Postgraduate Course: Music on Screen (MUSI11045)

Course Outline
School	Edinburgh College of Art	College	College of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)	Availability	Not available to visiting students
SCQF Credits	20	ECTS Credits	10
Summary	This course is designed to introduce Masters students from a number of programmes to key issues concerning the composition, analysis, and interpretation of music for screen(s). We have elected to use the term żscreenż purposely in that it allows discussion of a variety of formats and institutional frameworks (e.g. feature films and cinema, shorts and YouTube, television, audiovisual commercials, videogames, web-pages), though we expect the primary focus will be on music for film. The course is core for students on the MSc Composition for Screen programme, but is also optional for students on the following programmes: MSc Film Studies, MMus Musicology, MMus Composition, MSc Sound Design. As a result, we do not require that students be able to read or analyse music notation in order to take the course. The course is organized around a series of lecture-seminars, set readings and screenings. Students will be asked to lead on specific issues with the support and guidance of staff. We hope to run at least one class as a debate, exploring contrasting responses to the music for a specific film/format such as are available for The Piano (1993), for example, or defending/critiquing musical approaches for specific formats, such as video-games. For such classes, readings will be distributed, with students required to speak for (and against) the article they have been assigned.
Course description	Not entered

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	None

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2015/16, Not available to visiting students (SS1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Learning and Teaching Activities
Assessment (Further Info)	Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Assessment Methods
Additional Information (Assessment)	Assignment 1 (weighted at 25%) Analysis of a sequence chosen by the tutors (due during week 6) up to 2000 words. Assignment 2 (weighted at 25%). Presentation (during class time, in second teaching block) Assignment 3 (weighted at 50%) Essay 3000 words - due week 12/13 (exam weeks on timetable)
Feedback	Not entered
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
Aims: * To introduce students to a broad literature relating to music on screen and the variety of formats that includes * To bring together students from a variety of programmes for whom music on screen is relevant, and to assist them in developing the skills necessary to talk about music on screen in an articulate and relevant manner * To offer students the opportunity to articulate their understanding of key issues through guided discussion and debate, and ultimately through formal assessment * To develop skills in critical thinking and in developing a well-formed argument with the support of relevant audio-visual and written evidence. Learning outcomes: Students who have successfully completed this course will: * Demonstrate their understanding of a wide range of contemporary and historical academic writing concerning music on screen * Demonstrate that they are able to use this knowledge in a sophisticated manner to articulate and develop cogent arguments concerning the aesthetics of music on screen * Demonstrate awareness of historical, technological, and economic issues affecting the development of music composed for a variety of screens (e.g. film, television, videogames, web-pages) * Demonstrate their ability to use audio-visual evidence in the development of musicological arguments.