Students

MMCS200 – Musical Authorship and Songwriting

2015 – S1 Day

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Diane Hughes
Lecturer
Adrian Renzo
Lecturer
Sarah Keith
Lecturer
Sarah Keith
Lecturer
Waldo Garrido
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
12cp
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
The phenomenon of 'the song' in contemporary music is undisputed. This unit will explore 'the song' in various cultural and historical contexts. Students will deconstruct some of the most popular and critically regarded contemporary compositions in order to better understand and facilitate their own creative techniques. Song structure will be a unit focus and topics will include lyrical, melodic, rhythmic, chordal and musical components, and will build on and provide links between existing Music units in music production, voice, guitar, music business, and popular music. Recording as a compositional tool, loop stations and aspects of music production will enable students to work with various music technological in their creative practice. In the context of music business, the authorship and ownership of original material through song publishing, performance and recording will be discussed.

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:

  • Demonstrate the context of the song in popular and/or world musics
  • Analyse critically the components of song structure in a variety of contexts
  • Analyse forms of authorship
  • Analyse the song in publishing, performance and recording contexts
  • Create an original song
  • Demonstrate musical and lyrical components of the song
  • Demonstrate the use of various technologies
  • Communicate effectively through an original song

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Due
Song analysis 20% Week 5, 27/03/15
Musical authorship 30% Week 8; 01/05/15
Original song 50% Week 12; 29/05/15

Song analysis

Due: Week 5, 27/03/15
Weighting: 20%

You are required to comprehensively analyse a song. The song may be from popular music traditions and styles or from world musics.

You will be assessed on:

  • Identification of the song's authorship, including date/timeframe 
  • Identification of the song's context (historical, social and/or cultural) and style
  • Analysis of song components
  • Academic writing and referencing

The essay is to be submitted through Turnitin by 5pm on the due date.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate the context of the song in popular and/or world musics
  • Analyse critically the components of song structure in a variety of contexts

Musical authorship

Due: Week 8; 01/05/15
Weighting: 30%

You are required to compare three different versions of a song. The song may be from popular music traditions and styles or from world musics. The essay will identify all the contributing creative factors (including technological) and address the following questions:

What types of authorship are evident in three versions of the song that you’ve chosen?

Why are these forms of authorship significant?

You will be assessed on:

  • Identification of the song's original authorship, including date/timeframe 
  • Identification of the context (historical, social and/or cultural) and style of each version
  • Analysis of creative components
  • Analysis of any publishing, performance and/or recording contexts
  • Academic writing and referencing

The essay is to be submitted through Turnitin by 5pm on the due date.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate the context of the song in popular and/or world musics
  • Analyse critically the components of song structure in a variety of contexts
  • Analyse forms of authorship
  • Analyse the song in publishing, performance and recording contexts

Original song

Due: Week 12; 29/05/15
Weighting: 50%

This assessment is in two parts.

Part 1

You are required to write an original song during the course of this unit. You will record the song for assessment submission. The level of production is an individual choice; for students who do not play an instrument, you may want to consider using a loop station to assist in the creation/recording of your song.

Submission for Part 1: iLearn OR Song Recording (video/audio) uploaded to YouTube/Vimeo/SoundCloud

Your final song will be submitted digitally as a audio or visual recording. This will be uploaded to iLearn (if you choose not to use public websites) OR to a site such as YouTube/Vimeo/Soundcloud . You should state where you have uploaded the file, and provide the URL if required, at the beginning in your final Part 2 journal entry. The uploaded file should be of sufficient sound quality to do justice to your song.

NOTE: Technological (i.e. all non-iLearn) aspects of recording and uploading are students’ own responsibility, and you should be confident that you have the necessary competencies to submit your song via these methods.

Part 2

You are required to write a process journal consisting of weekly entires (up to 500 words per entry) that document your musical authorship. It is expected that your journal entries will correlate to weekly course content (journal and tutorials) and any subsequent influences on your creative processes. The final entry should contain the link or information as to the location of your file. 

Submission for Part 2: Turnitin

NOTE: Both Parts 1 and 2 are to be submitted by 5pm on the due date.

You will be assessed on:

  • Effective communication of original ideas
  • ​Creative components
  • Documentation of the creative process and song context 
  • Identification of musical authorship
  • Academic writing and referencing

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate the context of the song in popular and/or world musics
  • Analyse critically the components of song structure in a variety of contexts
  • Analyse forms of authorship
  • Analyse the song in publishing, performance and recording contexts
  • Create an original song
  • Demonstrate musical and lyrical components of the song
  • Demonstrate the use of various technologies
  • Communicate effectively through an original song

Delivery and Resources

Students are required to attend weekly lectures and tutorials. The lecture is not recorded.

The weekly schedule and reading list are available on iLearn.

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/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Additional information

MMCCS website https://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/faculties_and_departments/faculty_of_arts/department_of_media_music_communication_and_cultural_studies/

MMCCS Session Re-mark Application http://www.mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download/?id=167914

Information is correct at the time of publication

 

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

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

  • Create an original song
  • Demonstrate musical and lyrical components of the song
  • Demonstrate the use of various technologies
  • Communicate effectively through an original song

Assessment tasks

  • Song analysis
  • Musical authorship
  • Original song

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

  • Demonstrate the context of the song in popular and/or world musics
  • Analyse the song in publishing, performance and recording contexts
  • Create an original song

Assessment tasks

  • Song analysis
  • Musical authorship
  • Original song

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

  • Demonstrate the context of the song in popular and/or world musics
  • Analyse critically the components of song structure in a variety of contexts
  • Analyse forms of authorship
  • Analyse the song in publishing, performance and recording contexts
  • Create an original song
  • Demonstrate musical and lyrical components of the song
  • Demonstrate the use of various technologies
  • Communicate effectively through an original song

Assessment tasks

  • Song analysis
  • Musical authorship
  • Original song

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

  • Demonstrate the context of the song in popular and/or world musics
  • Analyse critically the components of song structure in a variety of contexts
  • Analyse forms of authorship
  • Analyse the song in publishing, performance and recording contexts
  • Create an original song
  • Demonstrate musical and lyrical components of the song
  • Demonstrate the use of various technologies
  • Communicate effectively through an original song

Assessment tasks

  • Song analysis
  • Musical authorship
  • Original song

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 outcomes

  • Demonstrate the context of the song in popular and/or world musics
  • Analyse critically the components of song structure in a variety of contexts
  • Analyse forms of authorship
  • Analyse the song in publishing, performance and recording contexts
  • Create an original song
  • Demonstrate the use of various technologies
  • Communicate effectively through an original song

Assessment tasks

  • Song analysis
  • Musical authorship
  • Original song

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

  • Analyse critically the components of song structure in a variety of contexts
  • Analyse forms of authorship
  • Analyse the song in publishing, performance and recording contexts
  • Create an original song
  • Demonstrate musical and lyrical components of the song
  • Demonstrate the use of various technologies
  • Communicate effectively through an original song

Assessment tasks

  • Song analysis
  • Musical authorship
  • Original song

Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens

As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Demonstrate the context of the song in popular and/or world musics
  • Analyse the song in publishing, performance and recording contexts
  • Create an original song

Assessment tasks

  • Song analysis
  • Original song

Changes since First Published

Date Description
19/02/2015 Amended typo