Principal Study Chamber Music 1

The role of the Principal Study lessons will be to develop a range of individual and group skills that will enable you to function effectively as a musical collaborator within the context of a chamber music ensemble. Central to your learning will be a developing ability to work with others to explore musical problems, and find aesthetically and technically satisfying solutions.

Your learning will take place through a combination of ensemble coaching and individual tuition. The proportion of these elements will be negotiated appropriately for both the individual and the group as a whole, adding up to a total equivalent to 27 x 1 hr lessons per group member. (For example: a string quartet might negotiate two hours of group tuition per week plus half an hour each of individual tuition for each member; a piano trio might agree to four 45 minute sessions per week, three of them individual and one as a group.)

The Assessment Specifications associated with this module outline a number of different options from which to choose, according to your department and specialism, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate the learning outcomes of the module across a range of contexts and repertoire.

Module aims

This module is designed to:

• Foster technical and expressive mastery in chamber music
• Develop a mature musical personality and provide opportunities for its projection in-and-through practice
• Develop a knowledge base that supports understanding and facilitates the solving of complex musical problems
• Enable students to acquire the skills to pursue and sustain fulfilling, lifelong learning leading to informed performance at a professional level

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module you will be able to:

• LO1 Across a range of contexts and repertoire, demonstrate technical and expressive mastery in chamber music
• LO2 Project a mature musical personality in-and-through chamber music
• LO3 Employ a range of knowledge and understanding in-and-through the process of making music

Assessment

Assessment 1: Performance B (50% or 25% + 25%)

Assessed LOs: 1, 2, 3.

Assessment 2: Performance A (50%)

Assessed LOs: 1, 2, 3.

The Assessment Specifications associated with this module outline a number of different options from which to choose, according to your department and specialism, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate the learning outcomes of the module across a range of contexts and repertoire.

Assessment criteria

Assessors will look for:

• accuracy and facility
• expressive control
• imagination, originality
• projection of musical ideas
• interpretation
• understanding of context and style
• where relevant:
  • research
  • creativity
  • spoken voice and movement
  • collaboration

Feedback

You will receive regular formative feedback from your tutor in your lessons, and a written report twice a year. In some departments the tutor report will take the form of a mutually constructed feedback session.

You will receive a written feedback report on each A and B assessment.

Resources

Essential

Key resources will be recommended by principal study tutors.

Recommended

Rink, J. S., Gaunt, H., & Williamon, A. (Eds.). (2017). Musicians in the making: Pathways to creative performance (Vol. 1). Oxford University Press.

Tolmie, D. (2020) 2050 And beyond: A futurist perspective on musicians’ livelihoods, Music Education Research, 22:5, 596-610, DOI: 10.1080/14613808.2020.1841133

Welch, G., & Papageorgi, I. (Eds.). (2014). Advanced musical performance: Investigations in higher education learning. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Summary details

Module title	Principal Study Chamber Music 1
SCQF level	11
Credit rating	80 SCQF (40 ECTS)
Status	Core
Module coordinator	Head of Department
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	Graduate Studies 1
Anti-requisites	None
Next steps	Principal Study Chamber Music 2 or MA Negotiated Study
Learning modes	Indicative hours
Scheduled study	27 (minimum)
Independent study	773 (maximum)
Total notional student effort	800