Students
MUS 230 – African Drumming
2014 – S3 External
General Information
Download as PDF
| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Tony Lewis
|
|---|---|
| Credit points |
Credit points
3
|
| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
15cp or MUS229
|
| Corequisites |
Corequisites
|
| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
|
| Unit description |
Unit description
This unit is a practical and theoretical unit in the ensemble drumming of West Africa, which investigates three different traditions from Ghana. Participants receive direct hands-on tuition in these traditions from an experienced practitioner, and where possible, on authentic instruments. The unit focuses strongly on interlocking networks of simple support parts, which combine to create complex and sophisticated rhythmic structures, and further investigates the phenomena of polyrhythm, polymetre and rhythmic ambiguity in African drumming. The unit considers the instruments of the ensembles, the social role and value of the drumming, and it also looks at certain extra-musical considerations, such as dance, language, and ritual, and how these influence the music. Reading and theoretical work are required, including transcription of given rhythms.
|
Important Academic Dates
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Apply skills of physical and mental co-ordination in a collective and co-operative context
- Identify and discuss abstract structures in music and rhythm
- Recognise and reproduce interlocking rhythms and polyrhythm
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between music and society in Africa
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between aural timed-based phenomena, and visual static representations of the phenomena
General Assessment Information
Attendance
Full attendance at all periods of this unit is compulsory. Attendance at all appointed periods is a requirement of this unit. The reasons for this policy are:
- The unit is strongly practical, and as a Session 3 Unit, the brief contact time is necessarily intensive. Consequently, any time missed will compromise the student's progress.
- We are working with music forms that rely very much upon ensemble integration. The only way to learn this is by working in ensemble with your fellow students, and that means being in the classroom.
- There is a high demand for places in this unit, and each year the numbers are capped. When the cap is reached, we have to turn students away. When students fail to attend sessions, it is quite unfair to the many students who would very much like to take their place.
This policy will be strictly enforced. Any student who thinks they may have a problem with attendance is strongly advised to consider enrolling in the MUS230 Semester 2 Unit instead.
A roll call will be taken at the beginning and end of each period.
Assignment submission
Completion of all assessment tasks is a requirement of this unit.
Assignments will be either completed online (Online Test), submitted through iLearn (Short Essay), submitted in class (Transcription Portfolio), conducted in class (Practical Exercise), or conducted by the Exams Unit (Written Exam).
When submitting your essay, you are strongly advised to write your name and student number on each page, to number each page (in case of separation), and to keep a copy of your submission.
Your essay must be word processed and must use correct spelling and grammar. Australian English is highly preferable to American English, and SMS-style abbreviations are not acceptable.
Referencing: The MMCCS requires all students to use the Harvard referencing system. A document outlining the Harvard system is available on this unit's iLearn website. Make sure that you use correct referencing procedures, and acknowledge all documents to which you refer – this includes books, tapes, records, CDs, videos, DVDs, CD-ROMs and websites.
Please ensure that you write your name on each submission to you Transcription Portfolio.
Extensions and penalties
Assignments should be submitted or performed on the date designated. Work handed in late, without an approved extension will be subject to a loss of 10% of the assignment mark for every day it is overdue. Weekends count as two days. Extension forms will not be signed on or after the day an assignment is due. Resubmissions will only be granted in exceptional circumstances and at the convenor's discretion.
Returning assignments
Marked assignments will be returned to you through the designated portals on iLearn.
Assessment Tasks
| Name | Weighting | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Online Test | 10% | Week 2 |
| Transcription Portfolio | 15% | Twice daily in on-campus days |
| Practical Exercise | 30% | Friday January 16th, 2015 |
| Short Essay | 15% | Friday January 23rd, 2015 |
| Written Exam | 30% | Exam Week |
Online Test
Due: Week 2
Weighting: 10%
Task: 1. Online Test
Weight: 10%
Open: Week 2 - Monday December 15th to Friday December 19th, 2014
Students will complete this online test before the first on campus session.
Access and Process
The test will be accessible through a portal in the Assessment topic block of the unit’s iLearn site. It will be open from 12.05am on Monday December 15th to 11.55pm on Friday December 19th, 2014.
Students can access the test any time during this period. Each student has three hours of access time to the test. You can save your progress at any point and return to it later, but please note that your time does not “pause” while you are logged out. Your access time will expire three hours after you have first logged in.
When you have completed all questions, then you may hit the “submit” button. Please be aware that once you have hit “submit”, you cannot re-enter the test.
Content
The test consists of 40 multiple-choice questions, each with four possible answers. Each question pertains to the unit’s core reading: Lewis (2012), Chapters 1 to 3. The questions are drawn randomly from a large question bank, so no two students will necessarily see the same questions in the same order. The multiple choice answers will also be ordered randomly.
Questions are set in five categories, being:
- General
- Event, Cognition, Symbolism
- Establishing a Language
- Theory and Notation
- Rhythm Archetypes
Marking
The quiz marks itself automatically, according to whether or not you have selected the correct answer to each question (and there is only one correct answer in each case). You will be given your result immediately upon completing the quiz (i.e. upon hitting the “submit” button). Each question is worth 0.25 marks, so the 40 questions add up to 10 marks – which accords to the 10% weighting of the assessment task in the unit.
Criteria for Assessment
- Correct answers to questions
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Identify and discuss abstract structures in music and rhythm
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between music and society in Africa
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between aural timed-based phenomena, and visual static representations of the phenomena
Transcription Portfolio
Due: Twice daily in on-campus days
Weighting: 15%
Task: 2. Transcription Portfolio
Weight: 15%
Conducted: Twice daily in on-campus days
Your task is to transcribe a series of rhythm patterns that will be given to you twice daily in on-campus days – or every second on campus session – on both lecture and tutorial days. By the end of the unit you will therefore have a portfolio of 8 transcriptions.
On each occasion you will be presented with a different rhythm pattern (delivered aurally), and you will be asked to make a transcription on the spot and hand it to you lecturer immediately. The patterns given to you will be comparatively simple at the beginning of the unit, but will increase in complexity, as your aural skills and rhythmic understanding develop.
You may use any system of notation that you choose for each transcription. You may use conventional notation, any system that is presented to you during the course of the unit, or that you have encountered in your further research, or you may devise your own system. (If using a system from outside the unit material, make sure that you include a key, or some explanation of how your system works and what your symbols represent.) The most important requirement is that your transcription in each case accurately reflects the critical features and characteristics of the given rhythm pattern, in accordance with the terms and guidelines given to you in the unit’s lecture material. It should also be clear and easy to interpret.
Your transcription each week will necessarily be hand-written/drawn, although you may choose to do it on music manuscript paper, lined writing paper, or a blank white sheet. Please ensure, however, that you present each weekly submission on a single page of A4 paper identified with your name, the date, and the session number. This will allow your lecturer to scan each submission, and present you with scanned copies of your marked work after each day. You will then be able to build these returns into a portfolio through which you can track your own development through the unit.
Your marked transcriptions will be returned to you through an assigned dialogue forum in iLearn. Each week’s exercise will be marked out of 10, adding up to a mark out of 80 for the full portfolio. That marked will be reduced to a final mark out of 15 for the weighting of the assessment task within the unit.
Criteria for Assessment
- Accuracy of representation with regard to the musical example notated
- Effectiveness of the notation in communicating the important musical qualities, including easiness to read
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Identify and discuss abstract structures in music and rhythm
- Recognise and reproduce interlocking rhythms and polyrhythm
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between aural timed-based phenomena, and visual static representations of the phenomena
Practical Exercise
Due: Friday January 16th, 2015
Weighting: 30%
Task: 3. Practical Exercise
Weight: 30%
Conducted: 9.30am to 12 noon, Friday January 16th, 2015
Your task is to perform a selected set part from the repertoire studied during the unit, in an ensemble context. A particular part from one of the drumming traditions studied will be nominated as the assessment part, and all students will be assessed on the same part. During the assessment performance, students will also make up the relevant ensembles around the assessment part, so as to create a musical context for them. Each student will be expected to sustain each selected part in performance for about three minutes.
This exercise will be conducted in the class, on the morning of Assessment Day, the final on-campus day of the unit, Friday January 16th, 2015 (Period 7).
Procedure: The class is arranged so that up to 6 students at a time play the assessment part, while other students form the relevant ensemble around them. In this way we run the assessment part in sections, until all students have performed it. The teaching staff videos these performances so that, on the day, they can concentrate on managing the procedure, rather than on assessing you on the spot. The teaching staff then assesses you all from the video, which allows us to make detailed observations on your performance.
Criteria for Assessment
- Rhythmic accuracy and fluency in the execution of the given part
- Correct and appropriate performance technique(s), including hand/sticking structure, hand/sticking shapes and positions, sound and pitch qualities
- Appropriate rhythmic relationships of the performed parts to the accompanying parts within the ensemble
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Apply skills of physical and mental co-ordination in a collective and co-operative context
- Identify and discuss abstract structures in music and rhythm
- Recognise and reproduce interlocking rhythms and polyrhythm
Short Essay
Due: Friday January 23rd, 2015
Weighting: 15%
Task: 4. Short Essay
Weight: 15%
Due: 5pm, Friday January 23rd, 2015
Important Note: You will need to begin your reading for the unit well before the first on-campus day, in order to complete this assessment task.
Write a short essay (800 words) that addresses one of the following topics:
- Lewis (2012, pp.5-6) refers to “event, cognition and symbolism”. Elaborate on your understanding of these terms, and the respective roles they may play in your learning in this unit. (Read: Lewis 2012.)
- In your readings, how many different African names and spellings have you found for the Ga instrument that we refer to in English as the “gourd rattle” (or sometimes in the literature as just a “rattle”, or a “rattle strung with beads”)? How do you make sense of the wide range of names? Which names do you find more credible than others, and why? (Read: DjeDje 1998 p.463, Hampton 1982 p.79, Rentink 2003 p.43, Zabana 1997 Kpanlogo p.1.)
- Chernoff (1991, p.1098) and Lewis (2012, pp.45-46) each give differing explanations of the qualitative relationship between the so-called “clave” pattern and the “standard African pattern”. How do their respective interpretations differ? (Read: Chernoff 1991, Lewis 2012.)
This is a short essay, and can be completed with no further research outside the readings identified against each option above. You may of course conduct further research outside these readings, but please do not use internet sources unless they are identified in your Required Readings or Recommended Further Readings for this unit.
Submission
Please submit your essay as a pdf file via the designated portal in the Assessment topic block of iLearn. Your marked essay will be returned to you through the same portal.
Criteria for Assessment
- Evidence of engagement with the nominated readings
- Demonstrated understanding of the concepts and principles of African drumming that the unit focuses on
- Demonstrated understanding of the language that the unit uses to explain and evaluate these concepts, and appropriate use of them
- Clarity of expression in written form, and correct use of referencing, grammar and spelling, etc.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Identify and discuss abstract structures in music and rhythm
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between music and society in Africa
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between aural timed-based phenomena, and visual static representations of the phenomena
Written Exam
Due: Exam Week
Weighting: 30%
Task: 5. Written Exam
Weight: 30%
Due: Exam Week (January 27th to February 6th, 2015)
The date, time and venue will be set by the Exams Unit
Students will take a written exam on the unit material. The content will concern material that has been taught directly in the unit, or that is in your required readings.
The exam consists of:
- 20 short answer questions
- 4 medium answer questions (100-150 words each answer)
- 1 long answer question (200-250 words)
The exam will be scheduled and conducted by the University Exams Unit, and students will be advised by that unit of the schedule and location.
Criteria for Assessment
- Correct answers to questions
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Identify and discuss abstract structures in music and rhythm
- Recognise and reproduce interlocking rhythms and polyrhythm
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between music and society in Africa
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between aural timed-based phenomena, and visual static representations of the phenomena
Delivery and Resources
Delivery: Day
Online Presence: This unit has an online presence. Login is via: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/
Students are required to have regular access to a computer and the internet. Mobile devices alone are not sufficient.
It is your responsibility to make sure you receive all communications posted on iLearn. Whenever a forum post is made, or any private communication is sent to you through iLearn, you will received notification of that via an email to your @students.mq.edu.au email address – unless you have them turned off in your personal iLearn settings. If you do that, then you must check iLearn regularly for posts. If you don’t check your student email, then please make sure that emails sent there are forwarded to your preferred email address. The bottom line is that your unit convenor must be able to presume that you have received all communication sent through iLearn, and your failure to check it is not considered an excuse for not having important information.
For technical support go to: http://mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/informatics/help
For student quick guides on the use of iLearn go to: http://mq.edu.au/iLearn/student_info/guides.htm
This unit does not use Echo360, as classes are practical and interactive. These qualities do not translate through the detached media.
Times and Locations for Lectures and Tutorials
The unit will be run in intensive mode over seven days: Monday January 5th to Friday Wednesday January 7th, 2015, and Tuesday January 13th to Friday January 16th, 2015. Each student will be required to attend for five of these seven days – the two Lecture Days, Assessment Day, and two of the Tutorial Days (according to your tutorial groups).
There are four periods each day, apart from Assessment Day – see the full schedule immediately above.
All classes will be held in Building Y3A, Rooms 187 and 184. We convene each day in room 187.
For current updates, lecture times and classrooms please consult the MQ Timetables website: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au.
Required and recommended resources
Drumsticks – Students are required to bring a pair of drumsticks to each class (no special type is required – the cheapest you can find will suffice).
Please also bring your own note taking materials, and I strongly recommend that you keep a folder for the teaching materials that are handed out in the course of the unit. You will sometimes be asked to make notes on these materials, and revisit them at a later date.
Female students are advised that they may be more comfortable in trousers than in skirts or dresses, in consideration of the playing positions of some of the instruments.
Readings – All required readings for this unit are available either through the Macquarie University Library's e-Reserve, or else through external websites. It is each student's responsibility to ensure that they have access to all required reading material.
Supplementary materials, including lecture support videos and website links, are available through the unit's iLearn website.
Free music notation software – Students wanting to use a music notation software program may like to try MuseScore, which is a free download from: http://musescore.org/
Free blank manuscript paper – Students wishing to use blank music manuscript paper to write on may download blank pages in pdf format from this website: http://hindson.com.au/info/free/free-blank-manuscript-paper/
MUS230 2014 S3 Required and Recommended Reading:
A list of required readings is given below, and a substantial list and further recommended readings is available to enrolled students through the unit's iLearn site.
Because of the short and intensive contact time of this unit, students are expected to read the required readings well before the on-campus sessions. Your first assessment task (Online Test) is based on the core reading (Lewis 2012), and you are required to complete this Test before we convene on-campus.
All required readings are available through the Macquarie University Library’s e-Reserve, and/or through external websites. Most of the recommended further readings are also available on e-Reserve, but copyright restrictions prevent me from supplying them all through that system.
Further notated resources and procedural and support documents are available on the unit’s iLearn site.
NB: To access the Macquarie University Library’s e-Reserve system, go first to the Library home page (www.lib.mq.edu.au). Enter MUS230 in the e-Reserve dialogue box, and search. A list of accessible documents will come up. You will need your user name and password to access them. Having gained access, you can read the documents online or download them.
Required Reading:
Anku, W. (1997). “Principles of Rhythm Integration in African Drumming” in Black Music Research Journal, vol.17 no.2 (Autumn 1997), pp.211-238.
Chernoff, J.M. (1991). “The Rhythmic Medium in African Music” in New Literary History, Vol.22 No.4, Papers from the Commonwealth Center for Literary and Cultural Change (Autumn 1991), pp.1093-1102.
Jones, A.M. (1959). Studies in African music. 2 Vols. London: Oxford University. (Read the extracts that are on e-Reserve.)
Ladzekpo, C.K. (1995). Foundation Course in African Dance-Drumming. http://home.comcast.net/~dzinyaladzekpo/Foundation.html –
See especially the pages:
“Drums and Drumming” (http://home.comcast.net/~dzinyaladzekpo/Drums.html), “Rhythmic Principles” (http://home.comcast.net/~dzinyaladzekpo/PrinciplesFr.html)
and further sub-pages to these.
Lewis, A.D. (1999-2011). Rhythmic ambiguity in the Dagbamba drumming of Ghana, west Africa. Unpublished thesis. Chapter 5 “Form and Structure in Dagbamba Drumming” (pp.33-51), and Chapter 6 “Rhythmic Orientation and Rhythmic Ambiguity in Dagbamba Drumming” (pp.52-84).
Lewis T. (2012). Chapter 1 “The Fundamentals of Rhythm”, Chapter 2 “Symbolism”, and Chapter 3 “Some Rhythm Archetypes” – draft chapters from forthcoming book.
Lewis, T. (2013) “Constructions upon Ashanti Adowa”. In press.
Nketia, J.H.K. (1988). The music of Africa. London: Victor Gollancz. – Three excerpts from this text: 1) “Membranophones” (pp.85-91); “Organization of instrumental ensembles” (pp.111-115); 3) “The rhythmic basis of instrumental music” (pp.125-139).
Rentink, S. (2004). Kpanlogo. Conflict, identity crisis and enjoyment in a Ga drum dance. M.A. thesis, University of Amsterdam, pp.28-46. (https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/8503960/conflict-identity-crisis-and-enjoyment-in-a-ga-drum-dance)
Unit Schedule
Daily Schedule
There will be four 90 minute periods each day, between 9.15am and 4.45pm.
Assessment Day consists of one 2.5 hour period.
9.15-10.45am Period .1 (90 mins)
Break 15 mins
11am-12.30 pm Period .2 (90 mins)
Lunch 1hour
1.30-3pm Period .3 (90 mins)
Break 15 mins
3.15-4.45pm Period .4 (90 mins)
Full Schedule
Please note that the days you are required to attend depend upon which tutorial group you are enrolled in. Please ensure that you know your tutorial group and your appointed days.
DAY Tutorial groups to attend:
Day 1 (Monday January 5th, 2015) Lectures All students
Lecturer: Tony Lewis
Period 1.1: Lecture 1 Introduction and Overview
Period 1.2: Lecture 2 Understanding Rhythm
Period 1.3: Lecture 3 Ga Kpanlogo
Period 1.4: Lecture 4 Ashanti Adowa
Day 2 (Tuesday January 6th, 2015) Tutorials A
Tutors: Jess Ciampa and Leigh Giles
Period 2.1: Ga Kpanlogo
Period 2.2: Ga Kpanlogo
Period 2.3: Ashanti Adowa
Period 2.4: Ashanti Adowa
Day 3 (Wednesday January 7th, 2015) Tutorials B
Tutors: Jess Ciampa and Leigh Giles
Period 3.1: Ga Kpanlogo
Period 3.2: Ga Kpanlogo
Period 3.3: Ashanti Adowa
Period 3.4: Ashanti Adowa
Day 4 (Tuesday January 13th, 2015) Lectures All students
Lecturer: Tony Lewis
Period 4.1: Lecture 5 Ewe drumming
Period 4.2: Lecture 6 Dagbamba drumming
Period 4.3: Lecture 7 Ga Kpanlogo
Period 4.4: Lecture 8 Ashanti Adowa
Day 5 (Wednesday January 14th, 2015) Tutorials A
Tutors: Jess Ciampa and Leigh Giles
Period 5.1: Ga Kpanlogo
Period 5.2: Ga Kpanlogo
Period 5.3: Ashanti Adowa
Period 5.4: Ashanti Adowa
Day 6 (Thursday January 15th, 2015) Tutorials B
Tutors: Jess Ciampa and Leigh Giles
Period 6.1: Ga Kpanlogo
Period 6.2: Ga Kpanlogo
Period 6.3: Ashanti Adowa
Period 6.4: Ashanti Adowa
Day 7 (Friday January 16th, 2015) Assessment Day All students
Assessment staff: Tony Lewis, Jess Ciampa and Leigh Giles
Period 7: 9.30am-12 noon: Practical exercise
Policies and Procedures
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Student Code of Conduct
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Student Support
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Student Services and Support
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
Student Enquiries
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
IT Help
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Graduate Capabilities
Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative
We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Apply skills of physical and mental co-ordination in a collective and co-operative context
- Identify and discuss abstract structures in music and rhythm
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between music and society in Africa
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between aural timed-based phenomena, and visual static representations of the phenomena
Assessment tasks
- Online Test
- Transcription Portfolio
- Practical Exercise
- Short Essay
- Written Exam
Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Apply skills of physical and mental co-ordination in a collective and co-operative context
- Identify and discuss abstract structures in music and rhythm
- Recognise and reproduce interlocking rhythms and polyrhythm
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between music and society in Africa
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between aural timed-based phenomena, and visual static representations of the phenomena
Assessment tasks
- Online Test
- Transcription Portfolio
- Practical Exercise
- Short Essay
- Written Exam
Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Identify and discuss abstract structures in music and rhythm
- Recognise and reproduce interlocking rhythms and polyrhythm
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between music and society in Africa
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between aural timed-based phenomena, and visual static representations of the phenomena
Assessment tasks
- Online Test
- Transcription Portfolio
- Practical Exercise
- Short Essay
- Written Exam
Problem Solving and Research Capability
Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcome
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between aural timed-based phenomena, and visual static representations of the phenomena
Assessment tasks
- Online Test
- Transcription Portfolio
- Short Essay
- Written Exam
Creative and Innovative
Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Apply skills of physical and mental co-ordination in a collective and co-operative context
- Recognise and reproduce interlocking rhythms and polyrhythm
Assessment tasks
- Transcription Portfolio
- Practical Exercise
- Written Exam
Effective Communication
We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Identify and discuss abstract structures in music and rhythm
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between music and society in Africa
- Analyse and evaluate the relationships between aural timed-based phenomena, and visual static representations of the phenomena
Assessment tasks
- Online Test
- Transcription Portfolio
- Practical Exercise
- Short Essay
- Written Exam