Module overview
Composition Project is the final stage of the undergraduate pathway in composition. You will draw and build upon skills and experience gained in previous composition and music technology modules to create a portfolio of original work in any musical idiom (e.g. concert music, music to picture or other media, pop, EDM, jazz, musical theatre, etc). You will work with your tutor(s) to research, plan and write/produce the music, which will be submitted along with a substantial written report in which you contextualise and reflect on creative output. The project plan, including the proposed deliveries, are subject to approval by the module coordinator.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- aesthetic issues and broader contexts relating to music composition and production
- how to realise musical ideas as appropriate in professional score and/or audio and/or multimedia formats
- how to create a coherent portfolio of musical pieces of significant and appropriate complexity in duration, scope and realisation.
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- research, conceptualise, plan, realise and document a coherent portfolio of music
- contextualise your own creative work within the relevant field
- select and implement key technical strategies and formal procedures in your own composition
- develop musical and/or sonic materials using appropriate techniques for chosen musical style(s)
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- work independently to produce original composition
- devise appropriate schedules to manage creativity and meet production and delivery requirements
- demonstrate self-awareness and the ability to engage in healthy, critical self-reflective practice
- Employ skills of research and exploration; gathering, synthesis and evaluation of information, including the ability to quote from and acknowledge written sources and use of digital information sources and tools
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- listen critically to music and/or sound to identify its essential components and how they relate to each other
- use appropriate technologies to realise a given musical ideas as sound or as a set of instructions
Syllabus
The aim of the module is to independently produce, with support and supervision, a substantial composition portfolio of music. A series of plenary lectures typically focus on key skills including: how to research the context of your work and create a project plan; project delivery management; and writing a cogent and engaging reflective report. Clinics focused on specific skills (e.g. mixing, mastering, notation) provide opportunities for additional focused technical support.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include:
- Sessions with tutor(s) to help shape projects and feedback on composition work in progress
- Plenary sessions on project planning, research techniques, reflective report development
- Technical clinics (e.g. mixing and/or notation)
- Informal open-hour discussions with module convenor
Learning activities include:
- Individual composition activity
- Reading texts/watching online tutorials on usage of technology (instruments, audio equipment, computer hardware & software, etc).
- Analysis/listening to scores and/or recordings
- Critical reading of texts
- Critical listening to music & analysis
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Practical classes and workshops | 8 |
| Lecture | 2 |
| Independent Study | 284 |
| Project supervision | 6 |
| Total study time | 300 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Christopher Cox and Daniel Warner (2007). Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music .
Richard Davis (2010). Complete Guide to Film Scoring.
Philip Ewell (2023). On Music Theory, and Making Music More Welcoming for Everyone.
Jace Clayton (2016). Uproot : travels in twenty-first-century music and global digital culture.
Joanna Demers (2010). Listening through the Noise: The Aesthetics of Experimental Electronic Music.
David Huron (2008). Sweet Anticipation Music and the Psychology of Expectation.
Tim Rutherford-Johnson (2007). Music after the Fall Modern Composition and Culture since 1989.
Jennie Gottschalk (2016). Experimental Music Since 1970.
David Huber and Robert Runstein (2017). Modern Recording Techniques .
Kate Molleson (2022). Sound Within Sound.
Frank Lehman (2018). Hollywood Harmony Musical Wonder and the Sound of Cinema.
Fred Karlin (2004). On the Track: A Guide to Contemporary Film Scoring.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Composition | 70% |
| Project plan | 10% |
| Reflective report | 20% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Composition | 70% |
| Reflective report | 30% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Reflective report | 20% |
| Project plan | 10% |
| Composition | 70% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal