University of Sydney Handbooks - 2020 Archive

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Contemporary Music Practice Core units

Errata
Item Errata Date
1.

The following unit is missing from the Contemporary Music Studies table:

CMPN1612 New Music, New Thinking Credit points: Session: Semester 2 

24/01/2020
2.

In addition to the requirements listed below for the Contemporary Music Practice Program, students must also complete the following Discipline Specific units:

MUSC1507 Sounds, Screens, Speakers: Music & Media, CP: 6 credit points Session: Semester 1

MUSC1611 The Studio for Songwriters 1 CP: 6 credit points Session: Semester 2

10/02/2020

Contemporary Music Practice

Students undertaking the Contemporary Music Practice Program must complete 72 credit points of core units comprising of:
(a) 48 credit points of Program Focus units: Contemporary Music Practice 1-8*
(b) 24 credit points of chosen Contemporary and Popular Music studies units set out in the below table.
Students undertaking the Music Education Stream must complete:
(a) 24 credit points of Program Focus units: Contemporary Music Practice 1-4
*Please note Contemporary Music Practice 7-8 will be introduced from 2021.

Program Focus units

MUSC1401 Contemporary Music Practice 1

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Jade O'Regan Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1hr lecture; 2hrs tut/wk Assessment: Participation and preparation 20%; Essay 20%; Chart and presentation 20%; Demo 40%. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
In this unit of study, students will acquire research-based performance, songwriting and recording skills based around a combination of repertoire areas relating to diverse genres of contemporary music. Students will work collaboratively in order to gain a greater level of understanding of performance and songwriting skills relating to diverse content areas, and will commence exploration of creative and technical facilities
Textbooks
Byrne, David. How Music Works. Edinburgh: Cannongate Books, 2012.
MUSC1402 Contemporary Music Practice 2

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Jade O'Regan Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1hr lecture; 2hrs tut/wk Prerequisites: MUSC1401 Assessment: Session performance 20%; Podcast essay 20%; Live session 40%; Collaborative performance 20%. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
In this unit of study, students will continue exploration of diverse repertoire areas as commenced in Semester 1, with a specific focus on the communication of musical ideas and collaboration in rehearsal and studio settings. Instruction on techniques for writing and performing music on particular instruments will support students in developing and arranging original music, directing its performance and recording the result. Students will perform and reflect on their own music and the music of others. This unit will culminate in a live performance showcasing repertoire developed over the course of the semester
Textbooks
Everett, Walter. The Foundations of Rock. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
MUSC2403 Contemporary Music Practice 3

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Jade O'Regan Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 x 1hr Lectures; 2 x 1hr Tutorials Prerequisites: MUSC1402 Assessment: Collaborative songwriting folio 40%; Essay 20%; Two developed tracks 40%. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Students will bring their composition, performance and music technology skills together to complete a variety of collaborative projects during the course of the semester. They will write and record their music, exploring contemporary industry methods of face-to-face collaborative music production and a wide range of music genre conventions. They will produce a high-quality demo recordings in a studio environment. Throughout the semester, students will engage in analysis and assessment of their own work and the work of others.
Textbooks
Appen, R. V., A. Doehring, D. Helms and A. F. Moore. Song Interpretation in 21st-Century Pop Music. Surrey: Ashgate, 2015.
MUSC2404 Contemporary Music Practice 4

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Jade O'Regan Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1 x 1hr Lectures; 2 x 1hr Tutorials Prerequisites: MUSC2403 Assessment: Backing track 20%; Toplined track 20%; Essay 20%; Music video 50%. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This subject is a continuation of Contemporary Music Principal Study 3. Students will continue to develop their songwriting, performance and music production skills. This unit explores ways in which contemporary songwriters and performers use audiovisual technology. Students will work on developing music collaboratively in both face-to-face and online modes of practice. They will also develop skills to compliment their original music with visuals. Throughout the semester, students will engage in analysis and assessment of their own work and the work of others.
MUSC3405 Contemporary Music Practice 5

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Clint Bracknell Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 x 2hr workshop per week Prerequisites: MUSC2404 Assessment: Listening log 20%; Pitch and schedule 20%; Concept album 60%. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study provides students support to plan and create a major work at the culmination of completing previous principle study units, Contemporary Music Practice 1, 2, 3 and 4. Students will analyse a series of 'concept albums' as they work to write, perform and produce a collection of tracks bound by an overarching aesthetic concept. This process will be supported by ongoing peer, instructor and industry feedback plus written critical self-reflection. Students will be asked to consider, justify and situate their practice and production of music within both broad and specific contexts. At the conclusion of this unit, students will have developed a cohesive body of work (approximately 20-30 minutes of music).
MUSC3406 Contemporary Music Practice 6

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Clint Bracknell Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1 x 2hr workshop per week Prerequisites: MUSC3405 Assessment: Song drafts 20%; Pitch and schedule 20%; Capstone project and press kit 60%. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
In this unit, students will be supported in developing a capstone project (20-30 minutes of new music) representing the culmination of skills developed over the course of all prior units in Contemporary Music Practice. In deveoping this work, students will interrgogate the nature of innovation in their own original music. Students will experiment with a range of digital music techniques via practical activities. They will also investigate various means of presenting their music to the outside world. This will include consideration of online music cultures.

Contemporary Music Studies electives

BMus (Contemporary Music Practice) students will choose 12 credit points of Contemporary Music electives and 12 credit points of Popular Music electives.
CMPN2510 Scoring and Arranging for the Screen

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Damien Ricketon Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1 x 2hr lecture/week, 1 x 1hr lab/week Assessment: weekly lab tasks (20%), 1 x spotting, conceptualising and sketching assignment (20%), 1 x score reduction assignment (20%), 1 x full score (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
An application of various musical skills and disciplines pertinent to today's music industry, this unit of study explores fundamental aspects of composing, arranging and orchestrating for the screen. Theoretical principles are drawn from dramaturgy and cinematography, and applied to concerns of form, aesthetics, orchestration and technology to inform the various practical processes of preparing a music score from its inception to the delivery of parts for a recording session. Scoring and Arranging for the Screen offers a pragmatic approach to negotiating the pressing demands faced by screen composers in today's film and television industry.
JAZZ1021 Jazz History 1

Credit points: 3 Teacher/Coordinator: Andrew Dickeson Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2hr lecture per week Assumed knowledge: Students enrolling in this unit are expected to have strong overall music skills including notation, reading, aural skills, music research and analysis and jazz performance (excluding non-jazz students) Assessment: In-class Presentation (30%); Transcription/Performance (30%); Listening Exam (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
Note: Non-Jazz degree students will be considered for a place in the class based on enrolment numbers prior to the commencement of the semester.
Jazz History 1 provides the student with a practical understanding of the roots of jazz and the music developed, played and composed from the late 1800s - early 1930s and the historical context in which it was created. The classes will be structured around the use of sound recordings, archival footage, group discussion/analysis and by practical application. Students will be expected to be able to recognise, write about and discuss the major musical contributors of this period and their music, the cultural and socio-economic influences upon and of this music. Aural examinations will be of the 'Blindfold Test' variety. Students will transcribe notable performances from recordings and will direct ensemble performances of these. A listening list, reading list, video links and audio examples will be provided.
JAZZ1022 Jazz History 2

Credit points: 3 Teacher/Coordinator: Andrew Dickeson Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2hr lecture per week Prerequisites: JAZZ1021 Assessment: In-class Presentation (30%); Transcription/Performance (30%); Listening Exam (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Non-Jazz degree students will be considered for a place in the class based on enrolment numbers prior to the commencement of the semester.
Jazz History 2 provides the student with a practical understanding of the Jazz styles developed, played and composed from the early 1930s to the late 1940s and the historical context in which it was created. The classes will be structured around the use of sound recordings, archival footage with group discussion/analysis and by practical application. Students will be expected to be able to recognise, write about and discuss the major musical contributors of this period and their music, the cultural and socio-economic influences upon and of this music. Aural examinations will be of the 'Blindfold Test' variety. Students will transcribe notable performances from recordings and will direct ensemble performances of these. A listening list, reading list, video links and audio examples will be provided.
JAZZ3631 Music Business Skills

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: David Theak Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2hr lect/wk Assessment: Press Kit (35%), Tour Plan (65%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Music Business Skills is designed to prepare graduating students for the non-musical aspects of their forthcoming career. The unit is designed as an overview of the many different facets of the music industry, including setting up a small music business (including taxation overview and responsibilities), funding sources and alternatives, tour planning and budgeting, producing and designing promotional tools, dealing with record companies/music publishing, and other essential techniques and requirements of running a successful music business in today's competitive arts environment.
MCGY3631 African-American Music Inquiry

This unit of study is not available in 2020

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Christopher Coady Session: Semester 1 Classes: One 2 hr seminar/week Assessment: Essay 3000 words (50%), Tut presentation 2000 wds (30%), Tutorial participation and demonstrated knowledge of required reading (20%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit aims to provide students with a framework for analysing African-American musical products. An historical survey of research into African-American performance is followed by a discussion of current critical debates and scholarship. Students will apply existing theoretical models to the analysis of jazz, funk and hip-hop works. In turn, they will develop original research methodologies for the analysis of an African-American expressive work of their choice.
MUSC1506 Music in Western Culture

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Rachel Campbell Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2hr lecture and 1 hr tut/wk Assumed knowledge: The ability to follow a musical score while listening to the music and knowledge of elementary music theory. Assessment: Tutorial work (20%), short paper (20%), essay (40%), exam (20%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: This is a Foundation unit in Analysis, history and culture studies.
This unit surveys some of the major developments in the history of western classical music from the Medieval period to the present, and relates them to broader historical and artistic trends. In addition to analysing individual musical works, students will engage with musical historiography and develop a critical understanding of some influential techniques of music analysis.
MUSC1604 Music, Health and Wellbeing

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: A/Professor Helen Mitchell Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1 x 2hr workshop per week Assessment: overall class participation including reading portfolios (30%), 1 x written research project proposal (40%), 1 x poster presentation (30%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
So how do musicians achieve and maintain their health? This unit of study explores the science of music health and wellbeing through investigation of health promotion, a range of health issues (including mental health) and by giving students practical examples of how to incorporate healthy lifestyle and strategies into their everyday life. It includes a detailed exploration of age-old and millennium debates in the scholarly and practice-based fields of music and health. Topics include: mindfulness; music psychology; Alexander Technique/Yoga/Tai Chi; performance science; growth mindset programs; music therapy; mental health; work-place safety; physiotherapy.
MUSC2614 Composition Workshop

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr. Amanda Cole Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2 hour workshop per week Assessment: Contribution in classes and concerts (20%), composition portfolio and process diary (70%), aural and/or written presentations (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: 18 credit points of 1000-level units from any discipline or faculty.
An opportunity to create a new composition in a supported environment. Students will hear their works rehearsed and performed, usually by other participating students. The outcome is a performance in a public concert at the end of the semester. The workshops may be themed around particular genres and musical techniques such as music theatre, drone-based composition, song-writing, sound and rhythm, creating a sound space and media composition.
MUSC2616 Noise/Sound/Music: Engaging Sonic Worlds

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr James Wierzbicki Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2 x hour lecture, 1 x hour tutorial per week Assessment: Participation in tutorial discussions (30%); Delivery of two written 'aural diaries' each 800 words minimum, that describe time spent in a specific sonic environment (20% each); A final paper - ca. 2,500 words, on an instructor-approved topic of the student's choice (30%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit focuses not just on music but also on 'noise' and sounds both natural and man-made. By means of in-class experiments, field trips and 'audio diaries', students will explore the nature of sound; by means of lectures, readings and discussion, they will examine the many ways in which human beings engage - negatively as well as positively - with the sonic world around them.
MUSC2645 Psychology of Music

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Helen Mitchell Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 x 1hr lecture/week, 1 x 1hr tutorial/week Assessment: Readings, Summaries and Class Discussion Participation (30%); Key Question Identification and Project Design Poster Presentation (30%); Essay (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Psychology of Music examines music cognition and behaviour to explore the way music is created, produced and perceived. This unit will introduce recent interdisciplinary research as a way to explore music as a social activity. It will consider the methods used by sociologists and psychologists to investigate music and encourage students to think conceptually about their own musical activities.
MUSC2648 Words and Music : Song Across Cultures

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Myfany Turpin Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 x 1hr lecture/week, 1 x 1hr tutorial/week Assumed knowledge: Students enrolling in this unit of study must previously have completed 48 junior credit points, or have the permission of the coordinator Assessment: 1 x presentation (15%), 1 x 2000wd assignment (35%), 1 x3000wd essay (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit will teach students how to analyse the structure of song in diverse cultures drawing on both language and musical perspectives. Songs play many different roles in cultures. For example, they can be a form of entertainment, a tool to influence the world and transmit knowledge; and an expression of religion, identity and a national culture. This unit will engage students with the question of why people sing. It will consider the impact of literacy and the notion of the 'professional' singer/composer, which are absent in many societies.
MUSC2653 Introduction to Digital Music Techniques

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Damian Barbeler Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2 hr lecture/demonstration/wk Prerequisites: 18 Junior credit points Prohibitions: MUSC2053 Assessment: Sound recording and editing assignment (30%); creative assignments (60%); online assessments, attendance and participation (10%). Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: An ability to read music at a basic level and an understanding of fundamental musical terminology is an advantage in this unit of study.
This unit is an introduction to the use of digital sound and music in creative and multimedia contexts. It is a practical course in which students are introduced to tools of sound creation and manipulation. Students will undertake creative projects as a means to learning. In addition, participants will be exposed to a number of approaches to electroacoustic music across the 20th and 21st centuries.
MUSC2663 Survey of Film Music

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr James Wierzbicki Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2 hour lecture and 1 hour tut/week Prerequisites: 18 junior credit points Assessment: Review assignments 2,000 words (30%), final paper 2,500 words (50%), participation (20%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit is an introductory survey of the history and aesthetics of film music from the late 1890s to the present day. Topics for discussion will include the dramatic function of music as an element of cinematic narrative, the codification of musical iconography in cinematic genres, the symbolic use of pre-existing music, and the evolving musical styles of film composers.
MUSC2691 Music and Politics

This unit of study is not available in 2020

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr James Wierzbicki Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 x 2 hr lecture; 1 x 1 hr tutorial per week Assessment: Participation in discussions (20%); Written summaries of weekly readings (30%); Final essay of ca. 2,500 words (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study offers students a comprehensive understanding of interrelations and convergences between music and politics from a variety of musical genres and political circumstances. Students will be introduced to theoretical models for examining the social agency of musical expression, they will analyse the politics of convention and innovation within musical traditions, and examine musical dialogues that have reflected and influenced momentous social and political movements. No formal musical training necessary.
MUSC3603 Advanced Digital Music Techniques

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Damian Barbeler Session: Semester 2 Classes: 3 hr lecture/demonstration/wk Prerequisites: MUSC2653 Assessment: Creative assignments (80%), Weekly review and presentation of work (20%). Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Students who do not meet the pre-requisite may seek special permission from the subject co-ordinator
This unit is an advanced exploration of digital sound and music in creative and multimedia contexts. It is a subject in which students are expected to make sophisticated use of sound creation and manipulation tools in pursuit of their own musical ideas. Students will undertake creative projects as a means to learning. An ability to read music at a basic level and an understanding of fundamental musical terminology is an advantage in this unit of study.
MUSC3610 Musical Traditions and Globalization

This unit of study is not available in 2020

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Catherine Ingram Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 x 2hr seminar per week Prerequisites: 48 credit points of Junior Units Assessment: Academic Blog - Musical Tradition (20%); In-class Presentation (15%); Academic Blog - Musical Piece (15%); Major Essay (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Every musical form worldwide exists within a tradition, and globalization has been crucial in shaping those traditions in the contemporary era. This course explores different ways that musical traditions and globalization intersect. It introduces key theoretical approaches to both globalization (including postcolonial perspectives) and the concept of musical tradition, and explores case studies including social media and music in the Pacific Islands, East African hip-hop, understanding globalization's influence on indigenous Australian musical traditions and historically informed Western art music performance.
MUSC3624 Music and Sound in 21st Century Film

This unit of study is not available in 2020

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr James Wierzbicki Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1 x 2hr seminar/week Assessment: overall class participation (20%), 2 x presentations to the equivalent of 1500wds (40%), 1 x 3000wd essay (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Films in the 'classical' style are still being made, but increasing numbers of films veer from tradition, and often their communicativeness depends on innovative uses of music and sound. This upper-level seminar involves intense scrutiny of soundtracks of works by Philip Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Terrence Malick, and other twenty-first-century filmmakers.
MUSC3629 Music and Everyday Life

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: A/Prof Charles Fairchild Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1 x 2hr lecture/week Assessment: 1 x 3000wd fieldwork project paper (40%), 1 x 1000wd description of a musical event (20%), 2 x 1000wd critical response papers (30%), overall class participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: This unit is a requirement for Honours in the BA.
What can we learn from non-textual approaches to understanding music? The primary goal of this unit of study is to study music not as a composer, producer, performer, listener or audience member, but as an ethnographer. That is, analysing music through an observational, experiential and intellectual understanding of how people make and take meaning from music.
MUSC3630 Popular Music and the Moving Image

This unit of study is not available in 2020

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Charles Fairchild Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 x 2hr seminar/week Prerequisites: 18 junior credit points Assessment: 1 x 1000wd musical analysis (20%), 1 x 1000wd industrial critique (20%), 1 x listening and viewing test (20%), 1 x 3000wd final project (30%), overall participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The range of media channels through which we experience, popular music has prolifereated in recent years. The emotive power of music is used to tell stories, sell products and connect people to one another. This unit will analyse the use of popular music in a broad range of multimedia forms from film and television to video games and the use of digital media to disseminate a multitude of musical multimedia productions.
MUSC3639 Music Journalism

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr James Wierzbicki Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 hr lecture, 1 hr tut/week. Prerequisites: 18 junior credit points Assessment: Exercises in music journalism and reviewing 4,000 words (50%), final paper 2,000 words (30%), participation (20%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Even as the 'Age of Newspapers' seems to be coming to an end, human beings' need for authoritative commentary on music remains as strong as ever. Along with surveying the history of music journalism from the early eighteenth century up to the present day, this unit of study offers participants the chance to try their hands at various forms of music journalism.
MUSC3640 Rhythms and Sounds of Latin America

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Daniel Rojas Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x 2 hr lecture per week, 1 hr tutorial per week Prerequisites: 18 Junior credit points Assessment: Essay 2,500 words or creative composition/sound project with reflective statement (50%), 2 listening assessments (20%), Exam (30%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Musical knowledge may be helpful but not necessary
Latin American music has become a powerful force in today's music industry, but its rich diversity and cultural contexts are not always known or acknowledged. This unique unit of study surveys a number of Latin American popular, folk and indigenous musical traditions in terms of their cultural milieu and historical development. These include Afro-Cuban traditions, samba, salsa, tango and Andean music. Various musical, historical and cultural concerns are examined alongside a practical and creative involvement with the compositional characteristics and the repertoire pertinent to these traditions.
MUSC3699 Understanding Music: Modes of Hearing

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr James Wierzbicki Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2 hr lecture, 1 hr tut/wk Prerequisites: 18 Junior credit points Assessment: Brief essays eq. 1,500 words (30%), final paper 3,000 words (50%), tutorial participation (20%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: A good working knowledge of musical terminology and vocabulary is required.
This unit of study deals with the different ways in which we comprehend music and with the different ways in which that comprehension might be explained. It deals with modes of hearing and musical analysis for the purpose of leading students towards a deeper knowledge of how music in various genres (ranging from the classical mainstream to the twentieth-century avant-garde, from Tin Pan Alley songs to punk rock and hip-hop) is understood. This is a required unit of study for a music major in an Arts degree.

Popular Music Studies electives

MUSC1507 Sounds, Screens, Speakers: Music and Media

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: A/Prof Charles Fairchild Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2hr lecture and 1 tut/wk Prohibitions: MUSC1000 or MUSC1001 or MUSC1502 Assessment: Article summary, 1000 words (25%); Media analysis of 1000 words (20%); Tutorial tests (15%); Final Project, 2,000 words(30%), overall participation (10%). Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Music has been dramatically shaped and reshaped by every major change in communications technology in the 20th century from vinyl discs to spotify. In this unit of study we will analyse such issues as the ways in which the early recording industry transformed jazz, the blues and country music, how the presentation of music on radio and television changed the ways the music industry created new musical celebrities, and the challenges the music industry faces as digital technology transforms the creation, distribution and consumption of music.
MUSC2638 Jazz Riots and Revolutions

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Christopher Coady Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 x 1hr lecture per week; 1 x 1hr tutorial per week Assessment: Tutorial Participation/Demonstrated Knowledge of Required Reading (20%); Annotated Bibliography (30%); Research Essay Introduction (20%); Research Essay Body (30%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This course examines the powerful link between jazz and moments of social revolution in the United States. It illuminates the central role jazz musicians like Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus and Max Roach played in changing hearts, minds and social structures during four distinct historic periods: the Harlem Renaissance, the post-War 1940s, the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and the Black Nationalist movement of the 1960s. Its central focus is on how music can both ride and resist the political energies that charge particular historic moments.
MUSC2648 Words and Music : Song Across Cultures

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Myfany Turpin Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 x 1hr lecture/week, 1 x 1hr tutorial/week Assumed knowledge: Students enrolling in this unit of study must previously have completed 48 junior credit points, or have the permission of the coordinator Assessment: 1 x presentation (15%), 1 x 2000wd assignment (35%), 1 x3000wd essay (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit will teach students how to analyse the structure of song in diverse cultures drawing on both language and musical perspectives. Songs play many different roles in cultures. For example, they can be a form of entertainment, a tool to influence the world and transmit knowledge; and an expression of religion, identity and a national culture. This unit will engage students with the question of why people sing. It will consider the impact of literacy and the notion of the 'professional' singer/composer, which are absent in many societies.
MUSC2654 Popular Music

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: A/Prof Charles Fairchild Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2 hrs/week Assessment: Two critical analyses 1,000 words each (20% each); tutorial test 1000 words (20%); major essay 3,000 words (30%); class participation (10%). Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
How did early American blues and country music develop in tandem? How was punk different in the US, the UK and Australia? What are the origins of the DJ culture? This unit of study presents a thematic overview of a wide variety of styles, movements and spectacles. It examines major genres of popular music, their stylistic features and historical antecedents as well as modes of reception and the role of popular music in everyday life. No formal music training is necessary.
MUSC2666 Global Sound: Drum and Bass, Rhythm and Soul

This unit of study is not available in 2020

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Charles Fairchild Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 hr lecture, 1 hr tut/week Prerequisites: 18 junior credit points. Assessment: Critical Interpretation of 1500 words (25%), Musical analysis of 1500 words (25%), Final Project of 3000 words (40%), Participation (10%). Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
How did the music of enslaved and marginalised people eventually become a dominant force in contemporary popular culture? This unit will examine the local reinvention of a wide variety of African American music in communities around the world. From soul and funk in West Africa to ska and reggae in the Caribbean, we will examine how music moves around the world and within local communities to make new forms of meaning.
MUSC2672 Australian Popular Music

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Clint Bracknell Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1 hr lecture + 1 hr tut/week Prerequisites: 18 junior credit points. Assessment: Analytical essay (1000 words) 20%; Tutorial presentation 20%; Listening test 20%; Research essay (3000 words) 40%. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The history of Australian popular music presents us with a long and complex heritage. It reflects, in its very constitution, the lives of those who create it and is underscored by the dynamic relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia. This unit of study will explore the continuing experience and influence of a wide range of music made in Australia, from songlines to bush ballads and dance anthems, Countdown and Rage. We will examine the folk revival of the 50s, pub rock of the 70s, reggae, punk and indie rock of the 80s and 90s as well as the emergence of the multiplicity of styles and expressions that mark the contemporary Australian music scene.
Textbooks
Stratton, Jon Australian rock : essays on popular music (1st ed). Network Books, Perth, 2007.
MUSC2691 Music and Politics

This unit of study is not available in 2020

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr James Wierzbicki Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 x 2 hr lecture; 1 x 1 hr tutorial per week Assessment: Participation in discussions (20%); Written summaries of weekly readings (30%); Final essay of ca. 2,500 words (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study offers students a comprehensive understanding of interrelations and convergences between music and politics from a variety of musical genres and political circumstances. Students will be introduced to theoretical models for examining the social agency of musical expression, they will analyse the politics of convention and innovation within musical traditions, and examine musical dialogues that have reflected and influenced momentous social and political movements. No formal musical training necessary.
MUSC2695 Fundamentals of Music 4: Popular Music Focus

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Daniel Rojas Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 x 1hr lecture, 1 x 1hr written tutorial, 1 x 1hr aural tutorial Prerequisites: MUSC1501 or MUSC2693 Assessment: Weekly assignment tasks (30%), 1 x Composition and Analysis final project (40%), weekly auralia tests (10%), 1 x mid-semester aural exam (5%), 1 x final aural exam (15%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The culmination of the Fundamentals of Music series, this unit of study is an exploration of musical language used in contemporary popular, film and world music repertoire from ca. 1960 to the present. The focus is on compositional techniques, analytical tools and workflow that relates to contemporary music practitioners. Lectures will examine the given topic for that week with references to examples drawn from a list of repertoire for that topic. These examples will be discussed further in the written tutorials and supported by weekly homework. An important outcome of this unit of study is the final assignment, in which students apply the knowledge accrued over the semester in an original composition, which they also analyse. Aural Tutorials will draw on these topics to develop skills relating to the student's ability to perceive and interpret musical elements and procedures.
MUSC3630 Popular Music and the Moving Image

This unit of study is not available in 2020

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Charles Fairchild Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 x 2hr seminar/week Prerequisites: 18 junior credit points Assessment: 1 x 1000wd musical analysis (20%), 1 x 1000wd industrial critique (20%), 1 x listening and viewing test (20%), 1 x 3000wd final project (30%), overall participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The range of media channels through which we experience, popular music has prolifereated in recent years. The emotive power of music is used to tell stories, sell products and connect people to one another. This unit will analyse the use of popular music in a broad range of multimedia forms from film and television to video games and the use of digital media to disseminate a multitude of musical multimedia productions.
MUSC3631 Music in Public: Performance and Power

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Associate Professor Charles Fairchild Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1 x 2hr seminar/week Assessment: 2 x 500 wd performance reports (15%), 1 x 1500wd performance genre analysis (25%), 1 x 1000wd performance analysis (20%), 1 x 3000wd essay (30%), overall seminar participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The act of performing music creates a multitude of social relationships between listeners, audiences, musicians, performers, and the industries and institutions that surround them. This subject will ask students to study acts of performance historically, theoretically, and observationally. They will examine a wide range of situations and circumstances and try to work out how the expression of music is also an expression, affirmation, and contestation of social power. This subject will appeal to those who wish to study subjects such as music, performance studies, sociology, anthropology, and gender and cultural studies. It cuts across all of these areas of inquiry in the attention that is paid to the complexity and subtlety of how music is perceived and experienced across multiple social scenes and communities. This subject is not about performance practice or assessment. Instead, it seeks to allow students to gain some insight into the experience of performance as multifaceted and perspectival.