Performances and repertories
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| 4 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-course assessment | No residential school |
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This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees may vary by country.
Summary
This course, which is part of the MA in Music and the MA in Humanities, builds on the postgraduate foundation course in music. You’ll study musical performances in relation to the environments and institutions in which composers worked, making use of research facilities such as extensive online libraries and archives. You’ll also have plenty of scope to study recordings. Music from the Western art tradition is represented alongside music of non-Western and popular traditions, and you’ll have ample opportunity to pursue your own enthusiasms within the course themes. At the end, you’ll be expected to initiate, plan and write a 5000 word project.
Course content
The course offers you the opportunity to explore ways in which repertories develop in their performance contexts, and the ways in which performances are shaped by the demands of the market, composers, exponents and audiences. Through the course you will:
- encounter different kinds of source that are frequently used by music researchers;
- develop a variety of research methods relevant to the study of music;
- engage with a variety of issues relevant to the study of Western and non-Western art and popular music;
- develop the skills required to initiate, plan and write an independent piece of research;
- have considerable opportunity to apply these skills to a topic or topics that especially interest you.
The course has four main sections or ‘blocks’ that will each take you between three and six weeks to complete. Each block comprises a section of text, written by members of the Music Department, that will take you a week or so to work through, and which introduces the main themes of the block. After that, you are expected to follow up some of the suggested reading in areas of the block that are of particular interest to you. A tutor-marked assignment at the end of each block will focus on a broad issue relating to the subject area of the block, and will give you the opportunity to write about repertories and performances of your choice.
Block 1 introduces the course and discusses the nature of musical performance and ways in which it can be studied. Block 2 examines ways in which repertories and performances of the past and present have been shaped by market forces. Block 3 explores the relationship between institutions (such as the opera house, recording companies and the church) and the music composed for and performed in them. Block 4 focuses on the interactions of composers and performers with recordings.
As you study blocks 1–4, you will be encouraged to plan the 5000-word project which will form the final assessment component of the course. This provides you with the opportunity to focus on the areas that interest you. You will need to identify the relevant sources and discuss with your tutor the ways in which you are going to study them. About two months have been allocated at the end of the course for the writing of your project.
The materials that will be sent to you include all the necessary texts and recordings to introduce the subject material of each block. There are plenty of references to further study that you will need to follow up in a good research library and/or on the internet. You will have access to an extensive course website that includes a wide range of some of the most valuable published online databases, normally including New Grove Online, History Online, The Oxford English Dictionary, The International Index of Music Periodicals, Early English Books Online. This collection is added to as new databases come on the market. You can also access annotated links to hundreds of music websites and a special online forum for the use of your own tutor and tutorial group.
Entry
To take this course, you must be registered for the MA in Humanities or for another qualification towards which it can count. You should also have either completed one of the foundation courses for the MA in Humanities, ideally, but not necessarily, in music or be studying one at the same time as this course (though this is normally not recommended). If you have not taken Postgraduate foundation module in music (A870), you should satisfy yourself that you are equipped to study A871. In addition to familiarising yourself with A870 you should:
- have a good general knowledge of music, equivalent to that obtained by students who have studied our course Understanding music: elements, techniques and styles (A214);
- be literate in music to the extent that you can follow an orchestral score and know which instrument is playing which part;
- be able to understand musical discourse that uses technical language and introduces musical quotations (the articles in New Grove II, for example).
You do not need be able to play an instrument nor to ‘hear’ music by looking at a score.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
If you have not taken Postgraduate foundation module in music (A870), you are strongly advised to spend some time with the course materials before starting A871. All of the blocks of A870 are relevant to the study of A871. Our Student Registration & Enquiry Service will be able to tell you where you can see a copy of the A870 materials prior to the A871 course starting date. After this date, you will have access to an electronic version of the A870 study guide via the course website.
Qualifications
A871 is a compulsory course in our
A871 is an optional course in our
A871, together with the music foundation course A870, will qualify you for the Postgraduate Diploma in Music. The Postgraduate Diploma in Humanities is available for those who have successfully completed A871 and a total of 60 points from specified courses, including at least 30 points from postgraduate foundation courses.
Some postgraduate qualifications allow study to be chosen from other subject areas. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
You will be expected to listen to music. This course makes extensive use of research libraries and/or the internet. The course materials are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader and musical notation may be particularly difficult to read in this way. Large print versions of the course materials can be provided on request. Other alternative formats of the course materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
You will need to spend considerable amounts of time using a personal computer and the internet.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
What's included
A study guide, score supplement, assignment booklet, two audio CDs, computer software to enable participation in online forums, access to databases and other resources via the course website.
You will need
A CD player.
You will also need adequate facilities to conduct research into music. This can be done using the internet or by using a library or archive that has suitable resources. If you are using a research library, there are likely to be charges for borrowing rights, inter-library loans and photocopying. The Postgraduate Music website houses links to online research resources and sources of information about facilities for studying music in UK libraries.
Computing requirements
This course has online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual.
Materials to buy
Set books
- Herbert, Trevor Music in Words, Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music £13.95 - ISBN 9781860962363 (This book is used on A870 and A871)
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you through the course, mark and comment on your written work and advise you on your project. You are also encouraged, but not obliged, to participate in group tuition which will take place online. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You can choose whether to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) on paper or online through the eTMA system. You may want to use the eTMA system for some of your assignments but submit on paper for others. This is entirely your choice.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in February 2010. We expect it to be available once a year.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
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A postgraduate course in Arts and Humanities.
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Student Reviews
A871 follows on closely from A870, as you'd expect. Whilst further exploring the themes studied in A870, A871 allows you ...
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