Outline

Overview

Composition Workshop is designed as an opportunity for students from all musical backgrounds to play, write and perform music together. Each student will write a new piece for an ensemble of classmates that will be performed in an end of semester concert. Set topics studied in this course include: Creative and Resourceful Instrumentation (body percussion, mobile phones as instruments, the human voice and found percussion instruments), Soundscape, Indeterminacy and Loops. The first four weeks of the course are spent exploring these topics through lectures and creative group composition exercises. Students will also look notating their music using one-page scores, graphic notation, time-space notation and text scores. From Week 5 onwards, students will workshop and rehearse their own concert piece for an ensemble of musicians from their class.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	MUSC2614
Academic unit
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	18 credit points of 1000-level units
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Amanda Cole, amanda.cole@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Amanda Cole, amanda.cole@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Final Composition Project Final composition reflecting the topics covered during the semester.	50%	Formal exam period Due date: 06 Jun 2022 at 12:18	3-5 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Mini Composition Assignment 1 Composition for voice, phones and/or body percussion.	10%	Week 03 Due date: 10 Mar 2022 at 12:12	1-2 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Mini Composition Assignment 2 Soundscape Composition	10%	Week 06 Due date: 31 Mar 2022 at 11:54	1-2 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Mini Composition Assignment 3 Composition exploring loops.	10%	Week 09 Due date: 28 Apr 2022 at 12:14	1-2 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Participation	Participation in class and online activities. Participation in class and online activities.	20%	Weekly	n/a
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Mini CompositionTask 1	Composition for voice, phones and/or body percussion.	10%
Mini CompositionTask 2	Soundscape Composition.	10%
Mini CompositionTask 3	Composition exploring loops.	10%
Final Composition Project	Final composition reflecting the topics covered during the semester.	50%
Participation	Participation in class and online activities.	20%

Assessment criteria

The following assessment criteria are used for composition work in this unit of study:

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	EXCEPTIONAL STANDARD Creativity = Convincing, confident, imaginative, personal, bold, risk-taking, engaging. Craft = Obvious and unequivocal command of resources. Technique is matched to creative intentions Presentation = The standard of a professional commercial publication or with coherent visual identity.
Distinction	75 - 84	VERY HIGH STANDARD Creativity = Convincing musical logic and direction. Engagement with repertory goes beyond imitation. Craft: Musical structure is fluent and lucid throughout. Displays sophisticated ability to develop and manipulate material. Advanced use of colour. Presentation: The work demonstrates awareness of user-friendliness and attention to consistent and individual visual style.
Credit	65 - 74	GOOD STANDARD Creativity: Influences of other composers are evident, and display steps towards taking such influences into a new, personal direction. Craft: Displays coherent structure and convincing clarity in orchestration/standard of production. Presentation: Attractive score presented with clarity.
Pass	50 - 64	ACCEPTABLE STANDARD Creativity: Engaged with contemporary music culture and ideas but may parrot rather than seek to extend the ideas of other composers. Craft: Capacity to express musical ideas with appropriate instrumental and/or digital media. Presentation: Notation legible but may still include unnecessary ambiguity.
Fail	0 - 49	UNACCEPTABLE STANDARD Creativity: Generic, hackneyed, pastiche. Craft: Fundamental technical errors evident in notation, digital production, understanding of instruments, musical form, etc. Presentation: Illegible scores. Audio format errors.

The following assessment criteria are used for written work in this unit of study:

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Demonstrates high level of initiative in research and reading; sophisticated critical analysis of evidence; high level engagement with theoretical issues, innovative use of reading/research material and impressive command of underlying debates and assumptions; properly documented and written with style, originality and precision.
Distinction	75 - 84	Demonstrates initiative in research and wide, appropriate reading; complex understanding of question and ability to critically review material in relation to underlying assumptions and values; analyses material in relation to empirical and theoretical contexts; properly documented; clear, well-developed structure and argument with some signs of literary style.
Credit	65 - 74	Evidence of broader understanding than pass level; offers synthesis with some critical evaluation of material; coherent argument using a range of relevant evidence; some evidence of independent thought, good referencing. A high credit (70-74) shows some evidence of ability to problematise and think conceptually.
Pass	50 - 64	Written work meets basic requirements in terms of reading/research; relevant material; tendency to descriptive summary rather than critical argument; makes a reasonable attempt to avoid paraphrasing; reasonably coherent structure; often has weaknesses in particular areas, especially in terms of narrow or underdeveloped treatment of question; acceptable documentation.
Fail	0 - 49	Work may fail for any or all of the following reasons: Unacceptable paraphrasing; irrelevance of content; poor spelling; poor presentation; grammar or structure so sloppy it cannot be understood; failure to demonstrate understanding of content; insufficient or overlong word length.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

As per the Sydney Conservatorium of Music resolutions, http://sydney.edu.au/handbooks/ conservatorium/rules/faculty_resolutions.shtml (Item 11): (1) It is expected that unless an application for Special Consideration has been approved, students will submit all assessment for a unit of study on the due date specified. If the assessment is completed or submitted within the period of extension, no academic penalty will be applied to that piece of assessment. (2) If an extension is either not sought, not granted or is granted but work is submitted after the extended due date, the late submission of assessment will result in an academic penalty as follows: (a) For work submitted after the deadline, 5% of the total possible mark will be deducted per day (b) For work submitted after 10 days, a mark of 0 will be given.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Making Music with Available Instrumentation: voice, body percussion and phones.	Online class (2 hr)
Week 02	Making Music with Available Instrumentation: Adventures in pitch, rhythm and texture.	Online class (2 hr)
Week 03	Making Music with Available Instrumentation: One page scores, open instrumentation, text notation and indeterminacy.	Online class (2 hr)
Week 04	Soundscape: Acoustic Ecology and Field Recordings (listening to the world around us).	Online class (2 hr)
Week 05	Soundscape: Interacting with Environments Using Musical Instruments (Graphic notation, time-space notation and indeterminacy).	Online class (2 hr)
Week 06	Soundscape: Composed Environments and Environmental Data Sonification.	Online class (2 hr)
Week 07	Creative Loops: Chaconne & Passacaglia (Looping chords and bass lines).	Online class (2 hr)
Week 08	Creative Loops: Canon, Phasing and Isorhythm (Looping melody and rhythm).	Online class (2 hr)
Week 09	Creative Loops : Indeterminacy and Textures.	Online class (2 hr)
Week 10	Workshopping and Rehearsal of Final Works.	Online class (2 hr)
Week 12	Workshopping and Rehearsal of Final Works.	Online class (2 hr)
Week 13	Presentation of Finished Final Works.	Online class (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: Students are expected to attend a minimum of 90% of timetabled activities for a unit of study, unless granted exemption by the Dean, Head of School or professor most concerned. The Dean,
Head of School or professor most concerned may determine that a student fails a unit of study because of inadequate attendance. Alternatively, at their discretion, they may set additional
assessment items where attendance is lower than 90%.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Music Composition Toolbox ; Hindson, Matthew, 1968-; Barbeler, Damian.; Blom, Diana, 1947-

c2007
Musical Environments: A Manual for Listening: A Manual for Listening, Composing and Improvising ; Richard Vella, 2000.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Research composition methods and repertoire.
LO2. Experimentation with musical concepts.
LO3. Notate and score creative ideas for a diverse range of musicians.
LO4. Complete an original musical composition
LO5. Lead workshops and rehearsals of your own composition.
LO6. Collaborate with other composers to workshop, rehearse and perform their work.
LO7. Write about your creative work.
LO8. Present and share an original composition with an audience.
LO9. Document creative work and be able to digitally distribute it.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

The course description, activities and assessments were altered in response to student feedback.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

MUSC2614: Composition Workshop

Semester 1, 2022 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect