Bachelor of

Music with major in Songwriting

This unit continues to develop students’ conceptual knowledge and technical skills in songwriting, focusing on advanced melodic concepts and techniques, an understanding of complex harmony in popular music, and further creative and technical lyric writing concepts such as rhythm, phrasing, setting and metaphor. Students will further their ability to present their songs using industry standard lead sheets and demo recordings. Students will investigate the links between music, lyrics and meaning by analysing influential songwriters and their works. 

This unit will develop the ability to analyse and implement music production techniques. Through practical work and analysis, students undertake the production of new work and analyse and interpret their use of various techniques in the context of music production. The weekly content covers technical as well as historical contexts of music production, including the evolution of technology and recording techniques. This unit contributes to the degree by developing a deeper understanding of the techniques, aesthetics, methods and craft of music production.   

Prerequisite: PSP202 (Introduction to Music Technology)

Successful completion of this unit empowers the student with the capacity to integrate music technologies using Ableton Live within their live performance and production work. Assessment tasks aim to enable students to adapt and apply use of the tools by current artists and then produce two works: one which is a recorded and mixed piece of audio, and another work which can be integrated effectively into a three to five-minute performance piece. Students will gain an understanding of a context in which music technology is currently used for contemporary music performance and will gain experience with the technical process which enables the merging of Ableton Live into their own creative work. 

Prerequisite: PSP202 (Introduction to Music Technology)

This unit broadens the objectives of previous songwriting units, Songwriting and Arranging and Lyrics and Songwriting, incorporating an understanding of significant literary, written, aural and oral traditions and techniques of benefit to the contemporary songwriter. The purpose of this unit is to analyse the links between the modern songwriter and other types of expression in language from both the past and present, and the employment of techniques involved in the formation and execution of contemporary songs. The unit will also examine the songs of key contemporary songwriters, discovering their sources and influences to highlight artistic methodology, creativity and originality. Knowledge gained will potentially contribute to shaping each student’s approach to creative songwriting and may go on to inform their own original style. 

Prerequisite: Must have completed elective unit PSP302 (Lyrics and Songwriting) 

In building upon previous study in Composition and Arranging this unit will now introduce student to writing and arranging for Strings, Woodwind and Brass. The practical skills covered in this course require students to continue their musical notational, aural, conceptual and analytical skills in order to craft a skilled arrangement for a range of instruments. There is also a continued focus on contemporary music theory, advanced harmonic and melodic concepts.  

The purpose of this unit is to provide students with a comprehensive historical and cultural overview of Western Art Music. It is important to understand the historical context of the periods and how they influenced musical development, to enable students to communicate with other musicians and develop a conceptual framework for describing music and its stylistic characteristics. The different periods of music will be discussed and analysed looking at musical characteristics such as: use of key, harmony, instrumentation, texture, dynamics, melody, phrasing, ornamentation, articulation, form and rhythm. These musical eras will be put into context with the political, social, philosophical and artistic cultures of each period. The unit will cover ancient and medieval music to music of the 21st Century. 

Prerequisite: PSP201 (History of Popular Music)

This unit provides the student with the opportunity to look at the techniques and challenges associated in private music instruction. The unit includes development of knowledge and understanding of pedagogical techniques, lesson planning, structure and evaluation, practice techniques, student motivation, examination syllabus, physical and digital resources and planning for developing a private teaching enterprise. 

In this unit, students will develop an understanding of advanced concepts in compositional styles and apply these within the assessment tasks. The content of this unit focuses on the advanced modal, melodic and harmonic theory and compositional application within jazz and progressive contemporary music, and also the rhythmic and structural compositional methodology drawn from 20th and 21st century art music and its various sub-movements. The unit builds on skills learned by students in PSP202 Songwriting and Arranging and PSP302 Lyrics and Songwriting but expands the concepts of songwriting to include more advanced compositional concepts, with an emphasis on experimentation and using scoring as a compositional tool. Students create their own compositions which demonstrate an advanced understanding of the principles and exploration of melody, harmony, rhythm, and form and structure. 

This unit enables students to develop their conceptual knowledge and technical skills in understanding and composing music to convey specific emotions and aesthetics for a variety of productions. Students are required to apply these skills to the preparation and recording of music for a screen project. The unit follows on from the fundamental skills of composition and production that students were introduced to in previous theory and technology units. Students also develop knowledge of the relationship between music and a variety of visual scenarios and the scoring possibilities within each context. The unit looks at media involving film and television, video games, web sites, commercials, animation and other new media. Students learn how to master the technical and musical skills needed to create effective music for each type of media. During this unit there is scope for students to integrate with other departments in collaborative projects or work with pre-existing media. 

(by application only)

(Trimester 6)

Context 

At JMC Academy, students undertake a rigorous academic program of practice-based learning, into which is embedded a range of work-integrated learning activities. To complement their on-campus learning, students are also encouraged to generate their own creative work. This unit of study has been designed to formally recognise that work. Students will have access to an e-portfolio as a presentation mode for the assessable items. The unit is placed during the final study periods of the bachelor’s degree, enabling students to collect and display their best and most recent examples of their engagement with their discipline outside of their formal study.

How it works 

Students are introduced to this unit during Trimester 1 and then again in successive study periods. Students must be invited by their Head of Department to enrol in this unit; a student will only be enrolled in this unit if the Head of Department is confident that the student can meet all learning outcomes. The e-portfolio JMC students will be given access to an e-portfolio platform at no cost as part of the Microsoft365 subscription. The platform provides students with a place to curate and display their extra-curricular activities for assessment in this unit. It is not the professional portfolio students could use COL401 Internship aims to provide students with an internship opportunity that has sound educational value and provides students the chance to initiate and/or develop relationships with professionals in their discipline. COL401 allows students to prepare or consolidate their know-how to work as a professional and increase their technical and creative skills base. It also allows students to explore potential areas of employment.