MMus in Popular Music

What you'll study Core modules

You take the following core module:

Module title Credits. Popular Music Composition Popular Music Composition 30 credits

This module will not be specifically dedicated to one area of popular composition (i.e. a specialist songwriting, or jazz studies module). Instead, this will be an ideas based module where the students will be presented with different approaches and creative strategies for making work. They can they use these to develop their existing strategies and indeed to try out new modes of practice in a safe and supported environment. It is expected that the student cohort will be experienced practitioners, each with an existing field of expertise and mode of practice (or multiple).

You will make use of the expertise of the existing Popular Music staff team but will also interact with guest VTs and one-off visiting experts. You will be presented with a lecture and set tasks and asked to generate work for an accompanying workshop the following week. New work is presented and discussed with the lecturer and peer group in a supportive forum.

The strategies covered will be drawn from (but also be applicable to) a range of popular music fields including songwriting, arranging, production/use of music technology, and improvisation.

30 credits.

You also choose one of the following core modules:

Module title Credits. Critical Musicology and Popular Music Critical Musicology and Popular Music 30 credits

This module will provide historical context by tracing the way in which popular music has posed problems for and also made a significant contributions to the development of musicology as a discipline. It will introduce students to key debates and issues, conceptual terms and methodological approaches and highlight the various intellectual legacies that feed into the study of popular music (such as the ‘discovery’, valorisation and study of the ‘folk’ and folk song; and the ‘critical theory’ of Adorno and the Frankfurt School seen as a response to commodification, the introduction of recorded sound and anxiety about ‘mass culture’; the cultural politics associated with the ‘counter-culture’ and ‘new social movements’). The module will highlight how the development of scholarly debates about popular music has been informed by interdisciplinary dialogues, an embracement of ‘the popular’ as a political project and the gradual institutionalization of popular music studies within the academy.

To take this module you should have: Prerequisite skills: a general awareness of theoretical debates about popular music; a familiarity with various styles of popular music and musicians; an ability to write in a critical and analytical manner.

Coordinator: Professor Keith Negus

30 credits. Popular Music and its Critics Popular Music and its Critics 30 credits

This module explores the development and deployment of critical discourses on popular music, focusing on the ways in which commentators – journalists, academics, bloggers, consumers – have used words to represent sound, and to construct systems of meaning and value for the music they have loved and hated. Spanning the 20th-century but focusing on present day practices, the module will address discourses on jazz, rock, dance and pop in which commentators have attempted to articulate the excitement and anxiety these musics inspired as they came into being. Although much critical work has been done in print, the module will also consider how other media (radio, television, the internet) have shaped their own descriptive and evaluative practices. Students will be encouraged to think about the relationship between critical listening and critical languages; between popular and academic discourses and modes of evaluation; and about the changing place and status of the popular music critic and scholar.

To take this module you should have:

familiarity with various styles of popular music; an ability to research and to write in a critical manner. Knowledge of music theory is neither assumed nor necessary.

Module co-ordinator: Dr Tom Perchard

30 credits. Option modules

You choose two modules from a list of options that currently includes:

Module title Credits. Audiovisual Composition Audiovisual Composition 30 credits

This production-centred module provides an introduction to audiovisual composition. It covers several theoretical and practical approaches as well as video production software and techniques.

Students will learn about the history of visual music and other cultural and historical contexts for audiovisual composition. They will analyse and discuss pieces of historical significance along with modern examples.

Finally, they will produce audiovisual work using the theory and examples discussed in class to inform their compositional strategies. Production techniques taught in the module will centre on video editing and processing, but will include other aspects of production such as filming and compression for various distribution formats.

30 credits. Composition and Moving Image Media Composition and Moving Image Media 30 credits

This module engages with practical and conceptual approaches to the composition of music for moving image media – film, television, games and other forms. Initial lectures will consider theories of multimedia and the aesthetics of film music, exploring the relationship of music and sound to the structure and content of film narrative. A lecture on technical issues related to synchronisation is followed by a paired sequence of lectures followed by show-and-tell workshops that will consider individual topics, with ensuing short exercises. These topics may include: dramatic scoring; music in games and new media; library music; sound design; experimental film and video; new approaches to silent film; found film and sound montage; et al.

To take this module you should have: competence in music technology programmes – Logic or Cubase or ProTools or Sibelius 5/6 or similar - sufficient to prepare mixed and mastered stereo audio files of media music cues/compositions.

Convenor: Ian Gardiner

30 credits. Critical Musicology and Popular Music Critical Musicology and Popular Music 30 credits

This module will provide historical context by tracing the way in which popular music has posed problems for and also made a significant contributions to the development of musicology as a discipline. It will introduce students to key debates and issues, conceptual terms and methodological approaches and highlight the various intellectual legacies that feed into the study of popular music (such as the ‘discovery’, valorisation and study of the ‘folk’ and folk song; and the ‘critical theory’ of Adorno and the Frankfurt School seen as a response to commodification, the introduction of recorded sound and anxiety about ‘mass culture’; the cultural politics associated with the ‘counter-culture’ and ‘new social movements’). The module will highlight how the development of scholarly debates about popular music has been informed by interdisciplinary dialogues, an embracement of ‘the popular’ as a political project and the gradual institutionalization of popular music studies within the academy.

To take this module you should have: Prerequisite skills: a general awareness of theoretical debates about popular music; a familiarity with various styles of popular music and musicians; an ability to write in a critical and analytical manner.

Coordinator: Professor Keith Negus

30 credits. Ethnographic Film and Music Research Ethnographic Film and Music Research 30 credits

This examines the uses of ethnographic film/video in music research and enables you to develop the practical, technical and theoretical skills necessary to make your own short ethnographic film on a music topic in a critical and self-reflexive manner. Through a critical reading of key ethnographic films about music, you will address questions of aesthetics, representation and ethics that arise in the process of filmmaking. You will also consider the use of digital media in musical ethnography more generally and assess the methods of analysis afforded by the visual documentation of music practices. In complement with theoretical seminars, practical workshops on the methods of digital video recording and editing will familiarise you with a variety of approaches to ethnographic filmmaking and techniques of sound recording.

For this module you will develop skills in filming using video cameras and editing using Final Cut Pro. However, it does not require you to have prior experience of filming and film editing.

Convenor: Dr. Barley Norton

30 credits. Interactive and Generative Music Interactive and Generative Music 30 credits

This course explores creative and technical approaches to the design of computer music systems for interactive performance, composition and/or installations in audio and audiovisual practice. The principal software used is Max (Max/MSP/Jitter), however students are welcome to use other environments for generative and interactive processes in addition to or in the place of Max. A number of fundamental methods for real-time computer music are investigated, including digital signal processing, synthesis, gesture-following and machine learning. Various paradigms of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and audiovisual interaction are explored using a range of performer interfaces, within software environments and using external devices. Music Information Retrieval (MIR) and gestural control of electronics are introduced, while the paradigm of 'computer-as-creator' is explored as well using algorithmic and generative methods, including stochastic and artificial intelligence (AI) -related approaches. Students develop a creative project that explores the compositional and musical possibilities of working with real-time systems, leading to live workshop presentation or performance.

To take this module you should be able to: 1) apply good IT skills and knowledge of the Mac OS; 2) demonstrate understanding of the fundamentals of digital audio; 3) demonstrate knowledge of studio or notated composition, and/or improvised music and/ or contemporary music performance; 4) use and edit basic Max/MSP patches.(students are recommended to familiarise themselves with Max prior to the course; Max is installed in all Music computer labs and the EMS studios, and a free 30-day demo is available at cycling74.com/)

Coordinator: Dr Patricia Alessandrini

30 credits. Music Management Music Management 30 credits

The course offers provides a series of case studies addressing entrepreneurial practices and modes of production. You will cover essential topics in music management and music in the creative industries.

You will deal with creative sector issues and case studies within this discipline, taking into account the cross-over with other areas. As well as studying producing companies, this also includes consideration of creative agencies.

Topics covered include: ensemble management; orchestral management; concert programming and curatorial work; education and public outreach; film, TV, music for games; record production and record labels; copyright, PRS, publishing; social media and music; freelance perspectives: marketing and publicity.

30 credits. Performance as Research (Ethnomusicology) Performance as Research (Ethnomusicology) 30 credits

The course develops your knowledge and understanding of musical performance as a research technique, particularly in relation to the music of other cultures. It addresses practical, theoretical and conceptual issues concerning music performance, including the nature of musicality, processes of learning, theories of improvisation, modal theory, and the body in music performance. Theoretical understanding is developed in conjunction with practical, experiential learning. You develop a research-centred performance project by learning to perform from a repertory outside their primary music culture, or by developing expertise in a new area of performance practice. This may include learning to perform a new instrument and/or genre; developing improvisation skills; or the arrangement and performance of pieces from a particular music tradition. You present a short performance that demonstrates your developing skills.

30 credits. Popular Music and its Critics Popular Music and its Critics 30 credits

This module explores the development and deployment of critical discourses on popular music, focusing on the ways in which commentators – journalists, academics, bloggers, consumers – have used words to represent sound, and to construct systems of meaning and value for the music they have loved and hated. Spanning the 20th-century but focusing on present day practices, the module will address discourses on jazz, rock, dance and pop in which commentators have attempted to articulate the excitement and anxiety these musics inspired as they came into being. Although much critical work has been done in print, the module will also consider how other media (radio, television, the internet) have shaped their own descriptive and evaluative practices. Students will be encouraged to think about the relationship between critical listening and critical languages; between popular and academic discourses and modes of evaluation; and about the changing place and status of the popular music critic and scholar.

To take this module you should have:

familiarity with various styles of popular music; an ability to research and to write in a critical manner. Knowledge of music theory is neither assumed nor necessary.

Module co-ordinator: Dr Tom Perchard

30 credits. Studio Practice Studio Practice 30 credits

This module enhances your skills in a range of studio techniques and creative methods, supported by an understanding of related key concepts. These include recording, editing and mixing, field recording, spectral manipulation, sound synthesis and placement, and electroacoustic compositional methods.

The software used includes Pro Tools, Audiosculpt, and Metasynth. Special attention is given to multi-channel sound work using the EMS Multi-channel Studio and 5.1 Studio. Issues related to technology-based composition are explored, such as listening, spatialisation, transformation, site/location and context. This module includes an opportunity to collaborate with students taking theatre writing/performance modules.

To take this module you should be able to: 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamentals of digital audio and studio-based production 2. Apply a good, working knowledge of a professional audio editor/mixer (eg. at least one of the following: Pro Tools, Logic, Digital Performer, Cubase) 3. Compose studio-based or electronic music that demonstartes an understanding of contemporary techniques and concerns

30 credits. Advanced Strategies in Creative Music Production Advanced Strategies in Creative Music Production 30 credits

This module – based at Goldsmiths Music Studios – allows students to develop extended technical skills and creative strategies in a recording/production context, in order to create fully realised recordings of their composition work. Classes will focus on advanced recording and production techniques as well as critical listening and analysis of production choices in popular music, enabling participants to work practically towards attaining a unique, innovative production sound. The module will also feature lectures from guest producers discussing their production aesthetic and the strategies they employ to achieve it.

Please note, this module is subject to approval.

30 credits. Creative project

You also complete the following project:

Module title Credits. Popular Music Project Popular Music Project 60 credits

Given the emphasis on original creation, the Popular Music Project offers essential (optional) ‘destinations’ for the expression of your practice in popular music. Popular Music practice in this instance refers to the creation of music through a mixture of performance, songwriting, arranging, production, and collaboration, in vernacular and post-vernacular styles.

You will be expected to develop creative strategies for performance and recording, including either:

Creating / authoring a 45-minute performance, assembling and directing an ensemble (if relevant), or programming complex, digital-performance technology setups, and to manage & rehearse a large-scale project, including the consideration of lighting, video etc.

Or:

Creating / authoring and recording an album of work (approximately 45-minute in duration), assembling, directing and recording an ensemble (if relevant), sequencing or programming complex analogue or digital recording setups, production, mixing and mastering of a large-scale project, including the consideration of release format and cover art.

The strategies covered will be drawn from (but also be applicable to) a range of popular music fields including songwriting, composition/arranging, use of performance technology, improvisation and/or other strategies for performance: live/performance art, mixed media performance.

The teaching for this module includes:

• 20 hours of bespoke one to one tuition (instrumental, technical, creative)
• 5 hours of academic/creative tutorial supervision
• A series of workshops, masterclasses and studio technical support
60 credits.

Download the programme specification for the 2018-19 intake. If you would like an earlier version of the