Music
About the major
The Music major has a distinguished record of music scholarship, composition and teaching, producing many of Australia’s leading music professionals. Its aim is to enrich Australia through a unique multicultural music education, broadly based in studies of society, culture and performance.
The curriculum for the major in Music allows students to study Composition, Musicology, Popular Music, Music and Media, and Performance in ways that are broadly integrated with one another across the curriculum as well as within individual units of study. A wide range of units of study are offered which are designed for both intending professional musicians, students with broad interests in the study of music in culture, and students who will pursue other careers. This means that students can pursue projects in which their music practice can be integrated with the study of history or media or other Arts and Social Sciences major. The major offers a variety of pathways to a vast array of rewarding careers such as composing, arranging, and performing music for theatre, concert, film, and media, writing about music as a journalist, commentator, critic, or media professional, or arts administration, including curating, marketing, festival and venue management.
Requirements for completion
The Music major and minor requirements are listed in the Music unit of study table.
| No. | Learning outcome |
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| 1 | Analyse music presented aurally and in notation, and will have realised that knowledge in creative tasks. |
| 2 | Demonstrate a broad understanding of the history of various traditions of both popular and classical music. |
| 3 | Demonstrate the ability to analyse, interpret or express important musical concepts. This may be done in the form of musicological analysis, musical performance or composition. |
| 4 | Utilize an understanding of a variety of analytical approaches to understanding and interpretation of music and musical practices using appropriate methods and sources, and subsequently the ability to link musical practices to the social contexts in which they were created. |
| 5 | Evaluate the prevalent principles, standards, values and boundaries of current music knowledge. |
| 6 | Exercise critical thinking in creating new understandings and practices of music analysis, music composition, music education, music history, music technology or music performance. |
| 7 | Demonstrate the ability to work effectively across discipline boundaries, applying skills and knowledge from the Music major to issues encountered in an interdisciplinary context. |
Honours
Admission to Honours is via the Bachelor of Advanced Studies and requires the completion of 48 credit points of Music units with an average of 75 percent or above.
Prior to commencing honours, you will need to ensure you have completed all other requirements of the Bachelor of Arts or other bachelor degree, including Open Learning Environment (OLE) units and a second major.
Requirements and units of study for honours can be found on the Music honours units of study page.
Contacts and further information
Program Leader: Associate Professor Charles Fairchild
Honours Coordinator: Associate Professor James Wierzbicki
Website: http://sydney.edu.au/music/study-music/study-options/arts-music.html
Example pathways
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Music History and Musicology |
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1st Year: |
Music in Western Culture |
Fundamentals 1, 2, or Extended Fundamentals of Music |
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2nd Year: |
Philosophy of Music |
Music and Politics |
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3rd Year: |
Noise/Sound/Music |
Understanding Music |
Musicology |
Industry and Community Projects |
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4th Year: |
Musicology Project |
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Composition and Performance |
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1st Year |
Music in Western Culture |
Fundamentals 1, 2, or Extended Fundamentals of Music |
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2nd Year |
Music Performance |
Introduction to Digital Music Techniques |
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3rd Year |
Ensembles Performance |
Advanced Digital Music Techniques |
Understanding Music |
Industry and Community Project |
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4th Year |
Composition/Performance Project |
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Contemporary Music Practice |
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1st Year: |
Sounds, Screens, Speakers |
Fundamentals 1, 2, or Extended Fundamentals of Music |
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2nd Year: |
Popular Music |
Introduction to Digital Music Techniques |
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3rd Year: |
Contemporary Music Making |
Noise/Sound/Music |
Understanding Music |
Industry and Community Projects |
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4th Year: |
Contemporary Music Project |
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Music and Media |
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1st Year: |
Sounds, Screens, Speakers |
Fundamentals 1, 2, or Extended Fundamentals of Music |
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2nd Year: |
Popular Music |
A Global Sound |
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3rd Year: |
Popular Music and the Moving Image |
Music Journalism |
Understanding Music |
Industry and Community Project |
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4th Year: |
Popular Music and Media Project |
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