International Foundation Certificate in Music

The course covers the key aspects of writing an essay. These include features of academic style, the planning process, structuring an argument, summarising, paraphrasing techniques, referencing, avoiding plagiarism, and drafting and editing. Emphasis is given to the logic underlying Western academic writing conventions, rather than simply looking at the procedural aspects. This is supported by work on the main areas of English grammar, with a particular focus on improving grammatical range and accuracy in students’ writing.

Reading skills are also developed. Textual analysis enables students to learn about cohesion, extend their vocabulary, read for gist and specific information, infer meaning, as well as develop summary skills. The texts generally focus on a background to Western thought and culture, taking into account ancient Greeks and Romans, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the influence of modernity, feminism and Marxism. There is an emphasis on how to use reading in writing: to learn from other writers’ style and using their points as evidence for students’ arguments.

Please Note: English Language Development modules are only available for students whose first language is not English.

To enhance listening skills, the course makes use of a wide range of texts, drawing firstly on commercially produced EAP materials to help students acquire the skills of listening for gist and specific information and taking useful notes. Later, the course moves on recordings from Goldsmiths library as well as BBC radio shows. Students are exposed to a range of challenging and interesting recordings related to the arts, current affairs, media, education and aspects of British culture. Many of the recordings are relevant to subjects studied at Goldsmiths, for example race and ethnicity, representation, identity and culture. Where possible, the recordings are exploited for vocabulary development.

To develop speaking skills, students will have to research and give seminar presentations and lead the class through discussion of their chosen topic. They will receive input on effective seminar techniques and functional language. There is also ongoing feedback on their presentations.

In this module, you'll focus on research methodologies. You'll be given a comprehensive overview of some of the main ways that knowledge is generated within university contexts. This includes:

• Defining research questions
• Qualitative and quantitative approaches
• Research design
• Research ethics
• Good questionnaire design
• Conducting surveys, using software where appropriate
• Conducting structured and semi-structured interviews; 
• Ethnographic approaches
• Coding data
• Drawing conclusions
• Recognising limitations

You'll collaborate in small groups (3-4 students) over the academic year to design and conduct your own research project. You'll be supported and closely supervised by your module convenor, and can relate to, and extend, IFC students’ pathway studies or learning from Music foundation studies. As the projects develop, the module adopts more of a workshop approach, with some group tutorials offered. 

As well as the content focus on research, you'll explore ‘soft’ skills such as: recognising individuals’ value to a team effort, conflict resolution, pooling resources, time management, poster design, confidence building, presentation skills and self-reflection.

This module aims to develop your performance skills (particularly in solo repertoire). Lectures discuss performance-related issues (such as technical and repertorial matters; developing critical listening, how to organise rehearsals, etc.) while practice-based workshops aim to develop basic musicianship and aural skills. As a part of the module, you will also acquire recording techniques using facilities in the Music Department. 

You'll be supported by one-to-one tuition on your chosen first-study instrument or voice (12 hours per year). The tutor(s) of this module will monitor your overall progress.

This module aims to develop your musical literacy and knowledge of music theory so as to enable you to acquire analytic methods appropriate to the harmonic and formal investigation of music. Regular lectures and workshops lead to small assignments that monitor your progress. You'll submit some of those assignments for assessment in the form of a portfolio. Your learning is assisted by the use of the notational software Sibelius as well as self-learning music theory resources.

As a preparatory module for the BMus Year 1 module ‘Composition’, this module introduces you to several basic compositional techniques drawn upon compositional practices and modes of presentation from various musics.

You'll be expected to apply a selected number of those techniques in your own work and to develop your capacity for creativity by creating short exercises and an independent composition. The module also develops basic music technology skills by using a DAW for music creation.  

As a preparatory module for the BMus Music Year 1 module ‘Discovering Music’, this module introduces you to the development of music in its historical and cultural context. It explores musical repertoires of all kinds (from classical, electronic, to popular) and of all periods (from medieval, renaissance, to contemporary).

You'll focus on the stylistic/formal changes in music. As part of the module, you'll develop your understanding of diverse musical styles, and familiarise yourself with technical terms and definitions important in musical studies. As an integrated part of this module, you will be expected to develop your reading and writing skills in the English language to the standard appropriate for entry to the BMus programme.  

In the module, you will acquire skills for software packages such as Word, Powerpoint, and Zotero (a bibliographic management tool).