Music

This course introduces students to critical scholarship in Irish popular music, drawing on writings in ethnomusicology, cultural geography, popular music studies, and Irish studies. Particular emphasis is given to histories of popular music styles and performances from 1960 to the 21st century examining key canonical figures within Irish popular music and significant recordings/events heralding new Irish identities. Topics for discussion include regional and transnational Irish music scenes; musical hybridity; gender and Irish popular music; Irish popular music and LGBT; Irish popular music in literature and visual media; and marginalized ethnic voices in Irish popular music. 

This course is a hands-on activity that teaches the skills necessary for playing Ghanaian/African drums. It also examines the uses of African drums and other percussion instruments as it relates to the life and culture of Ghanaian and African societies. The course is largely practical but also touches on the origins and roles of African drums and other percussion instruments and explores the position of drumming within the larger context of African music. Students are required to play all of the basic rhythms of a particular musical ensemble at the end of the course.

This course provides an introduction to the analysis of music composed in the Western extended common practice. It concentrates on Western tonal music from the 17th to the 20th centuries, but more broadly extends modal and post-tonal repertoires from c. 1350 to the present, and ranges from instrumental and vocal genres to music theatre and music for screen. It involves the study of musical scores alongside aural evidence obtained from listening. Students must be able to read music and a good grasp of basic theory (harmonic functions, cadences, etc.).

This course is designed to provide a basic scientific understanding of musical instruments. The first eight weeks of the course focuses on musical instruments and basic acoustics; the latter part of the course features world folk musical instruments and the professor's hand-made instruments. The course also gives the opportunity for groups of students to make their own musical instruments and demonstrate them to the class.  

This course is for beginners in music and focuses on the contents of musical notation such as notes, rests, time signatures, staff, key signatures, and temporary charts. It covers basic theory such as intervals and scales, fast words, musical symbols, notations, and classification of musical instruments. 

The course is taught in Korean; therefore, it is recommended that enrollees have the requisite Korean language proficiency (upper intermediate or higher). Exchange students majoring in music are not allowed to take the course. 

The course examines the close connection between music and science that has existed historically from Pythagoras on into modern times. The course introduces the essential physics of musical sound production and analysis in order to understand the elementary principles behind wind, string and percussion instruments and their characteristic timbre. The course examines the development of scales from fundamental principles to identify some of the subtle differences between Chinese and Western music. Contemporary music and science interactions focus on electronic music and the working principles of modern instruments such as the electric guitar. Finally the course looks at some scientific understanding of musical appreciation and the factors that make music pleasing. 

This course examines topics pertaining to the music industry and developing a career in music, including: business models, budgeting and financial planning, accounting and taxation, agents, representatives and consultants, contracts and agreements, licensing, rights and rights management, managing human resources, building and working with teams.

Musicology Workshop provides a forum for discussion of musicological work, and the opportunity to gain a broad perspective on the discipline. Many Musicology Workshop activities are built around the Conservatorium's fortnightly Musicology Colloquium Series lectures, presented by SCM staff and visiting national and international scholars speaking on a wide range of topics. Other class activities explore areas such as research and writing skills, music criticism, controversies in recent music literature, visits to local libraries or archives, and conference attendance and reporting. Students are expected occasionally to attend other musicological activities such as the Conservatorium's Alfred Hook lecture series. During classes students also have the opportunity to present and gain feedback on their own research topics.

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop knowledge of and teaching skills related to music education approaches that have influenced current practice. Students will focus on a number of internationally recognized approaches to teaching music, including those developed by Orff and Kodaly; Comprehensive Musicianship, and the creativity movements of the 1960s and 1970s. More recent approaches reflecting multiculturalism, globalization, mediated learning, constructivism, Informal Learning and forms of enculturation and musical creativity evident in children's musical worlds will also be explored. An important focus of this course will include building confidence in performing on chord-based instruments and drums.

Students will practice in their area of practical study. Vocal and instrumental students will apply technique and stylistic awareness to an individually designed program of recital repertoire. Formative feedback in individual and group settings will be provided across the semester. The course involves participation in individual lessons, instrument/voice classes, concert class and/or assigned ensemble activities.