50824 Songwriting and Composition for Context
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 8 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): 16 credit points of completed study in 16.0000000000 Credit Points spk(s): MAJ10062 80cp Music and Sound Design Major OR 16 credit points of completed study in 16.0000000000 Credit Points spk(s): MAJ10063 80cp Music and Sound Design Major OR 16 credit points of completed study in spk(s): CBK92349 24cp Creative Arts Primary Specialisation Electives
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 50834 Audio Production AND 50858 Audio Production
Description
In this subject students explore songwriting techniques for a wide range of musical styles, genres and contexts. Topics covered include lyric writing, melody writing, the relationship between music and text, contemporary song structures and forms, rhythm and storytelling, and the harmonic techniques of songwriting. Theoretical case studies are integrated with critical listening and practical exercises, with students creating original song and instrumental materials to industry-based briefs.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| a. | Reflect critically on major formative genres/artists in popular music |
|---|---|
| b. | Theorise from critical, technical, aesthetic, and socio-cultural musical knowledges |
| c. | Incorporate a variety of performing media and technology in creative production process |
| d. | Analyse the characteristics of different musical and cultural contexts through particular songs and their texts |
| e. | Relate detailed written literature, listening and musicological material to creative practice |
| f. | Apply understanding of different professional contexts to inform creativity and technical design. |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject engages with the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs), which are tailored to the Graduate Attributes set for all graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences:
- Graduates possess a well-developed awareness of culture and professional practice of music and sound in the context of the technological and creative industries (1.1)
- Graduates are able to present, explain and evaluate their own and others' work in independent and collaborative contexts (1.2)
- Graduates are reflexive critical thinkers and creative practitioners who are intellectually curious, imaginative and innovative (2.1)
- Graduates possess reflective and analytical skills enabling them to synthesise ideas from a diverse range of sources and communicate effectively to different audiences using appropriate media and modes (6.1)
- Graduates possess the technical and creative skills to express themselves in multi-platform contexts (6.2)
Teaching and learning strategies
Face-to-face classes will incorporate a range of teaching and learning strategies including interactive lectures, workshops, short presentations, recordings and videos, informal performances, project-based learning, peer-to-peer feedback on work in progress, discussion of readings and case studies, and student group work. These will be complemented by independent student reading and listening.
Students are required to engage with online, pre-class learning materials before coming to tutorials, with formative feedback provided during these activities.
Content (topics)
Topics include:
Compositional techniques in popular music, lyric writing, song structure and popular music forms, instrumentation, groove, timbre, texture, genre and style, performance techniques, identity, emotion and subjectivity within song, recording and production (the “sound-box”), popular music and socio-cultural context, playback media and contemporary consumer platforms.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: ’Like a version’: Arrangement and production task
| Objective(s): | c, d, e and f | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 40% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | Cover version 3-4 minutes long; written report 800 words (not including bibliography); presentation 3 minutes. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 2: Original Song/Composition for Context
| Objective(s): | a, b, c, d and f | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 60% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | Song/Composition: maximum duration 3 minutes (30%) Individual Written Paper: 1000 words (30%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Minimum requirements
Attendance at classes is essential in this subject. Classes are based on a collaborative approach that involves essential work-shopping and interchange of ideas with other students and the tutor. A roll will be taken at each class. Students who have more than two absences from class will be refused final assessment (see Rule 3.8).