Collaboration lies at the heart of music practice and production. While acknowledging ‘the great composers’ and the DIY (Do It Yourself) recording movement has often redirected focus toward the individual, music remains, fundamentally, a deeply social activity. This course brings music students together to build on their existing skills on how diverse musical practices can be blended, with musicians assuming multiple roles while collaborating in an inclusive environment. Students will develop a creative, innovative, and original project that challenges their existing skills and pushes them beyond their artistic comfort zones. Through this process, students will learn to work effectively across stylistic, interpersonal, and technical contexts. They will also navigate the challenges that can arise in a collective creative process, where compromises and collaboration foster growth and unexpected solutions. These challenges will be viewed as opportunities to build adaptability, and a deeper understanding of the creative process. Students will also engage with critical perspectives on creativity, collaboration, and innovation in music. In groups, they will collaborate to develop a large-scale project, delivered either through a live performance or as a set of recorded works.
Collaborations may change from semester to semester. They may include but are not limited to: Orchestra, Chamber Ensemble, Choir, Piano Duo, Contemporary Classical Ensemble, Rock Band, Pop Ensemble, Soul Band, Funk Band, R&B Vocal Group, Indie Band, Alternative Band, Metal Band, Singer-Songwriter Collective, Jazz Combo, Big Band, Free Improvisation Ensemble, Jazz Vocal Group, Electroacoustic Ensemble, Laptop Orchestra, Experimental Noise Collective, Live Looping Ensemble, Folk Band, Bluegrass Ensemble, Global Musics Group, Cross-genre Fusion Ensemble, Multimodal Performance Group.
In these groups, students may contribute in one or more ways, including performing an instrument, composing one or more pieces, or recording one or more pieces.
Students may complete this course twice for a maximum credit value of 12 units, provided a different type of collaboration is taken in each instance/semester. Please note that the course content, assessment structure, and reading list may change depending on the collaboration and the expertise of the lecturer convening the course. Please refer to the class summary for the specific term in which you wish to enrol for a detailed description.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- demonstrate effective collaboration in diverse musical teams by adopting multiple roles and contributing to a shared creative outcome;
- apply creativity and innovation by developing an original project;
- select and implement appropriate strategies to address interpersonal, technical, and artistic challenges in group-based music production; and
- analyse and apply critical perspectives on creativity, collaboration, and innovation in contemporary music contexts.
Indicative Assessment
- Collaborative Project Proposal and Group Presentation (10 minutes) (20) [LO 3,4]
- Individual Critical Reflection on Collaboration and Creativity (1,800 words) (30) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Final Group Collaboration Project (10-15 minutes) (50) [LO 1,2,3,4]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:
a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks; and
b) 94 hours of independent studio practice and contextual research (reading and writing).
Prescribed Texts
Provided via Canvas.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 12
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.