Music

Course detail Description

Studying Music at King’s enables you to immerse yourself in the world of sound, stretching across the centuries and around the globe. Today, music is the most global cultural expression, and we pride ourselves not only on the range and diversity of the modules we offer, but also on the diversity of the approaches we employ, including compositional creativity, close reading of scores, aural training, contemporary critical theory, historical scholarship and ethnographic studies.

There is plenty of opportunity at King’s to participate in concerts and chamber music groups. You will have the opportunity to play a leading part in the College Orchestra and to sing in the departmental choir. Recitals take place throughout the year.

We offer you individual lessons at the Royal Academy of Music, if you have ABRSM Grade 8 in your instrument of study. In your first year you will study with an Academy postgraduate student. Depending on your performance level, you may be able to subsequently change to an Academy professor.

We think it is incredibly important that you receive close personal attention. We teach most modules through a mix of lectures and seminars or small tutorial groups of four or five. For lessons in Advanced Composition and in Performance you will be taught one-to-one. Our Department has an international reputation for its excellence in teaching and research and our staff aim to connect research and teaching, both in the classroom and at the many research seminars held in the Department.

Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.

You are assessed through a variety of methods according to the subject matter and the level. These may typically include essays, examinations, portfolios, in-class assessments, recitals, dissertations or other forms of musical analysis.

London is a city of music. We are fortunate to be located in a beautiful building overlooking the River Thames at the heart of its arts district. You will have easy access to London’s endless live music offerings at the South Bank arts complex, at the Barbican Centre, at London opera houses and the innumerable music clubs and concert venues. Within 20 minutes’ walk of the Music Department are the West End Theatres, Cinemas and Art Galleries. The Maughan Library with its extensive music holdings will be at your disposal as well as the Senate House Library of the University of London.

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Structure

• Year 1
• Year 2
• Year 3

Year 1

Courses are divided into modules. Each year you will normally take modules totalling 120 credits.

• Issues and Topics in Music 1 (15 credits)
• Issues and Topics in Music 2 (15 credits)
• Issues and Topics in Music 3 (15 credits)
• Issues and Topics in Music 4 (15 credits)

You are also required to take 60 credits of optional modules that may typically include:

• Techniques of Composition 1 (15 credits)
• Musical Analysis 1 (15 credits)
• Musical Performance 1 (15 credits; ABRSM grade 8 in instrument of study required)
• Aural Skills (15 credits)

You are also free to choose up to 30 of your 60 credits of optional modules from other Arts & Humanities departments (subject to availability).

Year 2 Required Modules

In your second year, there are no required modules.

You are required to take 120 credits from a range of optional modules, which may typically include:

• Musical Analysis (15 credits)
• Composition Studies (major) (30 credits)
• Composition Studies (minor) (15 credits)
• Techniques of Composition (15 credits)
• Musical Performance 2 (15 credits)
• A set of 15-credit modules on musicological and ethnomusicological topics that vary from year to year. Recent topics include Ethnographic Methods, Music in Medieval Paris, Post-War Jazz, Music in British Film and Italian Opera in the 19th Century. See department website for current offerings.

Please note: there are prerequisites for all performance and composition modules in Year 2.

You are also free to choose up to 30 of your 120 credits in modules offered by other departments at King’s or the music department at SOAS.

Study Abroad

You may apply to spend the second semester of this year studying abroad at one of our partner universities. Our current partner institutions include:

• Hong Kong University
• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• University of Melbourne

Year 3 Required Modules

There are no required modules in your third year.

In your third year you can continue to pursue a broad programme or study two or three fields in-depth. You are required to take 120 credits from a list of options that may typically include:

• Advanced Performance Studies (admission by audition) (45 credits, subject to change)
• Advanced Free Composition (admission by portfolio) (45 credits, subject to change)
• Dissertation (30 credits)
• Musical Performance 3 (15 credits)
• A set of 15-credit modules on musicological and ethnomusicological topics that vary from year to year. Recent topics include Topics in Latin American Music, Contemporary Musicology, Stravinsky, Sound Studies and Materiality in 19th-Century Music. See Department website or current offerings.

Please note: there are prerequisites for all performance and composition modules in Year 3.

You are also free to choose up to 30 of your 120 credits in modules offered by other departments at King’s or the music department at SOAS.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to- date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change.