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Overview

Course Prescription

Explores the vocabulary and techniques of 20th and 21st-century songcraft through practical interaction with Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs). Students will study a wide range of theoretical concepts directly within a DAW environment. Emphasis is placed on understanding song structure, harmony, melody and rhythm, as well as exploring how production techniques apply to modern music theory.

Course Overview

Building greater proficiency in using the tools acquired through music theory study is a vital component in ensuring tomorrows professional musicians are adept in the analysis of today’s popular music canon. The skills acquired through this pursuit are essential building blocks for the professional working musician. Continuous enquiry into the musical lexicon allows students the opportunity to extend the breadth of their musical endeavours by applying a richer, more nuanced approach to interpreting the intricacies of their fellow musicians’ work. This enables a more acute examination of their personal musical styling. This course offers the student a wide range of written, aural and practical skills to use in strengthening their understanding of the varied means of communication between musicians and of the structures and devices used to compose and present music in both current and historical contexts. 

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 24 hours of lectures, 12 hours of tutorials , 66 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 48 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Course Prerequisites, Corequisites and Restrictions

Prerequisite

Locations and Semesters Offered

LocationSemester
City

Teaching and Learning

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at scheduled activities including tutorials to receive credit for components of the course.
Lectures may be available as recordings. Other learning activities including tutorials will not be available as recordings.
The course may include live online events including group discussions/tutorials.
Attendance on campus is required for the tests.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Teaching and Learning Methods

Students will further extend their vocabulary of scales, chords and rhythms found in today’s popular music idioms. Class activities include the regular transcription, dissection and discussion of popular musical works and frame these against their historic precedents. The course promotes students’ proficiency in shifting between written and aural skill sets and supplements these with practical approaches to the organization and presentation of more esoteric musical material for performance in mainstream or academic settings. This course continues to investigate the options and logistics students require for capturing and transmitting musical ideas. Cultural, professional and pedagogical aesthetics are explored with an understanding that today’s popular music is built on a rich foundation of both physical scientific constants and the intellectual artistry of our classical forebears.
  This course consists of a two-hour music theory and aural awareness lecture per week focusing on the practical application of theory and aural skills and is conducted primarily via the Logic DAW.
Though all handouts and assignments will be online at the end of each week, students are required to take notes during classes as many of the topics taught encourage further discussion that may be relevant to testing in future assessments. CANVAS is also used to upload relevant articles, examples and links to popular music as it is released. Communication outside lecture times will be via Canvas and University email addresses. Please check regularly for class notices. Course resources will also be posted on Canvas. For information Webmail go to: Main University Homepage – For current students – “Student IT Essentials”.
Students in MUS 284 will also benefit from spending time every week practising ear-training and revising theoretical concepts.

Learning Resources

Taught courses use a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas to provide students with learning materials including reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Additional Information on Learning Resources

Access to a Logic DAW is required to complete assignments. Access to Logic is via the KMC computer lab but students are advised to also have access to Logic off-campus.

Copyright

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.


You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third-party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Similarly, research students must meet the University’s expectations of good research practice. This requires:

  • Honesty - in all aspects of research work
  • Accountability - in the conduct of research
  • Professional courtesy and fairness – in working with others
  • Good stewardship – on behalf of others
  • Transparency – of research process and presentation of results
  • Clarity - communication to be understandable, explainable and accessible

For more information on the University’s expectations of academic integrity, please see the Academic Conduct section of the University policy hub.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about taught courses is made available to enrolled students in Canvas.

Students may be asked to submit assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.


Assessment and Learning Outcomes

Additional Information on Assessment

Assignments are to be submitted, according to submission type specified on CANVAS, by the due date. If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, please complete an application for extension form at the following link

https://www.forms.auckland.ac.nz/en/student/creative-arts-and-industries/te-whare-o-ng_-pkrero-poro---school-of-music-undergraduate-exten.html

You must submit your extension application as early as possible before the assignment due date.

Late assignments that do not have an approved extension will be penalised 10% for each day or part thereof and will be automatically deducted on CANVAS. No assignment will be accepted after that assignment has been returned to students.

Course Learning Outcomes

CLO #OutcomeProgramme Capability Link
1
2
3
4
5
6

Assessments

Assessment TypeAssessment PercentageAssessment Classification

Assessment to CLO Mapping

Assessment Type123456

Student Feedback, Support and Charter

Student Feedback

Feedback on taught courses is gathered from students at the end of each semester through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions. Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students. In addition, class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Additional Information on Student Feedback

Students will receive earlier access to upcoming test overviews and associated materials.

Class representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Tuākana

Tuākana is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials, one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at Tuakana Learning Communities.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website.

Wellbeing

We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - please see the Support Services page for information on support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed work is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due. If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page. This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter.

Student Academic Complaints and Disputes

Students with concerns about teaching including how a course is delivered, the resources provided, or supervision arrangements, have the right to express their concerns and seek resolution. The university encourages informal resolution where possible, as this is quicker and less stressful. For information on the informal and formal complaints processes, please refer to the Student Academic Complaints Statute in the Student Policies and Guidelines section of the Policy Hub.