Music BMus(Hons)

You will learn how to be a successful and confident independent researcher, gaining the skills to investigate music and musicians across a range of styles and genres appropriate to your course. Lectures and seminars will explore the musical links between aesthetics, society, politics, and technology, and you will focus your coursework on repertoire and issues that matter to you.

This module will provide you with a grounding in the basic skills of musical analysis through the study of classical music of the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Both printed scores and recordings will be studied in order for you to develop the complementary skills of score-based analysis and of aural analysis and critical listening.

Seminars and small group tutorials will help you explore the fundamentals of musical composition - melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre and texture - supported by performances and workshops by visiting artists and ensembles. Preliminary exercises will help you develop your creative skills towards an original portfolio of compositions for piano, voice, and strings.

This module will introduce you to relevant techniques and technologies for computer-based music production, including sequencing, sampling, arrangement, and a variety of other sound processing techniques. A range of practical work - both technical and creative - will develop your critical listening and production skills, and seminars will support you in applying these techniques to your own creative work.

Students will explore a variety of stylistic compositional approaches from Baroque to Twentieth Century. These will be undertaken from a practical perspective through listening to recordings, analysing scores and undertaking compositional exercises applicable to particular stylistic models under discussion. The emphasis will not be on originality but in developing a heightened sense of stylistic awareness through the close examination of a work’s instrumentation and compositional materials as well as its form and structure.

This module equips you with the skills needed for success as a contemporary songwriter. You will learn about lyric and melody writing, chord progressions and song structure. Using different arrangements, and a variety of compositional and vocal techniques, you will explore a range of songwriting styles and genres, helping you to develop your own individual creative voice.

A musical stage work requires collaboration from all kinds of creative practitioners, from composers and performers, through to writers, choreographers, directors, sound engineers, and publicists. This module will equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to analyse opera, musical theatre, and multimedia performance from the early 1600s to the present day.

This module introduces you to the early history of song before 1600, from the courtly love lyrics of the troubadours to the development of vocal polyphony. Drawing on the history of literature, religion, and art as well as music, you will have the opportunity to learn early notation and prepare your own editions of music, as well as to support your work through participation in our Early Music Ensemble. Assessment options include essay, analysis, presentation, and performance tasks.

This module explores a range of topics in popular music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. You will gain in-depth knowledge of pop from a variety of musical, cultural, and technological perspectives, with case studies ranging from rock ‘n’ roll and Philly soul through to hip-hop, chart pop, and electronica.

Historical Performance explores a range of concepts relevant to both performers and musicologists, including investigating original performing conditions, changes in performance styles and trends, the evolution of instruments, and the history of music notation. Working towards a variety of written and practical assessment options, you will gain understanding of diverse performance contexts and approaches, and get hands-on experience of working with archival materials and sources.

Experimental Music will introduce you to new ideas and works from a range of radical and exciting musicians. No performing experience is required – just an open mind and willingness to experiment! Classes will include a variety of hands-on opportunities to make music, and you will be assessed through coursework tasks that include options for written work, presentations, compositions, and performances.

Vienna was a turbulent centre of social, political, and creative activity around the turn of the 19th century. This module will examine the city's cultural and musical life , including the work of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and a host of less well-known composers. Alongside musical developments, you will also gain insight into the wider artistic, cultural and philosophical ideas which shaped the period of the ‘Age of Enlightenment’ and the first decades of Romanticism.

Vietnamese pop, Baltic folk music, the British Bhangra scene, Aboriginal country music - popular music varies hugely across the globe. Drawing on techniques from ethnomusicology, anthropology, and post-colonial studies, you will gain the analytical tools to understand diverse musical styles and place them within their social and political contexts. You will also investigate the wide-ranging, multicultural musical life of Huddersfield itself, working with a group from the local area as a musical collaborator, ethnographer, or producer.

This module will introduce you to a range of techniques for analysing both tonal and non-tonal music, including Schenkerian analysis and pitch-class set theory. Classes will explore the theories behind these approaches and give you plenty of practice in their practical application. The module is assessed through coursework analyses of two pieces of piano or chamber music.

This module will provide further study of the techniques of computer-based music production. Techniques examined in-depth will include synthesis, sequencing, sampling, editing, processing and mixing, as well as their creative application. You will also explore pre/post production and arrangement, covering these topics through practical technical and creative work that will improve your techno-fluency as well as your ability to listen critically. Seminars support you in applying different production techniques to your creative ideas, leading towards a coursework portfolio for assessment.

Supported by regular individual lessons with one of our professional visiting instrumental and vocal teachers, you will develop your technical skills and musical insight as a solo performer. An in-lesson technical test and end of year recital will be used to assess your progress, and you will participate in a range of masterclasses and workshops.

You will choose two practical options from an array of ensembles, bands, and approaches to performance. Options typically range from conducting, music theatre, and improvisation through to groups like orchestra, big band, brass band, classical and pop choirs, and a huge variety of pop, rock, soul, funk, and folk bands. Specialist performance tutors will coach you towards assessed performances that are open to the public.

You will choose one practical option from an array of ensembles, bands, and approaches to performance. Options typically range from conducting, music theatre, and improvisation through to groups like orchestra, big band, brass band, classical and pop choirs, and a huge variety of pop, rock, soul, funk, and folk bands. Specialist performance tutors will coach you towards assessed performances that are open to the public.

This module gives you a detailed understanding of the specialist compositional and arrangement techniques for brass band and symphonic wind orchestra. Practical workshops and class discussions will give you professional skills in working in collaborative situations, scoring techniques, and critical reflection. You will also study key works composed or arranged for brass and wind ensembles, drawing together these analytical and practical skills in your own portfolio of creative work for assessment.

Working towards a coursework portfolio of your own creative work, you will learn about a range of a range of approaches to orchestration from the Baroque to the present day. Classes will explore the characteristics of individual instruments and strategies for combining them, including issues of balance, voicing, doubling, and effective control of orchestral textures.

This module explores the role of the musician in a range of informal and formal music education contexts. You will develop the knowledge and skills to plan and evaluate music education activities, and enhance your understanding by undertaking a work placement during the module.

Guest lecturers from a range of music-related professions will introduce you to current issues and opportunities in their industries, supported by coursework where you will research your own career aspirations. You will also develop your own professional practice and employability skills in a practical assignment of your choice: completing a work placement, or developing a business plan or professional website.

A musical stage work requires collaboration from all kinds of creative practitioners, from composers and performers, through to writers, choreographers, directors, sound engineers, and publicists. This module will equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to analyse opera, musical theatre, and multimedia performance from the early 1600s to the present day.

This module introduces you to the early history of song before 1600, from the courtly love lyrics of the troubadours to the development of vocal polyphony. Drawing on the history of literature, religion, and art as well as music, you will have the opportunity to learn early notation and prepare your own editions of music, as well as to support your work through participation in our Early Music Ensemble. Assessment options include essay, analysis, presentation, and performance tasks.

With support provided by weekly one-to-one tutorials, you will work towards the production of a unique portfolio of compositions and an accompanying commentary. You will also attend regular masterclasses and workshops and have the opportunity to write for at least one visiting artist or ensemble of international importance, and to explore various in-house opportunities.

The diversity of music in the 21st century not only raises aesthetic challenges, but also debates about the role of music and musicians in society. You will explore the major issues and materials of current musical thought and practice as a stimulus for your own research and creative work. The module leads towards a final project that represents your personal engagement with these issues, with opportunities for performance, composition, installations, or the presentation of website, blog, podcast or curatorial work.

You will build on the experience you have gained previously in composition, production, and/or songwriting modules to produce a sophisticated piece (or small set of pieces) of music based on a set of staff-led options relevant to your compositional practice (examples include multichannel audio composition, instrumental composition, songwriting, music production and audiovisual composition). Tutorial support for this creative work will be provided. You will be introduced to relevant techniques such as spatialisation, the use of complex orchestration/arrangements, advanced studio production, video, interactive or mixed media work. You will develop your ability to work with such techniques creatively.

Music and musicianship are important ways in which we understand both our own sense of self and the identities of others. Examining issues from musical composition and scholarship to performance itself, this module investigates identity in diverse contexts ranging from masculinities in rock and pop and gendered stereotypes in film music, through to the 'hidden' history of female composers, music and disability, and identity on and off the musical stage. A coursework portfolio will assess your progress, culminating in a research project on a topic of your choice.

Experimental Music will introduce you to new ideas and works from a range of radical and exciting musicians. No performing experience is required – just an open mind and willingness to experiment! Classes will include a variety of hands-on opportunities to make music, and you will be assessed through coursework tasks that include options for written work, presentations, compositions, and performances.

This module will introduce you to a range of techniques for analysing both tonal and non-tonal music, including Schenkerian analysis and pitch-class set theory. Classes will explore the theories behind these approaches and give you plenty of practice in their practical application. The module is assessed through coursework analyses of two pieces of piano or chamber music.

Vietnamese pop, Baltic folk music, the British Bhangra scene, Aboriginal country music - popular music varies hugely across the globe. Drawing on techniques from ethnomusicology, anthropology, and post-colonial studies, you will gain the analytical tools to understand diverse musical styles and place them within their social and political contexts. You will also investigate the wide-ranging, multicultural musical life of Huddersfield itself, working with a group from the local area as a musical collaborator, ethnographer, or producer.

Supported by individual lessons with one of our professional visiting instrumental and vocal teachers, you will continue to develop your technical skills and musical insight as an advanced solo performer. You will participate in a variety of masterclasses and workshops to increase your understanding of a range of musical performance contexts and issues, and will work towards two assessed solo recitals.

You will choose two practical options from an array of ensembles, bands, and approaches to performance. Options typically range from conducting, music theatre, and improvisation through to groups like orchestra, big band, brass band, classical and pop choirs, and a huge variety of pop, rock, soul, funk, and folk bands. Specialist performance tutors will coach you towards assessed performances that are open to the public.

You will choose one practical option from an array of ensembles, bands, and approaches to performance. Options typically range from conducting, music theatre, and improvisation through to groups like orchestra, big band, brass band, classical and pop choirs, and a huge variety of pop, rock, soul, funk, and folk bands. Specialist performance tutors will coach you towards assessed performances that are open to the public.

Working towards a coursework portfolio of your own creative work, you will learn about a range of a range of approaches to orchestration from the Baroque to the present day. Classes will explore the characteristics of individual instruments and strategies for combining them, including issues of balance, voicing, doubling, and effective control of orchestral textures.

Vienna was a turbulent centre of social, political, and creative activity around the turn of the 19th century. This module will examine the city's cultural and musical life , including the work of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and a host of less well-known composers. Alongside musical developments, you will also gain insight into the wider artistic, cultural and philosophical ideas which shaped the period of the ‘Age of Enlightenment’ and the first decades of Romanticism.

Historical Performance explores a range of concepts relevant to both performers and musicologists, including investigating original performing conditions, changes in performance styles and trends, the evolution of instruments, and the history of music notation. Working towards a variety of written and practical assessment options, you will gain understanding of diverse performance contexts and approaches, and get hands-on experience of working with archival materials and sources.

This composition module equips you with the skills needed to write original scores for film, television, and videogames. Working towards portfolios of original compositions, you'll receive tuition in the technical practices of soundtrack composition: spotting cues, creating live soundtracks for film, arranging and orchestrating pre-existing music, and working with technology to create realistic instrumental sounds and effects.

Building on your previous experience in composition, production, and/or songwriting modules, you will choose from a range of staff-led projects to produce a portfolio of advanced original creative work. Typical options available include: multichannel audio composition; instrumental composition; songwriting; music video; music production; and music and sound for audiovisual media.