Music BMus

Whatever kind of music study you decide to specialise in, you'll do it better if you see it in the context of music as a phenomenon common to all humanity. You'll understand what's different about your own chosen field but also how the music you love derives from diverse cultural sources. In this module we examine how any music uses specific ways of organising sound to serve particular cultural purposes. You'll learn to recognise and describe diverse musical styles, research them through scholarly sources, present an analysis using appropriate audio-visual technology, and take control of the transferable skills you're developing.

The module aims to develop your confidence and technical expertise with a range of technologies of value to academic and professional practice. Lectures will introduce fundamental principles and specific technologies for use in researching, creating and producing music. These technologies will then be applied in the production of a collaborative project, helping students to develop team work and interpersonal skills that will serve them in subsequent levels of study and professional practice.

Indicative areas of study include audio recording and production, sound design, computational literacy, data analysis, the ethics of artificial intelligence, effective group work, research management and productivity.

This module provides an overview of some of the key issues in the history of Western art music, as well as the historical context surrounding them. A range of approaches to the study of music history will be considered, giving you an introduction to the discipline of musicology. The module will also develop your ability to write about music and use primary and secondary sources to inform critical discussions.

Music Psychology offers insights, ways of thinking, reflective tools and methods to understand the foundations of musical behaviour, learning and thought. This module offers the foundation to students to be able to engage with the literature, knowledge and underpinning techniques in this area. Learning about psychology of music will help you engage with some of the most provocative questions about musicality, such as what enables our capacity for music, why we respond emotionally to music, whether music makes us smarter, and what underlies therapeutic applications of music for health and wellbeing?

In this module you will develop your composition skills, practice writing music in staff notation, and learn to write effectively for different instrumental and vocal forces. Drawing on the models of a diverse range of classical composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, we will focus on techniques for writing inventive melodies and rhythms, and employing wide-ranging approaches to harmony. The module aims to give you a foundation in composition and increase your confidence in preparation for further study.

In this module you will develop the musical and intellectual abilities appropriate to solo performance. The theoretical background is considered, focusing on the aural and analytical skills essential to performance at an advanced level. An awareness of style and interpretation, as well as effective preparation and communication are built into teaching. You will receive one to one tuition in addition to attending whole class performance lectures.

This module provides an introduction to the academic study of popular music. You will explore key approaches to studying popular music in its socio-cultural contexts, investigating major issues and debates. Lecture materials and in-class tasks will engage with approaches to the analysis of popular music and media, issues of representation, authenticity, identity, technology and industry. The module is delivered via lectures and group tasks to encourage interaction and collaboration between students. Assessments are designed to allow you to apply key analytical and theoretical frameworks to music of your own choosing, testing both your individual skills and knowledge alongside group work and collaboration.

This module aims to introduce, develop and refine ways of thinking, listening and writing about western music.  You will learn to listen to and analyze harmonic, tonal, motivic, thematic, melodic, rhythmic, textural and formal features of a range of western music genres, such as Common Practice harmonic principles, Medieval counterpoint, jazz standards and rock'n'roll.  By using analytical techniques to reveal distinctive structural characteristics across multiple styles of music, this module not only prepares you for western-music-based modules at FHEQ levels 5 and 6  but also provides new models of approaching music that can be applied in wider creative and empirical contexts.

Musical products and practices always in some way reflect and respond to their circumstances. In this module you will study the relationship between music and its context across one or more historical periods and settings, considering factors such as politics and society, careers and patronage, aesthetics and ideology, and the place of music in everyday life. In the process you will acquire skills in the investigation of primary sources for music history, and learn to critically evaluate the methods and aims of historical musicology as a discipline.

Music Psychology in Practice advances skills and understanding of the psychology of music with a focus on psychological aspects of making music, learning music, and communicating music to audiences. The module enables you to deepen your knowledge through focussed reading, critical reflection, and self-exploration. Furthermore, it scaffolds the skills for empirical study,  providing you with training to investigate musical experiences and behaviours. This module will develop your work-related learning as it addresses demands you may face as a music professional, enabling you to consider your own perspectives and learning of music as well as those of others.

This module focuses on practical approaches to sound recording, production and creation. The module develops technical knowledge, skills and creativity through practical work and study of key concepts related to sound recording, music production and audio engineering. By developing work-related skills in sound recording, mixing and mastering you will be prepared for final year projects involving technology and work in the professional sound studio and future digital workplaces. 

Lectures will develop your understanding of the sound studio, music software and digital audio. Studio tutorials will explain how to work carefully and creatively in the University of Sheffield Sound Studios (USSS). Online learning and practical sessions will enhance your knowledge and skills with the fundamentals of sound recording, digital audio and music technology.

The module provides an opportunity for students to examine in depth a working environment of interest to them and to undertake work-related learning through contact with a professional music setting. Students will take responsibility for approaching and communicating with external music organisations and professionals with a view to securing advice or practical experience. Module tutors will provide support and will also have access to a directory of local and national organisations that students might approach. Through seminar sessions, students will be supported in developing clear aims and objectives for the module and will receive guidance regarding module assessments. Through experience of a work environment, students will develop specialist knowledge, reflective skills and a critical awareness of primary research methods.

This module will introduce a range of approaches to the study of musical genres of the 20th and 21st centuries, illustrated through focused case studies drawn from across a variety of vernacular corpora, including jazz, popular musics, and musical theatre and film. 

Through illustrative examples, the module will equip you to engage critically with concepts of genre, aesthetics, taste, identity and inequality over the last hundred years, exploring issues such as the development of blues and cool jazz, the history of blackface in musical theatre, and the role of recorded and broadcast media in the production and reception of musical styles and cultural hierarchy. 

Through studying in-depth case studies of specific works, artists and genres, you will develop the skills to connect compositional style, performance practice and historical and social contexts of this period to a range of theoretical frameworks - including those of critical theory, racial politics, media production and communication studies. You will, over the course of the module, explore how the conceptual principles of genres have been constructed, articulated and disrupted over this period of vernacular and art musical history.  

This module will support your development of an individual compositional voice through projects aimed at developing your creative musical thinking at the same time as sound technical skills and awareness of composition in the 21st Century. We will focus on the techniques and methods of instrumental and vocal composition relevant to contemporary notated music. Learning will be through a combination of research, reflection, and discussion, in conjunction with the completion of a series of varied compositional tasks. Through these tasks you will develop your craft in composition, instrumentation and notation, along with your critical skills. The work you complete for this module will help you to prepare for the Final Year Composition Portfolio. Wherever possible, you will be enabled or encouraged to have your compositions played by live musicians.

This module will introduce you to performance practice and techniques related to performance at an intermediate level. It will help you prepare for further performance opportunities and the Final Year Project: Recital. 

It will also strengthen your skills and experiences, preparing you for practical music making outside the curriculum. 

The module builds on the foundation work completed in Year 1 and looks at how performance and improvisation develop from classical extemporisation through to jazz practice. 

You will take individual instrumental/vocal lessons, which will run alongside workshop-based lectures throughout the academic year. Through writing critically aware programme notes you will acquire work-related skills in communicating concisely and efficiently. 

You will also attend at least eight UoS lunchtime, rush hour or evening concerts across the semester and write a short critical review on 6 performances.

This module provides an introduction to the wide range of qualitative and ethnographic research methods used to document and analyse the experiences, attitudes and practices of musicians, audiences and stakeholders in respect of music making and listening in their everyday lives.  You will learn how qualitative data is sought, collected and used across a range of music-research disciplines—including ethnomusicology, music psychology and sociology—to generate profound knowledge and understanding of the emotional, cognitive and social meaning of musical activities for research participants in a variety of contexts.

Lecture-seminars will introduce you to ethnographic principles and techniques, including (e.g.) grounded theory, participant observation, structured and unstructured interview techniques, interview transcription, data coding, and musical/audio transcription and analysis. Methods will be explained, illustrated with case studies taken from across a range of disciplines and fields, and evaluated for their efficacy, contributions, limitations and ethical implications. This module provides focussed training to support those aiming to design and carry out qualitative research projects on music topics in their final year. 

This capstone module supports the transition to professional practitioner through a self-directed project in performance, composition, written research, or professional practice (special project). You will define your own project scope to produce a substantial body of work—be it a solo recital, a portfolio of compositions, a thesis, or a collaborative initiative—reflecting professional-level rigour and stylistic awareness. 

Supported by individual supervision, you'll integrate advanced research with creative or practical execution, demonstrating the ability to contextualise your work within historical, cultural, stylistic or industry frameworks. Achievement is evidenced through the successful delivery of a scholarly or public-facing output, event or text, integrating or supported by critical reflection on the creative and technical decisions or approach.

You will choose from one of four pathways:Dissertation, where you produce a written scholarly thesis of original empirical, analytical or theoretical research. Special Project, where you conduct a public- or work-based activity, producing and reporting on professional or collaborative practice. Composition, where you produce a portfolio of creative musical compositions, displaying a clear artistic voice, stylistic awareness and technical command. Performance, where you present a public recital of vocal or instrumental music, displaying repertorial and stylistic range and technical skill, supported by extended programme notes. 

Through your selected pathway, you will develop: autonomy - taking responsibility for planning, managing and executing a complex project; criticality - by reflecting on why choices have been made and how they sit within the wider field or context; and communication - by presenting work to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, ensuring the work's contribution beyond the classroom.

This capstone module supports the transition to professional practitioner through a self-directed project in performance, composition, written research, or professional practice (special project). You will define your own project scope to produce a substantial body of work—be it a solo recital, a portfolio of compositions, a thesis, or a collaborative initiative—reflecting professional-level rigour and stylistic awareness. 

Underpinned by individual supervision, you will integrate advanced research with creative or practical execution, demonstrating the ability to contextualise your work within historical, cultural, stylistic or industry frameworks. Achievement is evidenced through the successful delivery of a scholarly or public-facing output, event or text, integrating or supported by critical reflection on the creative and technical decisions or approach.

You will choose from one of four pathways:

Dissertation, where you produce a written scholarly thesis of original empirical, analytical or theoretical research. 

Special Project, where you conduct a public- or work-based activity, producing and reporting on professional or collaborative practice. Composition, where you produce a portfolio of creative musical compositions, displaying a clear artistic voice, stylistic awareness and technical command.

Performance, where you present a public recital of vocal or instrumental music, displaying repertorial and stylistic range and technical skill, supported by extended programme notes. 

Through your selected pathway, you will develop: autonomy - taking responsibility for planning, managing and executing a complex project; criticality - by reflecting on why choice have been made and how they sit within the wider field or context; and communication - by presenting work to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, ensuring the work's contribution beyond the classroom.

This module deals with the craft of orchestrating and arranging for small and large ensembles. You will aim to become conversant with a wide range of different orchestral instruments and learn to write for them idiomatically. You will aim to adapt existing compositions with attention to issues of style, coherence and practicality. You will produce performance materials to a professional standard. A range of repertoire options will be offered for each assignment

The Community, Music and Education module aims to introduce you to the ideas that surround contemporary research, practice and debate in community music and music education. Lectures, preparatory reading and in-class discussions will consider the political, historical and social contexts for the provision of musical learning and opportunities within and beyond school. Your reading and your own research will encourage you to develop evidence-based perspectives on the current and future direction of community music and music education.

In this module you will develop techniques of music criticism and analysis, deepening your ways of understanding music in the western art tradition by probing new repertories and scholarly methods. You will have an opportunity to engage with new, specialized musical material, learning how to engage critically and analytically with it.

This module gives you the opportunity to compose sound and music for film and other visual media, and position sound and music within the filmmaking process. Using a variety of software, you will be responsible for the entire project from the ideas stage through to the creation of all audio materials. A diverse range of existing movies, audiovisual works and relevant literature will be studied, and you will be expected to use these to inform your own work.

This module provides an introduction to the study of a range of folk and traditional musics worldwide.  A range of approaches (e.g. ethnomusicology; critical and cultural theory; political theory) are used to consider the traditional identities these musics help to construct.  You will study a number of relevant music cultures, and will examine how traditional music and musicians reflect, affect and respond to their contemporary contexts, and understand the range of reasons why musicians are motivated to make historically-rooted, vernacular or locally constructed music within contemporary societies.

As well as developing a theoretical understanding of the field, you will develop the ethnographic and analytical skills to conduct your own field study of folk and traditional music.  

Lectures survey contemporary and historical literature and recordings in the field of folk and traditional music, explore music cultures in terms of specific debates and contexts, and provide training in relevant theories and analytical approaches.  Topics include: past and current definitions of the terms 'folk music' and 'traditional music'; revivalism; nationalism; institutionalisation; competition; education and transmission; transnational identities; and the intersection of tradition and music technology. 

This module introduces you to contemporary improvisation. You will explore the history and development of  free and graphic score based improvisation by a series of lectures and performance based workshops.

You will use these skills to develop, write and perform a solo for your own instrument that uses elements of graphic score and free form notation, plus develop basic skills needed to develop an understanding of  electroacoustic composition and fixed or live electronics.

By learning and developing these skills over a series of practical and taught sessions, you will become more flexible and confident as a performer, and also develop ideas and concepts that can be used in a wide range of community music, education and performance settings, thus adding an important skillset to a musician's portfolio career toolbox.

Music Psychology in Everyday Life provides the training and skills to understand and investigate musical behaviours and experiences using psychological theories and methods. 

Through the in-depth exploration of selected topics in Psychology of Music, you will develop your ability to read research literature in this area, to critically reflect on current understanding of music psychology, and adopt and adapt existing methods to conduct a research study of your own design. 

In this module, you will work independently and as part of a group, advancing your ability to collaborate, lead and communicate whilst working towards a particular goal. 

We will also develop your work-related learning skills by looking at how non-academic organisations use research outcomes. 

This includes uses of music in everyday and specialist contexts, informal and formal uses, for therapy, consumer development, community building, self-help, and education.