Composition Major

Total units 48 Units

Areas of interest Music
Major code COMP-MAJ

Academic career Undergraduate
Academic Contact Dr Alexander Hunter

The Composition Major is designed to give students the knowledge and skills to prepare a portfolio of written works, or a series of projects based upon principles of sound design, that reflect the student's own interests and professional focus. To provide a foundation for this creative work, students will analyse a diverse selection of instrumental and vocal repertoire using a range of theories and methods. They will also study principles of sound design in relation to music for film and television, theatre, videogames, and sound installations. The study of instrumentation, orchestration and arrangement, and sound design will reference scores and musical sound design creations from a range of historical periods and styles to enable students to explain how their original work draws on and builds on relevant historical traditions or precedents.

Learning Outcomes

understand a wide range of compositional issues inaesthetic and technical terms;
analyse a diverse range of music using a number ofrelevant theories and methods;
create and present compositions of a highly proficientstandard utilising appropriate notation, instrumentation, orchestration, and/orrecording techniques, in one or more styles and at least two genres; and
communicate clearly the creative decisions madein the course of composing and how these relate to relevant historicaltraditions or precedents.