MMus Composition

In this specialist module, you'll explore diverse methodologies for the generation, manipulation and control of the various musical parameters with specific focus on the realms of pitch and rhythm. No stylistic or technical orthodoxy is given particular emphasis, though the module content will necessarily be directed towards the developments of the last 40 years. Whilst systematic approaches will be discussed, these will not preclude consideration of more intuitive methods and how these might be enhanced and extended through the application of more formalised techniques.

You'll concentrate not just on note-to-note generation but also on how the foreground details of pitch choice can be projected over the duration of a work. Specific techniques such as post-serial thinking, spectral composition, stochastic techniques and sieve theory will be examined. It is of module inadvisable, if not impossible, to isolate the element of pitch from other musical parameters, and thought will be given as to how aspects of register, timbre, pacing and rhythm alter our perception and treatment of raw pitch materials. The relationship between time signatures, rhythm, tempo and texture in relation to surface activity and fundamental structure will also be discussed as a means of articulating larger scale formal units and defining /shaping musical material. Aspects of articulation, harmonic pacing, pulse and metre will also be discussed in relation to tempo and musical structure. You'll learn about specific rhythmic techniques including mensuration, modes, resultancy, metric modulation, isorhythm and the derivation of systems through manipulation of numerical and pitch patterns.

To take this module you should have: the ability to read advanced notation and scores; some knowledge of recent developments in contemporary 'classical' music and familiarity with the developments of 20^th Century compositional thought from Webern to Boulez, Stockhausen, Ligeti etc.

This module investigates the nature of musical material in relation to various musical parameters ranging from pitch, rhythm and texture to notation and instrumentation, seen as a form building elements.  The relationships obtaining between material, microstructure and larger scale formal units will be explored.

Areas to be discussed will include stochastic music, spectral composition, sound realism, microtonality, arborescence, complexity, improvisation and extended instrumental techniques. The module further explores the more recent investigations into the relationship between harmony, texture and form. Musical notations employed by composers since c. 1950 and improvisers in different fields who have (more or less) rejected Western musical notation as a tool will be studied offering an opportunity for composers to experiment and engage with different types of notations in a practical setting.

This module offers an overview of the formative debates in musicology over roughly the past three decades. Through a series of thematised readings each week, students will be introduced to a variety of issues that have permeated recent musical discourse, including gender, sexuality, race, canon, technology, performance, analysis and notation.

As well as investigating topics in art music, popular music and ethnomusicology, this module will consider other fields that have influenced musicological discourse, such as anthropology, philosophy and sociology. Throughout, students will be invited to debate the ways in which the history of music has been written: how certain music and musical cultures have entered into or been excluded from canons; how recent writing on music has attempted to redress such exclusions; and what the future of musicology might hold.

With this in mind, students will be encouraged to write essays that innovatively apply the concepts and issues explored during the module to a topic of their own devising. They will also complete two or three short reviews of a mixture of recent musicological articles and presentations given in the Music Research Series. Students should come away from this module not only with a firm understanding of the field, but also with the methods by which it has been (and is being) researched.

Contemporary music ain't what it used to be. Though always multifaceted and to some extent mongrel, the musical avant-garde is now more mixed and sprawling than ever before. And yet efforts to grasp these current tendencies within the field, as well as historical contexts, often remain stuck in bubbles of either analytical specificity or generalised postmodern speculation.

This module sets out to act as a corrective to both of these tendencies by balancing grounding analytical depth with historical and cultural breadth. Accordingly, lectures apply various analytical methods to a broad range of contemporary music both to unlock the music’s workings and to explore its position as a bridge to culture more generally speaking. The module encourages students to think about the historical development and expansion of contemporary music while using analysis to prise open broader interpretative and theoretical issues.

We focus in the first instance on post-tonal musical languages such as serialism, extended tonality and atonality. We then move on to examine proliferating styles from across the contemporary spectrum, including spectral music, sound art, noise, extreme metal, new conceptualism and improvisation.

This production-centred module provides an introduction to audiovisual composition. It covers several theoretical and practical approaches as well as video production software and techniques.

Students will learn about the history of visual music and other cultural and historical contexts for audiovisual composition. They will analyse and discuss pieces of historical significance along with modern examples.

Finally, they will produce audiovisual work using the theory and examples discussed in class to inform their compositional strategies. Production techniques taught in the module will centre on video editing and processing, but will include other aspects of production such as filming and compression for various distribution formats.

The module engages with practical and conceptual approaches to the composition of music for moving image media – commercial film, art film, television, video, and other forms. Although the module touches upon sound design and the placement of existing music within media, its central focus is music composition to moving image material.

Initial lectures will consider theories of multimedia and the aesthetics of media music, exploring the relationship of music and sound to narrative, structure and concepts in moving image media. A paired sequence of lectures followed by practice-share workshops will consider individual topics, with ensuing short coursework exercises.

Topics may include:

• narrative media scoring
• music in documentary
• library music
• the integrated soundtrack
• audiovisual incongruence and dissonance

Students are free to work within their own choice of style for any of the exercises, and will receive formative feedback and peer-feedback through the workshops. You will submit a summative portfolio of work built on coursework materials, or to your own choice of video material, including collaborations with film makers and animators both in Goldsmiths and elsewhere. A commentary is also required within the portfolio, to explain guiding concepts and content, and to place your work within a theoretical framework, as appropriate.

Contemporary music may be viewed as a collection of situated and interconnected practices, in areas including creative, performative, critical and analytical work. This module gives a broad overview of practice and discourse in late 20^th and 21^st century music, and asks you to consider: how might a musical performance contribute to discourse? How might an analytical or critical methodology be practice?

While the module will primarily focus on music stemming from a Western Art Music tradition, contemporary improvised, popular, jazz and electronic musics will also be considered, in order to invite a holistic approach to the discourses and practices that define contemporary music.

You’ll explore and develop a position via your own combination of methodologies, which may include, embodied, analytical, collaborative, (auto-)ethnographic, historical, critically reflective, sociological, and discovery-led approaches, among others. You’ll then articulate your position either as a text-based (essay) or practice-based (performance) project, and in a conference-style video presentation.

This module explores creative and technical approaches to the design of computer music systems for interactive performance, composition and/or installations in audio and audiovisual practice. The principal software used is Max (Max/MSP/Jitter), however students are welcome to use other environments for generative and interactive processes in addition to or in the place of Max, in consultation with the module coordinator. Several fundamental methods for real-time computer music are investigated, including digital signal processing, synthesis, gesture-following and machine learning. Various paradigms of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and audio-visual interaction are explored using a range of performer interfaces, within software environments and using external devices. Music Information Retrieval (MIR) and gestural control of electronics are introduced, while the paradigm of 'computer-as-creator' is explored as well using algorithmic and generative methods, including stochastic and artificial intelligence (AI) -related approaches.  

You’ll develop a creative project that explores the compositional and musical possibilities of working with real-time systems, leading to live workshop presentation, video documentation or performance.

To take this module you should be able to:

• apply basic IT skills
• demonstrate understanding of the fundamentals of digital audio
• demonstrate knowledge of studio or notated composition, and/or improvised music and/ or contemporary music performance
• use and edit basic Max patches that will be provided (students are recommended to familiarise themselves with Max prior to the module)

The aim of the module is to develop knowledge and understanding of musical performance as a research technique, particularly in relation to the music of other cultures. It will address practical, theoretical and conceptual issues concerning music performance, including issues such as the nature of musicality, processes of music learning, theories of improvisation, musical gesture and the body in music performance.

Theoretical understanding will be developed in conjunction with practical, experiential learning. You’ll develop a research-centered performance project by either learning to perform from a repertory outside your primary music culture or by developing expertise in a new area of performance practice.

This may include learning to perform a new instrument and/or genre; developing music improvisation skills; or the arrangement and performance of pieces from a particular music tradition. You’ll be required to give a short performance demonstrating the development of your performance skills and to theorise your performance practice and experiential learning in a written form.

The module combines investigation of theoretical perspectives towards musical performance (as) research with practical exploration through individual projects. It explores the diverse ways in which such practice can be informed by research and (the more challenging question) can constitute research in and of itself. A wide range of repertoires and approaches will be considered, ranging from historical performance practice issues and the challenges presented by contemporary notated scores to creative practice in the most diverse performance contexts, both physical and electronic. A central concern will be the extent to which the processes of performance should be documented, and ways in which technology can be harnessed to aid such documentation. The module will culminate in individually negotiated projects, in which elements of practice will be demonstrably related to the theoretical foundations established during the course.

The module will consist of (i) lecture/workshops with specialists across a variety of different fields (some of which may take place outside the regular timetable) and (ii) practical sessions drawing on students’ experience as performers and researchers. Each student will have the opportunity to present their project in progress at one workshop and to discuss both its practical and written elements in a one-to-one tutorial.

In addition, students will be encouraged to attend relevant research seminars, including interaction with practice-researchers from other departments in order to broaden their experience of different disciplines and approaches towards practice research. To take this module you should have experience as a performer (not necessarily at Masters level); an ability to write about performance issues in a critical and analytical manner; an ability to carry out independent research. Though the module is not restricted to any specific musical traditions, some knowledge of Western art-music repertoires and notations will be expected.

The aim of this module is to develop theoretical and critical frameworks for creative sound practice, and to engage with, apply, enact, and experiment with these ideas through practice: a process we could term 'praxis'.

We'll do this by way of lectures, discussions, and tutorials, referring to a variety of artistic practices that use sound in some way. The module explores core concepts, current thinking, and the salient historical and sociocultural contexts of these practices.

Key topics will include:

• the limits of sound
• aural diversity
• autonomous and heterogenous tendencies
• space and place
• the body
• sound technologies
• critical sound studies

This module enhances your skills in a range of studio techniques and creative methods, supported by an understanding of related key concepts. These include recording, editing and mixing, field recording, spectral manipulation, sound synthesis and placement, and electroacoustic compositional methods.

The software used includes Pro Tools, Audiosculpt, and Metasynth. Special attention is given to multi-channel sound work using the EMS Multi-channel Studio and 5.1 Studio. Issues related to technology-based composition are explored, such as listening, spatialisation, transformation, site/location and context. This module includes an opportunity to collaborate with students taking theatre writing/performance modules.

To take this module you should be able to: 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamentals of digital audio and studio-based production 2. Apply a good, working knowledge of a professional audio editor/mixer (eg. at least one of the following: Pro Tools, Logic, Digital Performer, Cubase) 3. Compose studio-based or electronic music that demonstartes an understanding of contemporary techniques and concerns

This module considers music both as the object of philosophy and as an artefact that may both engage with and communicate philosophical ideas. It does so through a joint focus on reading philosophical texts and the examination of musical ‘works’, practices, and approaches.

The module will address the intersections of these ideas through an examination of the methods of the philosophy of music—examining the ontology, epistemology, phenomenology, and aesthetics of music through these—and through key topics for the philosophy of music such as the body, the voice, materiality and instrumentality. In examining questions in these topics, you’ll draw on examples from your own musical background as well as those introduced in the module. Seminar discussions will be a key part of the work.

In addition, the module will consider world traditions of philosophy and their implications for the assessment of global music, and the intersection of aesthetics and society in the study and philosophy of musical works. Finally, the philosophy of music beyond the ‘musical’ will be considered, extending philosophical ideas about music into the experience of sound in everyday life.