Sub sections:
Undergraduate Units
MUSI 101 Fundamental Musical Processes and Structures
This unit provides students with an understanding of fundamental elements of music making such as form, texture, rhythmic design, and tonality/modality. It employs both musicological and ethnomusicological material in its examination of basic techniques and structures in music. It is taught and assessed from both creative and analytical perspectives
MUSI 105 Foundation Studies in Music Performance I
This unit is focused on core introductory level performance skills as may be required by all music students. Students will explore rehearsal techniques and methodological approaches specific to their principal instrument/voice, and will develop these towards an end-of-semester performance. Students will also practice conducting skills as related to choral ensembles and will develop knowledge of choral repertoire in Western Art Music. Students will also undertake beginning level study on instruments other than their primary instrument. All students will also undertake ensemble performance activities.
MUSI 106 Foundation Studies in Music Performance II
This unit is focused on core introductory level performance skills as may be required by all music students. Students will develop skills of concert organization and presentation. Students will also practice conducting skills as related to choral ensembles and will develop knowledge of choral repertoire in non-western choral practice. Students will also undertake beginning level study on instruments other than their primary instrument. All students will also undertake ensemble performance activities.
MUSI 107 Foundations in Music Creativity I
This unit introduces students to aspects of modality in use in the writing of melody and counterpoint through the Middle Ages. Students will learn techniques that led to the development of Western harmonic structures and practices by way of aural study and practical composition. Students will also be introduced to fundamental orchestration techniques and instrument characteristics as well as use of software common in music composition, typesetting and the classroom. There is an emphasis on aural development and perception throughout.
MUSI 108 Foundations in Music Creativity II
This unit introduces students to fundamentals of structures within Western and non-Western music. Specifically, the student will be introduced to structures within Western tertial harmony, including realisation of figured bass and chord charts, rhythmic structures in place within Western and non-Western music and practical application of music concepts through composition. There is a strong emphasis on aural perception throughout.
MUSI 109 Concepts and Approaches in the Cultural Study of Music
This unit introduces students to the cultural study of music and music criticism. Students will gain foundation knowledge in a broad range of Western and non-Western music from both the past and present. This unit consists of two modules studied concurrently. One module consists of an introduction to writing about and researching music at undergraduate level. The second module consists of foundation studies introducing the student to approaches and concepts in the cultural and critical study of music. Included in this second module are selected case studies of musical cultures from throughout the world and its history, including European art music of the 17th and 18th centuries and traditional music of Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe.
MUSI 330 Asian Musical Traditions
This unit provides a broad introduction to musical concepts and processes in Asian traditions, followed by a detailed case study of one tradition (Japan, Indonesia or India). It includes a socio-cultural perspective, as well as some practical performance of Asian music.
MUSI 331 Western Music Aesthetics and Analysis, 1789-1914
This unit introduces students to the history of aesthetics and analytical techniques for European music from the years around the French Revolution right up to the onset of the First World War. Students will gain knowledge of the role art theory (aesthetics) in music and its context within contemporary intellectual culture. Knowledge and practice of techniques (both aural and written) for analysing music from this period will be gained. There will be an emphasis on new schools of music criticism in the last twenty years in relation to this period of music, including cultural criticism, gender studies and music aesthetics. This unit develops an advanced level of knowledge and critical thinking about music in this period within the scope of undergraduate studies.
MUSI 332 The past is a foreign culture: Early European Music
This unit explores the music and culture of our European inheritance from the middle ages and renaissance on a broad, cross-disciplinary basis including social history, cultural history, aesthetics and musical analysis. As well as providing a general overview, studies in this unit will concentrate on recent trends in the research and performance of the music from this period and how our approaches to music and culture from this period are conditioned by our own social and cultural values. Scope exists in this unit to develop advanced individual knowledge at the undergraduate level about one or more topics in music of this period.
MUSI 333 Music and Migration
This unit examines a number of issues, concepts, and processes of intercultural contact in world musical traditions. Students are introduced to processes of song migration, acculturation, diffusion, syncretism and fusion through case studies of specific traditions and diasporas (including migrant groups in Australia)
MUSI 349 Advanced Studies in Music Performance III
This unit is focused on the relationship between notation and musical performance. Students will develop skills of performance with a specific emphasis on developing skills of interpretation related to various scores and notated sources. Students will also practice aural skills as related to notation practice and transcription. Special study in the area of percussion traditions within both western and non-western traditions will also form a component within the unit. All students will also undertake ensemble performance activities.
MUSI 351 Advanced Studies in Music Performance IV
This unit is focused on the relationship between improvisation and musical performance. Students will develop skills of performance with an emphasis on understanding the practice of improvisation. Students will also practice conducting skills as related to instrumental ensembles. All students will also undertake ensemble performance activities.
MUSI 352 Advanced Studies in Music Performance I
This unit is focused on historically and culturally informed performance practice in music. Students will develop skills and concepts related to the performance of repertoire from historically or culturally ‘distant’ traditions. In the Western tradition, students will focus on the Baroque and the Classical. A variety of options exist for those trained outside the Western tradition. Students will also practice aural skills as related to notation practice and transcription. Special study in the area of percussion traditions within both western and non-western traditions will also form a component within the unit. All students will also undertake ensemble performance activities.
MUSI 353 Advanced Studies in Music Performance II
This unit is focused on musical performance in small ensembles. Students will develop skills of performance with an emphasis on understanding the dynamics of group performances. Students will also practice skills of accompaniment and conducting as related to their own performance practice. All students will also undertake ensemble performance activities.
MUSI 354 Advanced Music Creativity III
This unit focuses on three primary areas, advanced harmonic studies, transcription and composition. The higher level harmonic studies aspect focuses on chordal extension and substitution and further keyboard harmony. Transcription considers the translation of music from one instrument’s repertoire to another through in depth study and practical application, including non-Western and aural transcription. Composition has a focus on Australian music, particularly of the last 25 years.
MUSI 355 Advanced Music Creativity IV
This unit has three primary areas of focus, Advanced modal concepts, involving studies in jazz and Messiaen’s modes of limited transposition, arrangement for jazz/concert band and composition. The composition focus is on technology and music, with considerations given to the influence of technology (other than instrument design) on composers and performers, not just in recent times but throughout Western music history.
MUSI 356 Advanced Music Creativity I
This unit focuses on post-tonal music from the 20th and 21st centuries, through studies in practical music composition as well as analytical method. Also, students will be introduced to practices used in writing imitative counterpoint, from both tonal and non-tonal perspectives.
MUSI 357 Advanced Music Creativity II
This unit focuses on practical applications of technology in music, primarily in instrument design and technology and its subsequent impact on composers and performers. Students will design and create their own instruments, suitable for use in the classroom environment, and learn practical arrangement techniques for classroom ensemble. There is also a focus on computers and loop-based composition, with consideration given to aspects and influence of non-Western music present in this genre
MUSI 358 The Song
This is a thematic unit focused on song style and structure across both time and place. It examines various song genres from mediaeval chanson to German Lieder, Australian aboriginal song cycles and pop songs. The unit considers a variety of issues including vocal technique, text-tune relationships, song accompaniment, song writing, and song as poetry.