Undergraduate 

Music MA

Experimental Music Practice MUSIC2027

  • Academic Session: 2023-24
  • School: School of Culture and Creative Arts
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 2 (SCQF level 8)
  • Typically Offered: Runs Throughout Semesters 1 and 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes

Short Description

This course introduces students to experimental music practices such as improvisation, socially-mediated composing and devising, interpretation of graphic and text scores, and extended instrumental and vocal technique. It considers the problems, challenges and opportunities arising from these practices, and encourages students to combine practical approaches with contextual research. It also provides opportunities for ensemble playing.

Timetable

10 x 2 hour practical workshops plus 10 x 1hr lectures as scheduled in MyCampus. This is one of the Pre-Honours options in Music and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Excluded Courses

none

Co-requisites

none

Assessment

Research review: (1000 words) - 25%

6 minutes of recorded solo or ensemble performance - 25%

Contribute to a 30 minute live performance - 25%

Critical Reflection (1000 words) - 25%

Main Assessment In: April/May

Course Aims

This course aims to:

■ introduce practical, critical and research skills relevant to experimental music performance

■ explore connections between composition, interpretation and improvisation

■ enable students to explore their identity as creative musicians

■ introduce students to a range of approaches used in contemporary music-making

■ engage in ensemble playing and performance

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ participate in devising experimental musical performances, both solo and in an ensemble context

■ listen critically to a range of experimental music practices

■ undertake research to inform their own musical performance

■ perform using a range of methods relevant in experimental music of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries such as improvisation, socially-mediated composing and devising, interpretation of graphic and text scores, and extended instrumental and vocal technique

■ critically reflect upon and contextualise their own performance in writing

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.