Module overview
Composition Fundamentals will introduce you to a range of compositional techniques and principles. We will consider different ways of creating musical ideas and different approaches to structuring, varying and developing musical ideas. In particular, we will focus on harmonic practices and short musical forms across a variety of musical styles and practices including historical and contemporary art music, jazz, pop, and film.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- compose and harmonise a melody
- compose with a range of scales and modes
- create chord sequences and control harmonic voicings
- create a coherent score using Sibelius software
- compose pieces of music in small forms in a range of different compositional styles
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- analyse tonal music from a range of different musical genres
- respond to a compositional brief
- understand and work with the techniques of a variety of tonal compositional practices
- work competently with Sibelius software
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- analyse harmonic progressions using a variety of different notation methods including Roman numeral notations and jazz/pop chord symbols
- analyse a range of compositional works and recognise a variety of music forms
- engage with a range of different ways of understanding harmony
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- a range of musical forms
- melodic construction
- Roman numerial analysis
- melodic designs and their implied harmonies
- compositional and analytical approaches in a range of musical idioms including but not limited to jazz and blues, common practice tonal procedures (including film music) and modal contemporary composition
- modal composition and minimalist composition techniques
Syllabus
The following topics will be covered (indicative list):
Melodic construction
Major and Minor modes, and a range of other scales including pentatonic and diatonic modes
Basic and more complex formal designs
Roman numeral analysis
Jazz/Pop Chord Terminology and Voicings
Minimalist Composition Techniques
Contemporary modal approaches to composition
A variety of rhythmic techniques and approaches to musical texture that relate to the breadth of compositional practices explored
Basic skills in using Sibelius software
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Average of two hours teaching time each week through a combination of lectures, small group classes and group tutorials. General pattern of two lectures each week but the teaching method changes according to the topic being covered and the stage in the module. Lectures introduce topics, practical classes consider topics further and group tutorials support the development of assignments. Sessions on Sibelius will take place in smaller groups in the Music Mac Cluster.
Type | Hours |
---|---|
Completion of assessment task | 110 |
Tutorial | 2 |
Supervised time in studio/workshop | 2 |
Follow-up work | 6 |
Preparation for scheduled sessions | 6 |
Lecture | 12 |
Practical classes and workshops | 2 |
Seminar | 6 |
Total study time | 146 |
Resources & Reading list
General Resources
Sting: Ten Summoner’s Tales. Musical works
Steve Reich: Different Trains / Piano Phase / Vermont Counterpoint. Musical works
Debussy: Voiles. Musical works
John Williams: Star Wars / Harry Potter. Musical works
Sonny Rollins: Tenor Madness. Musical works
Alan Menken: Beauty and the Beast. Musical works
Arvo Part: Tabula Rasa. Musical works
Duke Ellington: Things Ain’t What They Used To Be / Night Train. Musical works
Joni Mitchell: Both Sides Now. Musical works
Benjamin Britten: Sea Interludes. Musical works
Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time. Musical works
Textbooks
Mark Levine (1995). The Jazz Theory Book. Sher Music.
Anna Butterworth. Harmony in Practice. Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.
Olivier Messiaen (1956). The Technique of My Musical Language. A. Leduc.
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (for musical terminology).
Stephen Citron. Songwriting: A Complete Guide to the Craft.
Walter Piston. Harmony.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Writing and harmonising a theme | 50% |
Free modal composition | 50% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External