Music MA

You will take two courses. Listening and repertory introduces the study of key musical works and widens your listening through a broad historical survey. The Musicianship course enhances your music literacy and practical and critical skills, through group exercises and lectures. You will be helped with the technical side of music: harmony and counterpoint, composition, sight singing, music analysis, and writing about music. You will also explore the science of musical sound and technological aspects of music.

All students are required to take a course in musical techniques which helps you with the core musical disciplines of harmony and counterpoint and stylistic composition. In addition, you choose one course (or two if continuing to Music Honours) reflecting your own preferences and strengths.

You will also study other subjects in years 1 and 2: see Degrees in Arts, Life Sciences, Science and Social Sciences.

If you progress to Honours (years 3 and 4) you can choose from a range of subjects including historiography and criticism, sonic arts, composition, jazz and blues, aesthetics and philosophy of music, modernist musical aesthetics, opera (taught in conjunction with Scottish Opera) and performance (subject to successful audition).

In year 4 you can choose from a further range of subjects including film music, contemporary music ensemble, multimedia, notation, aspects of modernity, and the music of Scotland. You will also be able to write a dissertation. This is an extended piece of research and writing on a topic of your own choice and for which you will receive one-to-one supervision.

You can spend up to a year of your degree studying abroad, normally in the third year. Previous students have chosen to study at the University of Miami, University of British Columbia, University of Illinois, Radford University, University of Melbourne and University of California LA. See Study abroad.