MUS8266 : Music Major Creative Project
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Dr Rob Mackay
- Co-Module Leader: Dr Larry Zazzo
- Lecturer: Mr Phil Begg, Ms Nancy Kerr Elliott, Dr Bennett Hogg, Professor Catriona Macdonald, Dr William Edmondes, Dr Mariam Rezaei
- Owning School: Arts & Cultures
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 3 Credit Value: | 60 |
| ECTS Credits: | 30.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
Music Major Creative Project allows students to bring together the different aspects of their study in a final creative project. It aims to further develop and consolidate their creative and technical development, leading to a presentation of their work appropriate to their genre or practice that sums up their learning through the year. It supports students in developing a professional standard of creative work, and to showcase this in a single major project. In short, they are guided through the process of proposing, structuring, and carrying out a creative project consistent with their expectations of their chosen genre or practice.
Outline Of Syllabus
Students will produce either a substantial performance (conventionally 1 hour) or a portfolio of equivalent scope. They are free to explore and embrace new means of communication and experimental means of dissemination, as well as more conventional forms (classical concert, club gig, album, etc.) They are support in this by a one-to-one supervisor and/or an instrumental or vocal tutor. They will either perform this live for an audience, of create a portfolio of their composition and/or performance practices, and the syllabus is therefore largely bespoke to individual interests and expertise.
Students are encouraged to explore and embrace new, even prototypical/experimental means of dissemination – emphasis is placed on the cultural viability of a project and having a clear idea of what it is trying to achieve and/or who (in terms of audience) it is intended for. They are supported to do so through structured meetings with their composition supervisor and/or instrumental/vocal tutor.
Performance strand students will usually present a public performance. Composition strand students will usually present recorded or notated materials, but may also present their work in a live format. The details of this are worked through in the semester 1 and 2 taught modules.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 5 | 6:00 | 30:00 | Rehearsing, recording, organising events, etc. connected to the eventual public dissemination of the project(s). |
| Guided Independent Study | Skills practice | 1 | 564:00 | 564:00 | Independent work on musical technique |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Dissertation/project related supervision | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | One-to-One instrumental tuition. Composition students will usually organise six hours of tutorial support beginning during the undergraduate assessment period each year. |
| Total | 600:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Skills practice: As a major creative project, this module requires the bulk of the work to be carried out through private study. Though the credit weighting is in the third semester, students will be developing their practical skills throughout the year, and outcomes of the taught modules are designed to contribute to this ongoing artistic, technical, and creative development. The 564 hours of "private study" are thus also informed by many hours of led study undertaken earlier in the programme. This is normal in comparable HE programmes elsewhere [K1, K2, K3, S1, S2, S3].
Project-related supervision: Students on the performance strand will be allocated 6 hours of one-to-one tuition during semester 3 to maintain the regularity and consistency of this dimension of their learning, which will have begun in semester 1. Tutorials with composition supervisors will be arranged on an individual basis, and some of these sessions will take place during semester 2. Performance students may also be expected to attend any relevant masterclasses or group workshops relevant to their practice as notified throughout the year. In addition, all students are encouraged to attend Thursday concerts held in King's Hall in semesters 1 and 2 as part of their general development as musicians, and to have direct access to professional levels of creativity and performance [K1, K2, K3, K4, S1, S2, S3].
Assessment preparation: Students will rehearse and develop suitable presentation of their final project [K3, K4, S2, S3]
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | 3 | A | 80 | This may be a portfolio of recorded work, musical scores and/or a live performance depending upon the form of the student's final project. |
| Written exercise | 3 | A | 20 | An account of the music composed and/or played along with reflective commentary on the process of bringing the project to completion (c. 2,000 words max). It should also include appropriate programme notes on the music. |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
Assessment 1: Portfolio (80%)
The showcases are the creative results of the year's study, brought together into a single assessed project. (K1; K2; K3; S1; S2; S3)
Actual content of assessment varies depending on the nature of the final project. Typically, it will be a performance or performances, a portfolio of scores, or an anthology of recordings or other media products, or some combination of these, as agreed before submission with the supervisor.
Performance students' final recitals in Semester 3 will normally be between 55 and 60 minutes in duration, but may be extended to a maximum of 70 minutes if agreed in advance with the main tutor and the Degree Programme Director. This must be formalised prior to the recital in discussion with the project supervisor and approved by the DPD. Performances that fall outside of these durational limits - for example "durational" artworks - will be evaluated and approved on an individual basis by DPD and supervisor in negotiation with the student. The task specific assessment criteria for performances are as follows:
- evidence of original creativity within the limits of the specific practice
- technical and interpretative skills commensurate with the programme presented
- professional levels of preparation and public presentation
- awareness of contemporary practices regardless of genre chosen
- clear communication of conceptual issues relevant to the performance
- effective curation of the music played or sung
- connection with accompanist or members of a group or ensemble
Composition students may not submit work already assessed in taught modules, but it is assumed that some of the work presented in the portfolio will have begun being formulated prior to semester 3. Duration of the materials in the portfolio will be determined by the student in agreement with their supervisor at the end of semester 2. The task specific assessment criteria for the composition portfolio are as follows:
- evidence of original creativity within the limits of the specific practice;
- technical and production skills commensurate with the music presented;
- professional levels of preparation and presentation;
- awareness of contemporary practices regardless of genre chosen;
- clear communication of conceptual issues relevant to the performance;
- effective curation of the compositions or performances presented;
- effectiveness of collaborations with other musicians where relevant.
Assessment 2: Written exercise (20%).
The written exercise gives students the opportunity to discuss the music they are presenting, and to critical reflect on their learning and the creative process more generally. (K1; K2; K4; S2; S3)
All students complete the written exercise component of the Music Final Major Project. The task specific criteria are as follows:
- an account of creativity and role within the limits of the specific practice;
- reflection on decisions made in planning and developing the project;
- awareness of contemporary practices regardless of genre chosen;
- clear communication of conceptual issues relevant to the performance;
- an informed understanding of effective curation of the final project presentation;
- issues concerning collaborations involved, be that with a single accompanist, or in a more complex collaborative project involving other musicians.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- MUS8266's Timetable