MUSC2665: Chinese Music: From Concepts to Practice

2026 unit information

From the delicate sounds of sizhu (silk and bamboo ensembles) to the powerful reinventions by modern crossover groups like the Twelve Girls Band, Chinese music has continually evolved while maintaining deep cultural roots with intimate connections to Chinese aesthetic, concepts and musical practice. This unit introduces students to the sound world and practice of Chinese music across different historical periods, regional traditions, and contemporary transformations. Students will explore key concepts as applied to a musical context, such as ideas of China and Chineseness, instrumentation, aesthetics, performance practices, transmission, and intercultural exchange. Topics include traditional genres, musical notation systems, bodily dimensions of performance, diaspora and Sinophone soundscapes, and collaborations with art music composers. Through interactive seminars, listening exercises, fieldwork activities, and analytical projects, students will develop the tools to critically engage with Chinese musical practices both in historical context and in today's globalised world. This unit is ideal for students seeking to deepen their understanding of aesthetic and conceptual dimensions to Chinese music traditions and transformations, and to develop a broader perspective on music-making across cultures.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Details

Study level	Undergraduate
Academic unit	Analysis, History and Cultural Studies
Credit points	6

Enrolment rules

Prerequisites: ?	None
Corequisites: ?	None
Prohibitions: ?	None
Assumed knowledge: ?	No prior knowledge of Western or Chinese score notation is presumed.

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes for this unit will be available two weeks before the first day of teaching.

Unit availability

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Session	MoA ?	Location	Outline ?
Semester 2 2026	Normal day	Sydney	Outline unavailable

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