Unit rationale, description and aim
Pre-professional musicians need an in depth understanding of the ways music operates in the service of other media. This unit examines the history of and practice surrounding musical theatre, music for film and television and other media. Through an examination of the repertoires of music that arise from twentieth and twenty-first century theatre and film, students gain an appreciation of key developments in these genres and develop an understanding of the cultural, economic and technological influences that inform changing musical practice.
The aim of this unit is to equip students with the analytical tools necessary to critically engage with the practices of musical theatre, film music and other mixed media including computer games.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitLearning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Explain ways music can function to serve drama, na...
Learning Outcome 01
Discuss the styles, genres, practices and conventi...
Learning Outcome 02
Critically analyse music scores, visual texts feat...
Learning Outcome 03
Construct evidence-based arguments and narratives ...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
- An overview of the development of contemporary musical theatre from the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, through to the present.
- A consideration of significant centres of musical theatre activity including London’s West End and New York’s Broadway.
- Different structural and functional approaches to musical theatre such as book musicals, concept musicals and jukebox musicals.
- An overview of film score repertoire from the live music that accompanied silent cinema in the first decades of the twentieth century, to the diverse practices of film makers around the world through the twentieth century, and to the present.
- The hierarchies, practices and conventions that operate around scoring for film, television and video games.
- Cultural, ethical and social issues that arise from film, theatre and mixed media music repertoires such as the invocation of Indigenous Peoples’ culture (including Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples) through musical appropriation, and the sanitisation of violent imagery through the strategic addition of music in war and horror films.
- Observable patterns of influence between practitioners in music for film, theatre and mixed media.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The following table gives examples of the types of assessment that may apply to this unit. The same assessments will be provided for both on-campus or offshore modes of study. The first assessment task supports students in developing a breadth of knowledge related to the different modes of music making represented in the unit. The second develops analytical and oral communication skills via a report on a composer's practice and repertoire. The final assessment task ties together the skills and knowledge developed in the unit and provides students an with opportunity to engage with undergraduate-level musicological research.
Overview of assessments
Repertoire report A critical assessment of music...
Repertoire report
A critical assessment of music excerpts presented as an annotated playlist. This assessment is designed to provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of the styles, practices and conventions operating in diverse repertoire. (1000 words (total) in relation to three or four contrasting excerpts).
30%
Seminar presentation Students will prepare an ora...
Seminar presentation
Students will prepare an oral report detailing the practice and repertoire of one relevant composer/practitioner to demonstrate a depth of knowledge and to develop skills in analysis. (20 minute presentation, including music excerpts)
30%
Research essay Students utilise the knowledge and...
Research essay
Students utilise the knowledge and skills developed through the unit to construct an evidence-based argument in relation to the themes of the unit. (2000 words)
40%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Students encounter repertoire and scholarly ideas via chronological and thematic considerations of unit content in face-to-face settings. These ideas are explored further through directed listening and viewing, scholarly readings and discussion and evaluation of music and ideas in tutorial settings. Students develop skills in multiple modes of music analysis and develop an understanding of the limitations of different types of analysis by critically applying analytical methods to diverse repertoire. The unit culminates in students employing a theoretical framework, appropriately chosen analytical methods and simple research to construct an evidence-based argument connected to a theme in the unit.
Offshore intensive mode:
Pre-departure seminars are normally held to introduce students to key contextual information, concepts and readings. Due to the intensive mode of teaching, attendance at pre-departure and off-shore classes, is expected.