Popular Music BA (Hons)

Students take 60 credits in compulsory modules and four optional modules (the majority from popular modules).

• Critical Approaches 1: Music and Culture (MUSI120) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester First Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 25:75 Aims To introduce students to the breadth and scope of the study of music at university, and to key issues in such study
  To introduce students to key issues and concepts used in the study of music in relation to culture, as a part of culture, and as a culture in itself
  To develop core information literacy skills required for the study of music at university
  To provide a foundation for further study of music and culture at Levels To provide a foundation for further study of music and culture at Levels To provide a foundation for further study of music and culture at Levels Five and and Six.
  Learning Outcomes Demonstrate baseline skills in referencing and citation
  

  Locate and identify relevant sources for the critical study of music

  Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key issues in and theories relevant to the critical study of music
  

  Demonstrate a critical approach to, and an understanding of, the intersection between issues and/or theories, and musical repertoires, cultures or practices, demonstrating independence of thought.
• Popular Music Studies 1 (MUSI140) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester First Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 50:50 Aims ​- To provide an overview of the development of Anglo-American popular music from the mid-twentieth century onwards. - To examine specific stylistic developments and movements in the period covered by the module.​ - To introduce general issues and critical perspectives within the field of popular music studies. ​​​​​​​​ - To consider the relationship between musical, social, economic and technological factors in the music and period in question. Learning Outcomes To demonstrate an understanding of the key features of different styles/genres of popular music
  

  ​To identify significant individuals, groups, and events in the development of popular music in the period from the mid-twentieth century onwards.

  To demonstrate an understanding of the process of musical development (e.g. the emergence of new genres).
  

  ​To identify some of the ways in which social, economic and technological factors impact on the production and reception of popular music.

  To be able to apply knowledge, understanding, and awareness (as described in prior leaning outcomes) to original case-study examples
• Music As An Industry 1 (MUSI150) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester Second Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 50:50 Aims

  1. To introduce students to the range of activities undertaken by the music business

     ​To explain the organisation and functions of record companies

  2. To outline and discuss issues raised by the relationship between commerce, stardom and everyday music making​
  Learning Outcomes ​

  On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

  Discuss the changing contexts of the music industries

  ​Outline the different structures and functions of record companies

  Demonstrate knowledge of how record companies fit into the music business as a whole.

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  Identify and discuss processes through which music is commodified and mediated.​
• Theory for Popular Music (MUSI182) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester First Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 100:0 Aims

• ​​To familiarise students with different terminologies of popular music theory.

• To enable students to use intervals, chords and scales in relation to popular music
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• To develop students'' use of notation and chord symbols in relation to popular music
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• To develop students'' aural skills​
• Learning Outcomes

  ​​Students will be able to use different terminologies of music theory

  ​Students will be able to identify and construct intervals, chords, and scales, in both written and aural form

  Students will be able to use key elements of notation r elevant to the study of popular music​, including chord symbols

  Students will develop their aural skills in relation to popular music​

• Popular Practical Study 1 (MUSI104) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester Whole Session Exam:Coursework weighting 0:100 Aims

• To enable students to develop group rehearsal skills

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  To enable students to develop group performance skills

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  To enable students to improve their individual instrumental or vocal technique, focussing on the ability to perform with confidence and fluency​
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  To help students to gain a greater awareness of the issues that support the performance of popular music

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• Learning Outcomes

  Students will develop communication and interpretative skills through the rehearsal of popular music

  Students will develop their communication and performance skills through the live performance of popular music
  
  Students will be given the opportunity to study, practice, learn and develop their individual instrumental and/or vocal skills
  

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  Students will develop their teamwork skills in their groups, to formulate, organise, prepare and deliver a short performance​​​

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• Composition and Orchestration 1 (MUSI106) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester Second Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 15:85 Aims

• To gain greater awareness of formal considerations to provide experience in handling small-scale musical form

• ​ To develop self-critical skills

• ​ To develop accuracy and fluency in notation

• ​ To introduce students to the origins and historical development of counterpoint

• ​ To gain basic awareness of a range of 20th/21st-century styles, languages and approaches

• Learning Outcomes

  Learning to use the Sibelius notation software at a beginning level

  To demonstrate competency in notation, to assist with their own completed compositions ​

  ​ To demonstrate skills in the transformation and manipulation of musical data

  To engage with aesthetic aspects of music composition​

• Sound, Recording and Production (MUSI108) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester Second Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 0:100 Aims

• To introduce students to the fundamentals of acoustics, microphones and recording and production techniques in a professional studio.

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  To enable students to use a digital recording studio effectively

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  ​To develop the students individual and group work skills within the studio environment
• Learning Outcomes ​ Students will be able to use a modern digital recording studio effectively to an intermediate level​

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  Students will understand the basics of acoustic and sound propagation

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  Students will be able to work effectively in a group setting​
• Introduction To Logic Pro (MUSI109) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester First Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 0:100 Aims
• ​​To introduce students to MIDI sequencing and to consolidate their technical knowledge and skills, bringing them to an internediate level, through the use of Logic Pro software

• ​To enable students to compose music to digital video clips ​

• ​To enable students to compose electronic music in a given style ​

• ​To introduce students to software synthesis parameters and signal processing using a digital audio workstation ​

• ​To introduce students to optimal mixing and routing procedures in a DAW ​

• Learning Outcomes ​​​​Proficiency to an intermediate level in the use Logic Pro software for composing and editing MIDI sequenced music
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