MUSI2611: Theory and Analysis

• MUSI1281 Analysis 1: Elements of Tonal Theory and Practice

• This module will build on foundational skills embedded in first-year courses to enhance understanding of music on a technical level. It aims to develop students' ability to reflect conceptually on musical material, forms, genres and processes, and to instil awareness of the continuities between analysis, historical studies, performance and composition.

• The module will explore a variety of approaches that have defined the disciplines of music theory and analysis over the past half century, applying them to the study of a diverse repertoire composed between 1700 and 1945.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Students will become familiar with a range of theories and analytical approaches pertinent to the study of music written between 1700 and 1945.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Students will gain competence in applying these skills practically through a series of formative and summative analytical projects, as well as developing an understanding of core analytical writing skills and the commonly used conventions for presenting analytical findings in a cogent manner.

Key Skills:

• The module will enhance analytical understanding, while embedding a more sophisticated knowledge of the technical aspects of musical compositions from the historical period under discussion. It also aims to equip students who wish to undertake more advanced analytical work in third year in the context of writing an extended dissertation.

• The module is taught by weekly lectures, small-group seminars, each focusing on a set work, and tutorials. Students submit one summative essay-based project testing applied knowledge, which require students to apply theoretical concepts in the analysis of repertoire.
• The weekly lectures introduce students to core concepts, illustrated by examples from the repertoire; they also demonstrate applications of theory in the analysis of repertoire in a wide range of genres. The seminars reinforce learning through small group work on focused case studies. The tutorials offer students the chance to discuss specific worked examples, in tandem with the work proposed for the formative assessments.

Two formative assignments, one towards the end of Michaelmas and one towards the end of Epiphany, which will prepare students for the summative project.

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