MUSI3731: Words and Music

• A-Level Music

• To enhance understanding of the relationship between music and words.
• To enhance the ability of students to reflect conceptually on musical material, forms, and performances, especially in the treatment of text and in different types of vocal production.
• To develop the ability of students to compare musical techniques and principles between different traditions and genres.
• To develop the ability of students to pursue their own independent research projects within the framework of existing theories in the area.

• This course explores the role of the human voice in a wide variety of musical traditions and genres, and of the role of words in musical expression. Topics covered, with the help of a published Reader on the topic which will serve as a key resource, will include the origins and relationship between speech and song and between instrumental music and oral mnemonics, identity and subjectivity, words and meaning in song, social and ritual functions of song, word setting, and narrative. Musical examples and case studies may include (but are not limited to) a variety of Western art and popular music (e.g. opera, Lied, country, rap), Indian and Middle Eastern art song, and a variety of ritual and context-specific forms (e.g. laments, wedding songs, healing songs, worship songs). Students will work on an original investigation of a piece or performance of music applying some of the perspectives taught in the course. Nb. This is not a practical course in singing.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Students will become familiar with a range of theories and analytical techniques, deriving from different academic traditions (especially musicology, ethnomusicology and philosophy), appropriate to a wide range of musical styles.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Students will achieve a basic competence in applying these skills practically through a series of formative exercises.
• The module will establish and embed theoretical understanding of music and vocality, while developing practical skills in analysing and commenting critically on a wide variety of music.

Key Skills:

• Students will be able to plan and implement a research project, applying approaches introduced in the module to a novel example, combining their own investigations with the ability to give and reflect on peer feedback.
• Students will be able to plan, record and upload a video presentation

• Two-hour lecture classes, occuring weekly across a single teaching term, will address 10 topics. These classes will involve a mixture of content delivery and directed student activities, including the sharing of ideas and materials through informal group presentations, class discussions, and small-group tasks.

Students will be asked to prepare two formative assessment submissions, including written work and a recorded presentation (using university-supplied software). Feedback will be given by the tutor and by peers.

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