Students

MMCC2000 – Musical Authorship and Songwriting

2023 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Andrew Robson
andrew.robson@mq.edu.au
Contact via 9850 2120
253, 10 Hadenfeld Ave
By appointment
Lecturer
Diane Hughes
diane.hughes@mq.edu.au
Contact via +61 2 9850 2175
254, 10 Hadenfeld Ave.
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
40cp at 1000 level or above
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, and consider the ways in which musical authorship can be achieved through a variety of traditional and technology driven approaches. Students will deconstruct some of the most popular and critically regarded contemporary songs and compositions in order to better understand and facilitate their own creative techniques. Song and compositional structures will be a unit focus and topics will include lyrical, melodic, rhythmic, chordal, harmonic and musical components. In doing so, it will contribute to, 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 may enable students to work with various music technologies as relevant to their creative practice. In the context of music business, the authorship and ownership of original material through 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:

  • ULO1: identify the context of song in popular and/or world musics.
  • ULO2: analyse critically the components of song structure in a variety of contexts.
  • ULO3: analyse forms of musical authorship and the song in publishing, performance and recording contexts.
  • ULO4: create and communicate effectively through an original song.
  • ULO5: identify and evaluate musical and lyrical components of the song.
  • ULO6: demonstrate the use of various technologies as appropriate.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty 

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of‚ 0 (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. 

This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic. 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Original Song 60% No Written: 23:55pm Fri 19 May; Practical: Week 12 (times TBA)
Song Analyses 40% No 23:55pm Friday 31 March - Week 6

Original Song

Assessment Type 1: Creative work
Indicative Time on Task 2: 50 hours
Due: Written: 23:55pm Fri 19 May; Practical: Week 12 (times TBA)
Weighting: 60%

 

Each student is required to write, reflect on and document original songs written during the course of this unit. While students are expected to work on several songs during the session and document these in their process reflection, one original song is submitted for this assessment.Students are to include a written rationale for the song selected for submission. This task requires students to consider the development and documentation of song/s in relation to their musical goals. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • identify the context of song in popular and/or world musics.
  • analyse critically the components of song structure in a variety of contexts.
  • analyse forms of musical authorship and the song in publishing, performance and recording contexts.
  • create and communicate effectively through an original song.
  • identify and evaluate musical and lyrical components of the song.
  • demonstrate the use of various technologies as appropriate.

Song Analyses

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: 23:55pm Friday 31 March - Week 6
Weighting: 40%

 

Students are required to comprehensively analyse two contrasting songs. The songs may be from popular music traditions and styles or from world musics. For this assessment, a song is considered to include lyrics, melody and musical accompaniment. Refer to iLearn for further information.

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

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Lectures for this unit will commence in Week 1.

Tutorials for this unit will commence in Week 2.

Unit readings can be accessed via the Leganto link on ilearn.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2023.01R of the Handbook