Composition Portfolio

MUSC30300 Composition Portfolio 40 Full year Undergraduate Level 3 Richard Whalley Unit coordinator 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Last part of a Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 20.0 A course dealing with advanced compositional techniques, for students with a strong commitment to composing and to serious contemporary music. This course is open to both instrumental and electroacoustic composers; it is also possible for composers to study a split between instrumental and electroacoustic composition, with the permission of the Course Director. This course is a preparation for composition at a high level within the profession, as well as for the study of advanced composition at postgraduate level.    A course for both instrumental and electroacoustic composers dealing with advanced compositional techniques designed for students with a strong commitment to composing and  serious contemporary music. Students are encouraged to develop increasing ambition and independence in their working methods, building on their achievements from various level 2 composition courses. Students are responsible for organising performers to play their compositions. If conditions allow, each of the two projects ends with a series of concerts in which the produced work is performed and recorded.   <ul> <li>To develop compositional skills relevant to today's composer of serious music.</li> <li>To consolidate studio-based and live and interactive compositional methodologies.</li> <li>To provide enhanced skills in sound processing, interactive performance and sound diffusion.</li> <li>To create software-based environments for interactive sonic creativity with human interface devices and computers.  </li></ul> By the end of this course students will be able to: •    Apply a greater understanding of timbral resources to their compositions. •    Apply increasingly ambitious temporal and dramatic strategies to their composition. •    Apply greater independence in their approach to composition. •    Demonstrate enhanced skills in sound processing and electroacoustic composition. •    Develop sonic material with imagination and technical expertise. •    Create and  present interactive and fixed media electroacoustic music in multichannel setups   By the end of this course students will be able to:<ul> <li>Understand to an advanced degree the technical and sonic characteristics of instrumental resources; </li> <li>Demonstrate sophisticated knowledge of the principles of their combination in scoring; </li> <li>Be knowledgeable, resourceful and independent in their approach to composing with musical parameters.</li> <li>Merge knowledge and aesthetic awareness into the compositional process, while developing an original compositional voice.</li> <li>Understand the technologies and tools necessary for working in electroacoustic environments.</li> <li>Demonstrate an awareness of technologies required for sound diffusion in fixed media and live interactive performance for instrumental players.  </li></ul> By the end of this course students will be able to:<ul> <li>Analyse, evaluate and develop sonic material within aesthetic and technical contexts.</li> <li>Research existing repertoire independently for guidance on completing the set tasks.</li> <li>Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different compositional strategies in bringing their own ideas to fruition.</li> <li>Plan sophisticated musical structures and solve technical and practical problems in bringing these to successful realisation in performance.  </li></ul> By the end of this course students will be able to:•    Apply knowledge of the technical and practical features of instruments creatively. •    Articulate shapes and dramatic strategies through sound.Instrumental composers will also be able to:<ul> <li>Supervise and direct rehearsals when possible.</li> <li>Produce performance materials to professional standards.</li> <li>Notate musical ideas such that they can be learnt by musicians without the composer.</li></ul>Electroacoustic composers will also be able to:<ul> <li>Demonstrate enhanced skill in using technology to achieve meaning and expression through sound</li> <li>Work in teams assembling and derigging complicated set-ups.</li> <li>Apply a technical knowledge of software techniques and sound recordings in realizing fixed media works and scores for instruments and electronics in performance</li> <li>Implement at professional level the Format of Composition submission of scores for Live Interactive music (acoustic instruments with electronics or fixed media), designed and approved by the composition staff</li> <li>Prepare and deliver a presentation through coursework as a formative experience toward completing the electroacoustic musical outcomes  </li></ul> By the end of this course students will be able to:<ul> <li>Demonstrate creative problem-solving;</li> <li>Collaborate with other students in realising their ideas, and the ideas of others.</li> <li>Demonstrate, when possible,  organisational and management skills in booking musicians, arranging rehearsals, working with technology and preparing performances.</li> <li>Demonstrate attention to detail through preparing and editing performance material to professional standards; </li> <li>Demonstrate creative problem-solving.</li> <li>Demonstrate enhanced skill in computers and technology as interfaces for human communication in contexts beyond creative music composition  </li></ul>  Analytical skills Surveying repertoire, analysing materials for musical potential Group/team working Collaborating with musicians Interpersonal skills (collaborating with other students and musicians) Innovation/creativity Inventing a creative concept and putting into motion Creative problem-solving (fulfilling set task with set resources) Leadership Leadership skills (being responsible for overseeing a creative product from inception through to final performance) Time management (running workshop and rehearsals) Project management Working to tight deadlines (composing music, and preparing performance materials in time for workshops and performances) Organisational skills (finding and booking musicians and rehearsal space) Other Editing (in preparing performance materials) 0 Other 100% <table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:500px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td>Assessment task</td> <td>Weighting within unit</td> </tr> <tr> <td>EITHER:  Composition that makes texture and timbre the primary focus for 3-5 instrumentalists OR: Suite of three miniatures for fixed media</td> <td>      40%</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Free choice composition</td> <td>       60%</td> </tr> </tbody></table>   <ul> <li>Tutorials on work in progress</li> <li>Feedback from peers in tutorials, workshops and in collaboration with performers</li> <li>Written feedback on the project</li> <li>Additional one-to-one feedback (during consultation hour or by making an appointment)</li></ul> MUSC20072 Interactive Media Composition Environments Pre-Requisite Compulsory MUSC20061 Fixed and Electroacoustic Composition Pre-Requisite Compulsory MUSC20321 Instrumental Composition Pre-Requisite Compulsory MUSC20362 Vocal Composition Pre-Requisite Compulsory Either MUSC20321 and MUSC20362 or MUSC20061 and MUSC20072 are pre-requisites of MUSC30300A minimum of 30 credits of composition units at level 2: •    For instrumental composition, MUSC 20321 and MUSC20362 •    For electroacoustic composition, MUSC 20061 and MUSC20072 •    For mixed portfolio, all of the above units   BA(Hons) Music & Drama BA(Hons) Music & Drama Third Year Optional MusB(Hons) MusB (Hons) Music Third Year Optional MusB(Hons) (joint with RNCM) MusB(Hons) (joint with RNCM) Third Year Optional N <ul> <li> Music scores of works by Claude Debussy, Arnold Schoenberg, György Ligeti, George Crumb, Gerard Grisey, Tristan Murail, Helmut Lachenmann, among others</li> <li> Blatter, Alfred,  Instrumentation and Orchestration (New York & London: Longman, 1997)</li> <li> Gould, Elaine, Behind Bars: The Definitive Guide To Music Notation (London: Faber, 2011)</li></ul>  Lectures 12 Tutorials 12 0 376 Performances/targeted listening (17 hrs)MUMS New Sounds from Manchester concerts/targeted new music listening (2-3 hrs)6 Composers Fora (2 hrs each)