Students

MMCC2000 – Musical Authorship and Songwriting

2025 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Co-convenor
Andrew Robson
andrew.robson@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
10HA, HUB 191 (Downstairs), Room J
Appointment via email
Co-convenor
Diane Hughes
diane.hughes@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
10HA, HUB 191 (Downstairs), Room D
Appointment via email
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

Assessment

1. Rubrics are used for all assessments and will be available on iLearn.

2. Assessment standards in this unit align with the University's grade descriptors.

3. A computer and Internet access are required. Music playback facility is also required.

Written and Performed Submissions

No songs or musical works that have been performed or analysed for assessments in other units may be used for assessment tasks in this unit.

Written components for assessment tasks must be submitted through Turnitin by the due date/time shown. 

Creative Work

The practical component of the Original Song assessment will be individually scheduled during Week 12.

Assessment tasks

  • Due to copyright, no practical assessments may be recorded or posted to social media or any online platform.

Referencing Style

For all written work, students are required to use the APA 7th referencing style for all in-text referencing, reference lists and spoken introductions. This also includes references for recorded material as appropriate.

Please use the Library databases for your own research purposes and do not use Wikipedia as a reference.

Return of marked work

Work will be marked and returned with feedback in order for students to incorporate feedback in subsequent assessments.

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 to late submissions, up until the 7th calendar 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. 

Important to note:

  • Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs) will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application.
  • Students should not request an informal arrangement from their tutor, lecturer or Unit Convenor (or equivalent).
  • Where an application for Special Consideration is approved and the outcome is an extension to the due date of a task, submissions that are received after the new due date will be subject to late penalties that are calculated from the new due date. This only applies where the outcome is an extension to the due date – see the Special Consideration Policy for a schedule of all possible outcomes.

 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Songwriting Exercises 25% No 11/04/2025
Songwriting Reflection and Justification 35% No 16/05/2025
Original Song 40% No Week 12 - individual times TBA

Songwriting Exercises

Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 11/04/2025
Weighting: 25%

 

Students will complete several songwriting exercises during class. These exercises will focus on key skills required by the contemporary songwriter and include strategies for creating lyrics, melodies 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.
  • identify and evaluate musical and lyrical components of the song.

Songwriting Reflection and Justification

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 16/05/2025
Weighting: 35%

 

For this task, students are required to reflect on the three original songs written during the course of this unit. Students will also justify the choice of song for presentation. This task requires students to consider the development and documentation of their songs. 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.

Original Song

Assessment Type 1: Creative work
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Week 12 - individual times TBA
Weighting: 40%

 

Students are required to perform or present one of the original songs written during the course unit. 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.
  • 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.

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

Teaching

Seminars run Weeks 1-11 and are 2 hours in length. There will be practical and theoretical components in all seminars.

See MQ Publish for location information.

Please note: This is in-person delivery only and no recordings of seminars will be avilable.

Readings 

  • Required readings are available through Leganto. 
  • Recommended readings will be listed on iLearn.

Individual Learning

  • Due to the practical and interactive components of this unit, students are responsible for attending weekly seminars, reading the essential readings prior to attending weekly seminars, conducting individual research and progressively working on assessment tasks throughout the semester. Students therefore need to devise a progressive schedule that enables regular practice, research and consolidation of creative ideas as appropriate. 

Feedback

  • Formal and informal feedback will be delivered throughout the session.

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 connect.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/

Academic Success

Academic Success 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 the Service Connect Portal, 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.

Changes since First Published

Date Description
14/02/2025 Updated seminar details

Unit information based on version 2025.03 of the Handbook