs).

Intended Skill Outcomes

Students will be able to:
•       Perform basic traditional tunes and airs as part of a regular session group in a supportive environment.
•       Assess and understand the basic features of a traditional tune or air from musical notation or recording
•       Improved critical listening for traditional motivic content and to distinguish between various basic tune types.
•       Be able to give a phrase structure analysis of any traditional tune and to discuss the nature of repetition as it relates to performance
•       Improved musical listening for structural and improvisatory features in traditional music.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Ensemble session teaching provides the core of students’ practical learning. Lectures provide fora in which students learn key concepts surrounding traditional music performance, transcription, tradition and wider issues of aesthetics and performance practice.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Traditional tunes and airs performance evaluates basic practical foundation, social music making, absorption of performative knowledge and overall level of progress and application in core practical study. The written portfolio of critical listening commentaries on albums and recordings evaluates your ability to conduct individual research into a topic informing your practice.

General Notes

N/A