What Will You Study?

The single-honours degree covers a variety of subject areas, reflecting the Department staff’s broad range of expertise. Subject areas taught in all three years are: historical musicology, music analysis, ethnomusicology, performance, contemporary composition, and composition in historical styles.

At the start of your degree, you take six foundational modules: one general study skills module and five others addressing the subject areas mentioned above. In the second and third years, you choose from a list of modules in various exciting fields (see link below), on the basis of your own interests and ambitions. Modules in psychology of music, another strong research area within the Department, are offered in both the second and third years.

In the third year, all students take a double-weighted major project: a dissertation on a research question of your own (which could be historical, analytical, ethnomusicological, empirical, cultural-sociological, philosophical, or interdisciplinary), a performance recital or a (contemporary or historical) composition portfolio.

In all years of the degree, it is also possible to take modules from other departments, such as language modules.

Have a look at the Music modules that are currently offered.

Main subject areas

Music History

The Music History component in the first and second years provides a comprehensive introduction to Western music from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries. Historical musicology is introduced together with analysis in the first-year module History and Analysis of Western Music. Second- and third- year special options have recently included subjects as diverse as Music and Politics in France, Studies in the History of Opera, Popular Music, and Music Theology.

Analysis

The first-year module History and Analysis of Western Music introduces you to key concepts in the analysis of tonal common practice, focusing on music of the Baroque and Classical styles. Thereafter, you can choose from a variety of analysis modules. Recent examples include a second-year module surveying developments in music theory, exploring music from Beethoven to Stravinsky, Studies in Symphonic Analysis, and Time and Rhythm.

Ethnomusicology

We offer a broad grounding in the cultural study of music, exploring methods for documenting and analysing musical practices (ethnography), and investigating a wide range of musical cultures from around the world. Building upon Introduction to Ethnomusicology in the first year, subsequent more specialised modules include Music of India, World Music Traditions and Advanced Ethnomusicology, as well as related modules like Words and Music and Studies in Popular Music.

Performance

The performance programme combines classes in performance practice with recording projects, specialised subjects (with recent examples being Contemporary Music Performance and Conducting), and the option of giving a major recital in the final year. We also have a large adjunct staff of instrumental and vocal teachers and offer financial support for performance tuition across the degree. The first-year Performance 1 module takes two forms: with recital or with essay on performance as a research field.

Composition

Durham is a rich environment for musical creativity, and you can put composition – acoustic or electronic – at the heart of your degree. All students gain a foundation in composing in the first year, after which we offer a range of modules in acoustic composition and creative music technology, culminating in the third-year Composition Portfolio module, supported by workshops from internationally-renowned visiting musicians. The Music Department houses three studios and a Music Technology Lab.

Historical Composition Techniques

The Historical Composition Techniques modules complement your study of free composition, analysis, historical musicology, and even psychology of music (since the ‘rules’ of historical styles correlate to a desired perceptual result). The aim here is to understand a particular musical system so thoroughly that you can create your own pieces using it. In the first year you learn fundamental skills in counterpoint and harmony (you are not assumed to have studied chorales at A Level). If you pursue this line of study into the second and third years, you can try your hand at fugue and genres such as waltz or ragtime, and then decide on your own portfolio project. Other related modules, which we commonly offer, include Orchestration.

Music Psychology

Music psychology modules offer perspectives to music from social sciences, with emphasis on how listeners and musicians process and experience music. In the second year (Music and Science), the emphasis is on learning to carry out an empirical experiment that explores the way we comprehend elements of music (such as timbre, rhythm, harmony, or tonality). In the final year (Psychology of Music module), you will be able to design and complete your own empirical project about your chosen psychological dimension of music (emotions, memory, imagery, preferences, etc.). You can see many of the completed projects reported in a UG journal titled Durham Undergraduate Research in Music and Science (https://musicscience.net/durms/).