Handbook home
Composition
Bachelor of MusicMajorYear: 2022
You’re currently viewing the 2022 version of this component
Composition
Contact information
Students currently admitted in this course:
Future students:
Coordinator
Stuart Greenbaum
Overview
The Composition major provides a carefully designed sequence of projects, building technique and craft in the service of articulating an emerging individual voice.
Students learn skills in writing for instrumental, vocal and electronic media, as well as how to communicate musical ideas clearly and fluently.
Students may major in Composition from first year, or apply to transfer from Performance after year 1.
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this major, students should be able to:
- situate their creative practice and aesthetic position in the contemporary compositional context;
- synthesize influences from diverse musical sources in their compositional practice;
- engage critically and productively in aesthetic dialogue within the new music community;
- apply a fluent and flexible technique to musical composition;
- collaborate effectively with other musicians on their work;
- uphold rigorous intellectual and ethical standards in composition planning, preparation and documentation;
- make confident and idiomatic compositional use of sonic resources – vocal, instrumental and electronic;
- apply critical intelligence, self-reflection and creative problem-solving to their development as composers.
Last updated: 12 November 2022
Structure
225 credit points
To obtain a major in Composition students will need to complete:
- 175 credit points of Composition core subjects including
- 50 credit points of Level 1 Composition core subjects
- 50 credit points of Level 2 Composition core subjects
- 75 credit points of Level 3 Composition core subjects
- 50 credit points of Music elective subjects including
- a maximum of 25 credit points of Level 1 Music elective subjects
Transfer Major Rules:
- Students may apply to transfer into the Composition Major from the Performance Major OR Performance (ANAM) Major.
- To transfer to Composition Major Year 2 students must:
- complete all Level 1 core subjects in the Performance Major OR Performance (ANAM) Major; and
- complete a successful folio audition for the Composition Major.
Subject lists
Level 1 core subjects
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
MUSI10047 | Music History 1: 17th & 18th Centuries | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Southbank) |
12.5 |
MUSI10231 | Composition 1 | Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank) |
12.5 |
MUSI10023 | Music Language 1: the Diatonic World |
January (Online)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)
|
12.5 |
MUSI10232 | Composition 2 | Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank) |
12.5 |
Level 2 core subjects
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
MUSI20055 | Composition 3 |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)
|
12.5 |
MUSI20198 | Music History 2: The Long 19th Century |
Summer Term (Online)
Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Southbank)
|
12.5 |
MUSI20056 | Composition 4 |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)
|
12.5 |
MUSI20061 | Music Language 2: Chromaticism & Beyond |
January (Online)
Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Southbank)
|
12.5 |
Level 3 core subjects
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
MUSI30249 | Music History 3: 20th & 21st Centuries | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Southbank) |
12.5 |
MUSI30025 | Orchestration | Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank) |
12.5 |
MUSI30031 | Electro-Acoustic Music | Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank) |
12.5 |
MUSI30213 | Composition 5 |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)
|
12.5 |
MUSI30046 | Music Language 3: Modern Directions |
January (Dual-Delivery - Southbank)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)
|
12.5 |
MUSI30214 | Composition 6 |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)
|
12.5 |
Last updated: 12 November 2022