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BMus Music

Academic Year 2018/19

A programme specification is required for any programme on which a student may be registered. All programmes of the University are subject to the University's Quality Assurance processes. All degrees are awarded by Queen's University Belfast.

Programme Title

BMus Music

Final Award
(exit route if applicable for Postgraduate Taught Programmes)

Bachelor of Music

Programme Code

MUS-BM-S

UCAS Code

W302

HECoS Code

100070

ATAS Clearance Required

No

Mode of Study

Full Time

Type of Programme

Single Honours

Length of Programme

3 Academic Year(s)

Total Credits for Programme

360

Exit Awards available

INSTITUTE INFORMATION

Teaching Institution

Queen's University Belfast

School/Department

Arts, English and Languages

Framework for Higher Education Qualification Level 
www.qaa.ac.uk

Level 6

QAA Benchmark Group
www.qaa.ac.uk/quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements

Music (2008)

Accreditations (PSRB)

REGULATION INFORMATION

Does the Programme have any approved exemptions from the University General Regulations
(Please see General Regulations)

None

Programme Specific Regulations

There is some flexibility on a case by case basis for students to take modules outside the Programme.
At Level 2 a student may substitute up to 20 CATS of optional modules with the equivalent number of CATS from a list of approved modules beyond those listed.
At Level 3 a student may substitute up to 20 CATS of optional modules with the equivalent number of CATS from a list of approved modules beyond those listed.

Students will be notified each academic year of the optional modules being offered in the following academic year. Students are advised that not all optional modules will necessarily be offered in each academic year. Also, the delivery of a module may be subject to a minimum number of enrolments as well as unforeseen circumstances (eg illness of a member of staff). The range and content of optional modules will change over time as degree programmes develop and students' choice of optional modules may also be limited due to timetabling constraints

Students with protected characteristics

N/A

Are students subject to Fitness to Practise Regulations

(Please see General Regulations)

No

EDUCATIONAL AIMS OF PROGRAMME

The Bmus degree, in accordance with the University's Mission Statement, aspires to be a broadly-based, research-driven unit with a dynamic world-class research and education portfolio and strong international connections and to promote the widest possible access to this portfolio of excellence in an environment of equality, tolerance and mutual respect, fully embracing its role in Northern Ireland and beyond. Within this context, the Batchelor of Music programme aims:

to deliver an innovative, broadly-based, flexible curriculum, in accordance with the QAA Benchmarks, that reflects the diverse field of scholarship and practice within Music;

to facilitate the study of Music through an integrated balance of practice and theory;

to attract students from local, national and international contexts through various entry routes, and to provide them with the best possible learning and teaching experience;

to provide all students with the widest possible opportunity to pursue and extend their knowledge and understanding of Music through a variety of learning methods;

to enable students to: develop advanced critical, analytical and physical skills, as well as their creative and imaginative skills; to improve their self-confidence, powers of concentration, understanding of group dynamics, and communication skills through a variety of oral, written, visual and performance media;

to introduce new areas of teaching and implement new pedagogical techniques and technologies in response to advances in scholarship technology, and educational research, student feedback, as well as the interests and aptitudes of staff members;

to provide a supportive and stimulating learning environment that enables learners with a variety of entrance qualifications to fulfil their potential and develop their capacity for motivated independent learning;

to provide appropriate learning resources, including suitable facilities for live performance and to supplement library provision by exploiting the possibilities offered by online learning;

to foster mutually beneficial connections within music in order to facilitate student learning;

to enrich students' learning experience by exploring possible interdisciplinary linkages /collaborations with other cognate and non-cognate subject areas within the School;

to embed a diverse range of generic and transferable skills in our pathways, and thus prepare students for a variety of academic and professional careers.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Learning Outcomes: Subject Specific

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Engage with and evaluate a variety of sources (texts, notated scores, recorded and live performances)

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, class group-work, seminars, tutorials, workshops, concert attendance; interpreting, analysing and discussing ideas generated through class discussion and group exercises.

Methods of Assessment

Written examinations, listening tests, essays, projects, learning journals, seminar presentations, concert reviews, book reviews, dissertations, editions of music, textual editing, podcasts, composition portfolios, stylistic pastiche.

Understand complex issues and arguments and communicate this understanding both orally and in written form

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, class group-work, seminars, tutorials, workshops; referring to current theory and commenting on it both through oral and written work.

Methods of Assessment

Written examinations, listening tests, essays, projects, learning journals, seminar presentations, concert reviews, book reviews, dissertations, editions of music, textual editing, podcasts.

Learning Outcomes: Cognitive Skills

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Contextualise music and its history from a variety of perspectives and contexts

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, class group-work, seminars, tutorials, workshops; forming independent views on a range of sources (notated, written, performed) and expressing them effectively through discussion and written work.

Methods of Assessment

Written examinations, listening tests, essays, projects, learning journals, seminar presentations, concert reviews, book reviews, dissertations, editions of music, textual editing, podcasts, composition portfolios, stylistic pastiche.

Learning Outcomes: Transferable Skills

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Work independently and as part of a team demonstrated through individual and group work (written and practical)

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Rehearsals, class group-work, workshops; balancing and managing the demands of conflicting deadlines and various types of formative and summative assessment effectively.

Methods of Assessment

Performances (particularly ensembles), written examinations, listening tests, essays, projects, learning journals, seminar presentations, concert reviews, book reviews, dissertations, editions of music, textual editing, podcasts, composition portfolios, stylistic pastiche.

Demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

The delivery of verbal presentations within small and large group contexts develops oral communication skills while a variety of short and more extended written work on which formative and summative assessment is made develops well-structured and synthesised writing on a variety of topics.

Methods of Assessment

Performances, written examinations, listening tests, essays, projects, learning journals, seminar presentations, concert reviews, book reviews, dissertations, editions of music, textual editing, podcasts.

Show effective team-working and leadership skills

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Exercises within classes and tutorials which exploit teamwork – reporting back on a topic within a given timeframe and adopting a position within the team that enables the group to deliver effectively generates vital team-working and leadership experience.

Methods of Assessment

The strategy outlined here often feeds into individual methods of assessment such as those outlined above. Group-work is sometimes assessed more directly, depending on the module, through seminar presentations and contributions, ensemble performance and work placement learning journals.

Demonstrate efficient time management skills

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

The management and prioritisation of a range of assignments and course requirements together with the ongoing discipline involved in working in isolation on continual development as a musicologist, performer and/or composer develops efficiency in time management.

Methods of Assessment

All methods of assessment have submission deadlines that require time-management skills on the part of the student. With performance and composition modules, in particular, time-management is inherent in the learning process (eg attendance at rehearsals).

Learn through independent study

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

The process of independent learning is inherent in all modules within the programme (perhaps most notably in performance, but also in composition and musicology) and instilled from induction onwards. It is particularly pronounced in stage 3, when students are encouraged to undertake project-type work.

Methods of Assessment

Performances, written examinations, listening tests, essays, projects, learning journals, seminar presentations, concert reviews, book reviews, dissertations, editions of music, textual editing.

Demonstrate basic word processing and other IT skills

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Submission of word-processed assignments and the need to explore web-based sources develops and requires basic IT proficiency.

Methods of Assessment

Essays, projects, learning journals, seminar presentations (e.g. facility with PowerPoint), concert reviews, book reviews, dissertations. A facility with music processing is also a feature of all these types of assessment, plus editions of music, orchestration exercises, composition portfolios, podcasts.

Collate, evaluate and process information from a variety of sources

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

The ability to critically evaluate a variety of sources is inherent in all modules within the programme and instilled from induction onwards.

Methods of Assessment

Written examinations, listening tests, essays, projects, learning journals, seminar presentations, concert reviews, book reviews, dissertations, editions of music, orchestration exercises, podcasts.

Respond effectively and productively to constructive feedback on written and practical work

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

The process of managing criticism and working with feedback to improve work is encouraged throughout the programme.

Methods of Assessment

Many examples of these, e.g. dissertations that respond to feedback on written drafts; projects and written examinations that respond to feedback on essays and seminar presentations; essays, pastiche exercises, orchestration exercises that respond to feedback on class group-work; recitals that respond to feedback in performance seminar classes, etc.

Think and work creatively within a variety of contexts

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Creative thinking is inherent in the nature of the programme. The variety of contexts means that it often takes different forms in teaching (lectures, group-work, seminars in performance platform and composition, etc.) and learning strategies (both verbal and – in composition, performance and stylistic pastiche – non-verbal).

Methods of Assessment

Performances, composition portfolios, written examinations, seminar presentations (eg answering questions), orchestration exercises, pastiche exercises, among others.

Learning Outcomes: Knowledge & Understanding

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Demonstrate a broad knowledge of the history of Western music

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, providing a springboard for further enquiry carried out through small-group seminars, individual tutorials and feedback sessions, independent study, and seminars by visiting musicologists, performers and composers.

Methods of Assessment

Performances, composition portfolios, written examinations, listening tests, essays, projects, learning journals, seminar presentations, concert reviews, book reviews, dissertations, editions of music, textual editing.

Understand the range of periods in musical history and of their political, aesthetic, social and cultural contexts

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, providing a springboard for further enquiry carried out through small-group seminars, individual tutorials and feedback sessions, independent study, and seminars by visiting musicologists, performers and composers.

Methods of Assessment

Performances, composition portfolios, written examinations, listening tests, essays, projects, learning journals, seminar presentations, concert reviews, book reviews, dissertations, editions of music, textual editing.

Demonstrate a knowledge of the output of significant composers within the Western canon including clear concepts of their individual contribution to its development and perpetuation

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, providing a springboard for further enquiry carried out through small-group seminars, individual tutorials and feedback sessions, independent study; seminars by visiting musicologists, performers and composers; attendance at concerts held within the School.

Methods of Assessment

Performances, composition portfolios, written examinations, listening tests, essays, projects, learning journals, seminar presentations, concert reviews, book reviews, dissertations, editions of music, textual editing, pastiche exercises.

Show an awareness of particular works and their composers through independent study

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, providing a springboard for further enquiry carried out through small-group seminars, individual tutorials and feedback sessions, independent study; seminars by visiting musicologists, performers and composers; attendance at concerts held within the School.

Methods of Assessment

Performances, written examinations, listening tests, essays, projects, learning journals, seminar presentations, concert reviews, book reviews, dissertations, orchestration and arrangement exercises, pastiche exercises.

Understand and apply practically the evolving vocabulary of music across a range of periods

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, providing a springboard for further enquiry carried out through small-group seminars, individual tutorials and feedback sessions, independent study; seminars by visiting musicologists, performers and composers; attendance at concerts held within the School.

Methods of Assessment

Performances, written examinations, listening tests, essays, projects, concert reviews, dissertations, weekly homeworks, orchestration and arrangement exercises, pastiche exercises.

Show familiarity with a range of theoretical and practical approaches to the study of music in all its aspects

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, providing a springboard for further enquiry carried out through small-group seminars, individual tutorials and feedback sessions, independent study; seminars by visiting musicologists, performers and composers; attendance at concerts held within the School; master-classes, workshops, rehearsals and activities provided through, for example, visiting artists and the Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music provide access to a variety of teaching situations.

Methods of Assessment

Performances, composition portfolios, written examinations, essays, projects, learning journals, concert reviews, dissertations, orchestration and arrangement exercises, pastiche exercises.

Demonstrate an awareness of structure, notation, orchestration and tonality within music across a range of periods

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, providing a springboard for further enquiry carried out through small-group seminars, individual tutorials and feedback sessions, independent study; seminars by visiting musicologists, performers and composers; attendance at concerts held within the School; master-classes, workshops, rehearsals and activities provided through, for example, visiting artists and the Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music provide access to a variety of teaching situations

Methods of Assessment

Performances, listening tests, essays, projects, seminar presentations, dissertations, editions of music, weekly homeworks, orchestration and arrangement exercises, pastiche exercises.

Apply this knowledge practically through (where followed) performance and composition

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Master-classes, workshops, rehearsals and activities provided through, for example, visiting artists and the Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music provide access to a variety of teaching situations.

Methods of Assessment

Performances, composition portfolios, orchestration and arrangement exercises.

Learning Outcomes: Subject Specific

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Critically evaluate written, notated and performed materials

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials, seminars (delivered by students and also by external professional musicologists, performers and composers; the delivery of seminars with other students and the requirement within tutorials to work in groups is inherent to the programme), independent study.

Methods of Assessment

Written exams, listening tests, essays, projects, learning journals, seminar presentations, reviews, dissertations, editions.

Demonstrate an analytical and practical understanding of musical language through pastiche, written analysis, and effective performance (where studied)

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Individual and group lessons, lectures, tutorials, seminars (the delivery of seminars with other students and the requirement within tutorials to work in groups is inherent to the programme), teamwork, independent study (performers and composers required to demonstrate sustained work as individuals culminating in portfolios of original work and effectively communicated and interpreted performances).

Methods of Assessment

Recitals, class performances, written exams, essays, learning journals, class tests, pastiche exercises, keyboard harmony tests, dissertations.

Effectively apply and interpret the principles of notation and orchestration

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Individual and group lessons, lectures, tutorials, seminars (the delivery of seminars with other students and the requirement within tutorials to work in groups is inherent to the programme), team work: ensemble participation is available to all BMus students; workshops with visiting artists; independent study.

Methods of Assessment

Recitals, class performances, compositions, written exams, pastiche exercises, orchestrations, arrangements, dissertations, editions.

Understand the productive processes of preparation, rehearsal, marketing and delivering compositions and performances

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Individual and group lessons, lectures, tutorials, seminars, independent study, workshops with visiting artists, collaborations between performance and composition students.

Methods of Assessment

Recitals, class performances, compositions, podcasts.

Demonstrate a highly-developed understanding of composers and genres within broad and narrow contexts

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials, seminars (delivered by students and also by external professional musicologists, performers and composers; the delivery of seminars with other students and the requirement within tutorials to work in groups is inherent to the programme), independent study.

Methods of Assessment

Written exams, listening tests, essays, projects, learning journals, seminar presentations, dissertations, editions.

MODULE INFORMATION

Stages and Modules

Module Title

Module Code

Level/ stage

Credits

Availability

Duration

Pre-requisite

Assessment
S1 S2 Core Option Coursework % Practical % Examination %
Fundamental Harmony MUS1013 1 20 YES YES 24 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Solo Performance 1 MUS1017 1 20 YES YES 24 weeks N YES 20% 0% 80%
Music in History MUS1041 1 20 YES YES 24 weeks N YES 50% 0% 50%
Introduction to Music MUS1002 1 20 YES YES 24 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Audio Mixing I MUS1030 1 10 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Composing Music MUS1012 1 20 YES YES 24 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Introduction to Sound Synthesis MUS1036 1 10 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Musicianship MUS1005 1 20 YES YES 24 weeks N YES 50% 50% 0%
Sound Recording and Production 1 MUS1038 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Ensemble Performance 1 MUS1018 1 20 YES YES 24 weeks N YES 20% 0% 80%
Sonic Arts MUS2004 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 80% 20% 0%
Solo Performance II MUS2017 2 20 YES YES 24 weeks Y YES 20% 80% 0%
Ensemble Performance II MUS2018 2 20 YES YES 24 weeks Y YES 20% 80% 0%
Writing about Music MUS2043 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 60% 30% 10%
Classical Analysis MUS2015 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Sound Design for Screen MTE2015 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Composition II MUS2011 2 20 YES YES 24 weeks Y YES 100% 0% 0%
Music Psychology MTE2052 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 30% 70% 0%
Notation and Transcription MUS2066 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Introduction to Arts Management SCA2002 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Improvisation MUS2050 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 30% 70% 0%
Disco Culture MUS2033 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Scoring and Arranging MUS2053 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 80% 0% 20%
Songwriting MUS2055 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Sound Recording and Production II MUS2038 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Live Production Systems MUS2048 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Composition 3a MUS3071 3 20 YES 12 weeks Y YES 100% 0% 0%
Double Recital MUS3082 3 40 YES YES 24 weeks Y YES 25% 75% 0%
Dissertation MUS3084 3 40 YES YES 24 weeks Y YES 100% 0% 0%
Composition 3 MUS3087 3 40 YES YES 24 weeks Y YES 100% 0% 0%
Bach and Mozart MUS3033 3 20 YES YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Special Project MUS3076 3 20 YES YES 24 weeks Y YES 100% 0% 0%
Single Recital MUS3072 3 20 YES YES 24 weeks Y YES 25% 75% 0%
Electroacoustic Composition II MTE3003 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Audio Engineering 3 MTE3009 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 75% 25% 0%
Traditional Irish Music: Form, Style and Development MUS3069 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 40% 10% 50%
Directed Study MUS3099 3 20 YES YES 24 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Film and Music: Theory and Criticism FLM3024 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Politics in Popular Song from the French Revolution to Punk MUS3055 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 80% 20% 0%
Musical Thought and Scholarship MUS3063 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 60% 10% 30%
Work-based Learning AEL3001 3 20 YES YES 24 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Orchestration MUS3020 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 70% 30% 0%

Notes

Level 1 Students must take 120 CATS points. MUS1017 pre-requisite: Successful audition Students may substitute up to 20 CATS points in another subject, for which they have the necessary pre-requisites, subject to approval from their Adviser of Studies. It is not permissible to enrol on more than one Performance stream.

Level 2 Students must take 120 CATS points. MUS2017 pre-requisite: MUS1017 (58% in first study and 58% overall) It is not permissible to enrol on more than one Performance stream.

Level 3 Students must take 120 CATS points. Students are not permitted to enrol on more than 2 non MUS/MTE/AEL modules. Students must enrol on at least one Historical Topic from MUS3033, MUS3063, MUS3055 and MUS3069. Students can take up to 5 of the other optional modules. In addition, the following module combinations are not permissible: MUS3076 and MUS3084; MUS3071 and MUS3087; MUS3099 and any of a) MUS3076, b) MUS3084, c) AEL3001 if the Directed Study is on a vocational topic. Students must not take 2 Performance modules. MUS3072 pre-requisite: 60% overall in MUS2017 and 60% for exam MUS3082 pre-requisite: 64% overall in MUS2017 and 64% for exam MUS3071 pre-requisite: 58% in MUS2011 MUS3087 pre-requisite: 62% in MUS2011 MUS3076 pre-requisite: 55% average in either MUS2041 or SCA2043. Proposal by Induction Week MUS3084 pre-requisite: Normally 62% average in either MUS2041 or SCA2043. Proposal by Induction Week