Start listening to music
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| 2 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| No examination | No residential school |
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Summary
Have you ever heard a piece of music and wanted to know more? How is it constructed? Which instruments are playing? How does it relate to the society in which it was created? This 12-week online course offers a foundation for understanding a wide range of music taken from different historical periods and drawn from an exciting variety of styles and genres, including classical, jazz, popular and world music. The course assumes no knowledge of musical notation.
This course was developed in conjunction with the Centre of Excellence for Teaching and Learning: Inclusivity in Contemporary Music Culture.
Course content
How do you listen to music? Through an exciting and diverse array of musical examples, this short course introduces you to new ways of listening to music and offers a guide to the principles of perceptive listening. Perceptive listening is a key competency that is central to several areas of the general music curriculum: analysis; stylistic and historical awareness; orchestration; composition; performance; and music engineering. Musical examples range from Handel to The Doors and as you progress, you will learn how to identify and discuss individual elements that contribute to the overall makeup of a piece of music – including metre, rhythm, structure, timbre, and texture. You will also learn about the relationships between musical sounds, styles and repertoires as well as the cultural, social and historical contexts in which different pieces of music have originated, been performed and listened to. This course provides a solid foundation for anyone wishing to pursue music courses at Levels 2 and 3.
The course consists of five blocks:
Block 1 Introduction: Listening asks you to think about the ways in which you listen to music. Here you will learn about some of the different ways that you can listen to a piece of music in order to gain a greater understanding of it. These ‘maps’ for aural navigation are explored in greater detail in the following blocks.
In Block 2 Structures and Forms, you will encounter some of the basic ways of structuring pieces of music. You will also learn about the components of a musical work: pulse, rhythm and melody. This block equips you with the skills to focus on these components while listening, and introduces some technical terms to help you describe them.
Block 3 Sounds and Textures explores the ways in which musical sounds are produced. As you progress through this block, you will learn to recognise different types of instruments and voices, and to identify various ways of producing sounds through them. This block also examines the effects of combining different instruments and voices to create a range of musical textures.
Block 4 Repertoires and Styles introduces you to a variety of musical styles and repertoires. Building on the work you have done in Blocks1–3, you will learn about how different musical traditions share common musical features and values that help us to identify them as belonging to a particular style or repertoire.
Block 5 Listening Frames: Contexts, Performances, Audiences asks you to examine how the way that you ‘hear’ a piece of music can be informed by the social, cultural and historical contexts with which the music is, or has been, associated. It includes discussions of the values, cultural contexts, and types of music associated with popular music. It looks at the relationships between musical sounds, styles and traditions and the extra-musical contexts that have influenced their creation, performance and consumption.
During the 12 weeks of this course, you will be expected to spend around six and a half hours on study time each week. Time online will be at your discretion, but the course tuition is delivered online and you will be given around ten hours of online tutorial time spread across the 12 weeks.
You will also complete two TMAs (tutor-marked assignments) during the course. Both are based on listening exercises and will help you develop listening skills and find ways of discussing music in written form. By taking part in online tutorials, you will be able to start developing these skills before you attempt the first assignment. You will also have the chance to do a number of SMAs (student-marked assignments) as you progress through the course in preparation for the TMAs and to help you assess your own progress. The first TMA consists of several short exercises covering timbre, structure, pulse, rhythm, melody and musical texture. The second TMA is an essay about one piece of music, and you will be asked to consider its makeup, context and performance.
For further information on this course visit the A179 website.
You will learn
- about the elements of music as they contribute to a musical work
- how to analyse a piece of music at the most fundamental level
- how to follow a complex piece of music aurally, understanding its structural makeup
- how to discuss music using appropriate terminology
- how to recognise different musical genres and styles
- about how music relates to the society within which it is created.
Entry
This course is suitable for anyone with an interest in music, and it assumes no prior knowledge of musical notation. The course is taught online and some familiarity with using a computer for learning will make this course easier for you to study.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
There is no set preparatory work. However, you will find that listening to a wide variety of music before starting this course, especially music that is unfamiliar or new to you, will be very helpful.
Qualifications
A179 is a optional course in our
It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it is suitable for a BA. 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
This course involves study of the aural aspects of music. 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 and mathematical, scientific, and foreign language materials may be particularly difficult to read in this way. The course material includes listening activities and these are assessed in tutor-marked assignments. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
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
Online course materials, music examples on audio CD, and online forum.
Computing requirements
This course includes 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.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the course material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. You will be allocated to a tutor with a group of around 25 people. We expect that you will be given three tutorials via online forums over the 12-week course. If you are new to the OU, you will find that your tutor is particularly concerned to help you with your study methods.
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 May and November 2009 and February 2010. We expect it to be available three times 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.
About this page
An undergraduate course in Arts and Humanities.
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