Handbook 1996 : Faculty of Music
Faculties : Next:Science | Prev:Med, Dent & Health Sci | Search | Help
The Faculty of Music is the oldest and one of the largest music schools at any Australian university. With its distinctive balance of practical training and academic study, it produces comprehensively trained musicians who frequently take up positions of leadership in their fields.
The Faculty fosters excellence in advanced music education, contributes to musical scholarship and research in a wide range of fields, and supports the musical life of the community with public concerts and programs.
As the most richly endowed music school in Australia, the Faculty can offer its students an unequalled array of scholarships. Facilities include an excellent concert hall (Melba Hall), the historic Conservatorium of Music building, the Grainger Museum of rare musical instruments and materials, and the Centre for Studies in Australian Music. Activities funded by the Faculty include the annual Myer Free Orchestral Concerts and the Lyre-Bird Press (Editions de l'Oiseau-Lyre), one of the world's foremost publishers of scholarly musical editions.
The Faculty offers both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Students wishing to enter the music profession are directed to the Bachelor of Music (BMus) degree. This course is a flexible one, but contains a compulsory core of subjects that form the basis of the broad theoretical knowledge and advanced practical skill expected of a graduate musician. Practical skills are an important focus, and a student's practical abilities must be demonstrated before admission.
BMus students take a common first year, and in later years add to the core a variety of subject patterns which prepare them for careers as performers, composers, teachers, musicologists, ethnomusicologists, music therapists, music administrators, or in other related fields. The Music Therapy pattern contains all the requirements for registration with the appropriate professional body. The BMus degree is awarded at pass and honours level according to the quality of a student's results.
Students without well-developed practical skills who wish to develop their understanding of music as part of a broader course are directed to the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree, in which they may include individual music subjects at a level appropriate to their musical background or form a major in music.
Students in the BMus take individual practical lessons, practical classes and ensembles, and all students participate in lectures, seminars, listening programs and tutorials. A series of Monday lunch hour and special evening concerts is conducted each year and is free to music students, who are expected to attend regularly. Details appear in the Concert Diary, available from the Faculty Office. Lectures by visiting scholars are presented regularly on Thursday mornings, and postgraduate students attend these as part of their obligations.
For music graduates of high achievement, specialised teaching and supervision is available in postgraduate courses leading to the Master of Music, Master of Arts in music, and the Doctor of Philosophy. A graduate diploma is available for music graduates seeking qualifications in music therapy (DipMusTherapy), or in guided imagery and music (GradDipGIM) and a Doctor of Music degree is also awarded.
The Faculty is committed to excellence in all its activities, and has long had a role of leadership in the musical community. Its objectives are:
Applicants for admission to the BMus course are required to have achieved a VCE grade average of at least D in English and in three of Accounting, Art, Australian Studies, Biology, Chemistry, Classical Societies and Cultures, Economics, Geography, Geology, Graphic Communication, History, Information Technology, International Studies, Legal Studies, Literature, LOTE, Mathematics, Music, Music Craft, Physics, Political Studies, Psychology, either Religion and Society or Texts and Traditions.
Subjects to be included in the 'best four' are English and three others from the list above.
In addition, all applicants are required to undertake an audition and a musicianship test in the Faculty of Music.
Knowledge of Music Theory and Harmony of at least Grade 5 AMEB level or its equivalent is necessary.
Entry to the Faculty of Music undergraduate combined Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Arts (BMus/BA) course requires an applicant to meet both the BMus and BA entry requirements. All prospective students should contact the Faculty for BMus entry details, an audition application form and information about the musicianship test.
For details of music subjects and the music major available in the BA, see the Faculty of Arts entry in this Handbook.
For the BMus, course requirements and electives are listed below. Before enrolling, note that non-music subjects taught at times conflicting with music subjects must be avoided. Both the lecture timetable and Ensemble and Practical Class schedules should be checked - these are posted on the notice board early in each year. Practical Study lessons are individually arranged.
More detailed information about the BMus courses and activities is given in the Faculty of Music Course and Subject Guide, available from the University Bookroom. The Degree Programs Manager, Faculty of Music, is available to clarify music enrolment matters, and advice on academic matters should be sought from the Deputy Dean or Dean.
The BMus course is designed to provide students with a perspective for the discipline of music and the specialist knowledge and skills that should prepare them for a professional career in music.
The Bachelor of Music course has as its objectives that graduates:
BMus students are expected to study intensively the instrument with which they completed the entrance requirement without change or interruption for at least two years. Those who complete Practical Study 2 with excellent results may then proceed to the Performance pattern (Music Performance 3, 4), while for others Practical Study 3 and 4 are optional.
In addition to their Practical Study, all students in the Music Therapy pattern receive group tuition over two years in various instruments important to their work, and students in the Performance course pattern are encouraged to take a Second Practical Study.
Aside from instrumental tuition, all BMus students take an intensive aural training subject, a program of ensemble work, a sequence of theoretical studies, and a comprehensive music literature requirement. In Ensemble they are allocated by the Dean to one or more of the Faculty's performing groups. Currently, these include the Faculty Orchestra, Choir, Chamber Choir, Baroque Ensemble, New Music Ensemble, Big Band, Early Music Ensemble and a number of others. These ensembles are dependent on attendance, and full participation is expected.
In the music literature requirement, students build through private study a knowledge of the literature of Western music past and present. All students must obtain the Faculty Music Literature List, which is divided into four year-long parts; listening tests based on this List are conducted at the end of each year of the course.
Attendance at public concerts is also regarded as important, and all BMus students are required to attend and write short reports on a minimum of 10 concerts approved by the Faculty each year.
The first year is common to all BMus students. In second year, students who wish to prepare for a career in music therapy follow the course prescribed for that specialisation, and those with potential for advanced work in composition may seek permission to substitute Composition for a Practical Study. All other students take the compulsory BMus core and have a wide choice of subject combinations. Those preparing for careers in solo or orchestral performance may give their course an intensively practical orientation; those interested in musicology focus on academic subjects.
All students are required to take one subject in another faculty at some time during their course; otherwise, however, enrolment in non-music subjects is optional. In some course patterns, study outside music is desirable, and relevant subjects are suggested below. The authorisation of the Dean is necessary for all subjects taken from other faculties.
1. All candidates for the degree shall, in each of the four years of their studies:
(a) pass a 30-minute aural examination in Music Literature prescribed by the Faculty of Music and held in November; and
(b) complete short written reports of their attendance at a program of no less than 10 public concerts approved by the Faculty of Music.
2. All candidates for the degree shall, during the four years of their studies, complete subjects in another faculty of no less than 20 credit points approved in advance by the Faculty of Music.
740-136 Practical Study 1 30.0 points
740-142 Music in Society 25.0
740-141 Music Techniques 1 20.0
740-140 Aural and Keyboard Studies 15.0
740-109 Ensemble 1* 10.0
Vocal students also take
740-143 Language and Diction 1 --
Total 100.0
Either 740-236 Practical Study 2
or 740-227 Composition 1 30.0
740-264 Music Techniques 2 20.0
Any two Music History subjects from 20.0
Group A (below)
740-209 Ensemble 2* 10.0
Either Practical and Applied Music (Group B
below)
or subjects in another school or faculty 20.0
Vocal students also take
740-270 Language and Diction 2 --
Total 100.0
Either 740-306 Music Performance 3 or 740-327 Composition 2 or subjects from Group A, B and C (below) 40.0 740-385 Music Techniques 3 10.0 740-386 Music Analysis 10.0 740-342/442 Orchestration and Arrangement 1 10.0 Either 740-267 Chamber Music or 740-268 Keyboard Accompaniment 1 or subjects from Group A, B and C (below) or subjects in another faculty 20.0 740-309 Ensemble 3* 10.0 Total 100.0
Either 740-406 Music Performance 4
or 740-427 Composition 3
or subjects from Group A, B or C (below) 50.0
740-480 Conducting 10.0
740-409 Ensemble 4* 10.0
Subjects from Group A, B or C (below) 30.0
or in another school or faculty
Total 100.0
* denotes pass/fail assessment
As above.
740-236 Practical Study 2 30.0
740-264 Music Techniques 2 20.0
Any one Music History subject from 10.0
Group A (below)
512-100 Psychology 1 20.0
740-275 Music Therapy Clinical Practicum 1 10.0
740-231 Applied Music Skills - Therapy 10.0
Vocal students also take
740-270 Language and Diction 2 --
Total 100.0
740-364 Applications of Music in Therapy 30.0
740-389 Music Therapy Clinical Practicum 2 10.0
740-390 Group Music Systems 10.0
740-365 Physiology for Musicians 10.0
512-211 Psychology 2M 10.0
196-103/104 Human Behaviour and Social Environment 20.0
Subject from Group A or B 10.0
Total 100.0
740-459 Clinical Practice in Music Therapy 50.0
740-458 Music Therapy Methods 30.0
Subject from Group A, B or C 10.0
740-366 Music Psychology 10.0
Total 100.0
Students wishing to prepare for careers in music education transfer to the combined Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Teaching course at the end of their first year. They spend their first year in the Music course and a further four years in the combined course, including an internship in a school in the final year. Core subjects from the Bachelor of Music course are combined with training in applied music skills related to teaching, and studies in education. Graduates qualify for registration as specialist music teachers in primary and secondary schools in both classroom and instrumental methods.
740-136 Practical Study 1 30.0 points
740-142 Music in Society 25.0
740-141 Music Techniques 1 20.0
740-140 Aural and Keyboard Studies 15.0
740-109 Ensemble 1 10.0
Vocal students also take
740-143 Language and Diction 1 --
Total 100.0
740-236 Practical Study 2 30.0
740-264 Music Techniques 2 20.0
Music History (Group A) any two 20.0
740-348 Music and Technology (Education) 10.0
740-232 Group Music Resources and Ensemble A 20.0
Vocal students also take
740-270 Language and Diction 2 --
Total 100.0
740-326 Practical Study 3E 20.0
740-385 Music Techniques 3 10.0
740-342 Orchestration and Arrangement 1 10.0
740-338 Trends in Applied Music 10.0
740-355 Group Music Resources and Ensemble B 20.0
475-102 Young People: Developmental 10.0
Perspectives and Education
483-113 Language and Literacy in the Classroom 10.0
479-112 Young People: Social Perspectives and 10.0
Education
Total 100.0
740-408 Music Research Project 10.0
740-407 Conducting for Schools 10.0
Subject from Group A,B, or C 10.0
460-136/137 School Experience and Practical 25.0
Teaching 1 and 2
Two subjects from Learning Areas Studies 25.0
477-108/109 Teaching Inquiry and Learning 1 and 2 20.0
Total 100.0
STRAND 1
460-207 School Experience and Practical 15.0
Teaching 3
Two subjects from Learning Areas 10.0
Studies 3
Selected Studies 25.0
460-210 Internship B 40.0
460-208 School-Related Project 10.0
Total 100.0
STRAND 2
460-209/210 Internship A and B 80.0
Two subjects from Learning Areas 10.0
Studies 3
460-208 School-Related Project 10.0
Total 100.0
While the Music Therapy course is largely fixed in its structure, there is considerable flexibility for all other students. Beyond the core subjects, students may focus their course according to their aspirations or interests into, at one extreme, an intensively practical study program or, at the other extreme, a largely academic degree.
Students are advised to consider their career interests and make their subject choices accordingly. In preparing for certain careers, the following patterns are recommended.
Students preparing for careers in solo or orchestral performance should take the maximum number of practical subjects and choose Group A subjects from the periods of their instrument's repertoire. As such students often seek further study in Europe, a European language subject may be desirable. A suggested pattern is:
Vocal students also take
Students preparing for careers in the studio teaching of their instruments should take Practical Study 3 and 4, Approaches to Pedagogy, Performance teaching 1 and 2, and such electives as History of Instruments and Performance Practice. A suggested pattern is:
Vocal students also take
Students preparing for careers as composers or arrangers take Composition 1 in second year, and choose Group A subjects from contemporary periods and Group B subjects involving technical skills. Some grounding in aesthetics, art history, mathematics or linguistics might also be desirable. A suggested pattern is:
Students preparing for careers in music criticism, librarianship, journalism, research, editing, radio and television music programming, or other branches of musicology, will emphasise academic studies in their courses. They should take a full program of Group A and C subjects, and an introductory writing subject or some language studies. A suggested pattern is:
Vocal students also take
The Faculty has unique resources for students wishing to specialise in Australian Music studies. Such students should combine the Musicology pattern with Music in Australia and the full range of Group C subjects in this area. Australian studies in history, art or literature are also useful. A suggested pattern is:
Vocal students also take
Students preparing for careers in research or teaching of the music of other cultures or urban and sociological studies of our own musical culture should combine Music Cultures of the World and Topics in Ethnomusicology with subjects from the Musicology pattern. Introductory studies in anthropology, sociology and linguistics, as well as cultural studies in the area they are interested in, are desirable. A suggested pattern is:
Vocal students also take
Students preparing for careers in music retailing, wholesaling or publishing, concert management, or work in the administrative departments of radio, television, government arts ministries, or music schools should combine their core music studies with subjects in accounting, legal studies, management and systems analysis. A suggested pattern is:
Vocal students also take
The BMus/BA degree provides students with the opportunity to combine their music degree with a general education in the humanities, social sciences and the languages and cultures of other people. Students complete a minimum of 506 points, made up of a minimum of 216 points in subjects in the Faculty of Arts (50 at first-year level, 66 at second-year level, 100 at third-year level) and a minimum of 290 points from the BMus. The same subject cannot be counted towards both degrees.
A 'major' or specialisation in the Faculty of Arts consists of at least five subjects at second and/or third year level in an area of study, including any compulsory subjects prescribed by the relevant department. Students have the option of completing one or two majors or not completing a major if they find this restrictive, instead taking subjects from several areas of study. Areas of study are: American Studies; Ancient Greek; Anthropology; Arabic; Archaeology; Asian Studies; Australian Studies; Chinese; Cinema Studies; Criminology; English; English Language; Environmental Studies; Fine Arts; French; Geography; German; Modern Greek; Hebrew; Hellenic Studies; History; History and Philosophy of Science; Indonesian; Islamic Studies; Italian; Jewish Studies; Korean; Latin; Linguistics; Medieval Studies; Philosophy; Planning and Design; Political Science; Psychology; Russian; Russian Studies; Social Theory; Social Research Methods; Sociology; Spanish; Swedish; Women's Studies. The following subjects are available in first year only, and in some instances at second year level: Communication Skills; English as a Second Language; Vietnamese. For further information, please refer to the separate entries for Music and Arts in this handbook.
The combined course is administered through the Faculty of Music and normally takes five years of full-time study. To be selected into the combined degree, students need to satisfy the entry requirements of both courses.
Either or both of the BA and the BMus may be taken at honours level. For BA(Hons) the course requires extra points and a sixth year of study; entry to the BA(Hons) component depends on the student's acceptance into a specific honours school or schools at the beginning of the third or fourth year of their BA course (see Faculty of Arts entry).
The BMus degree may be awarded with honours depending on the level of results the student earns in the third and fourth-year subjects of the degree.
The Faculty of Arts offers a Diploma in Modern Languages. Language subjects are taken concurrently with an approved undergraudate degree in a sequence approved by the student's home faculty and the language department. The Diploma will normally add one year to the duration of the student's main degree course. Further information and application forms are available from the Faculty of Arts Office, telephone 9344 5235.
The GradDipMusTherapy offers advanced training in the theory and practice of music therapy for those people with tertiary qualifications in music, music education, or an equivalent field.
The course requires two years full-time or four years part-time study.
The GradDip GIM offers advanced studies in the Guided Imagery and Music method to practising music therapists and health professionals with an appropriate music background. The course requires two years of part-time study.
The Faculty offers a three-semester full-time or three-year part-time MMus degree course. All candidates take a major study in one of Research, Composition or Performance.
Research students may specialise in some branch of musicology, music education or music therapy. A thesis is required.
Composition students present a folio of original compositions, using a variety of resources and containing at least one composition of a substantial and sustained nature, with the possibility of additional work in research and coursework.
Performance students present two public recitals in which major works are performed and provide substantial program notes for each. Students also complete related coursework.
Entry to DMus degree candidature is open to graduates of at least five years' standing. Acceptance is subject to the Faculty being satisfied that the candidate has attained appropriate distinction as a composer or scholar of music.
Examination is based on a submission of a body of compositions or scholarly publications which together would constitute a major contribution to music, or attest to a major original contribution to research into the theory, history and aesthetics of music.
The PhD is awarded by the University, not the Faculty. Details are available from the University's School of Graduate Studies.
Employment possibilities for music graduates vary between specialisations but are currently good.
Openings exist in both professional and semi-professional orchestras. Symphony orchestras and opera or ballet orchestras seek competent players and opportunities arise for casual players in choral accompaniment and amateur theatrical productions.
The world of the solo performer is a fickle one and suited only to those with a formidable command of technique, great physical stamina and an appropriate mental constitution. Some opportunities for professional piano accompanists exist.
Qualified music teachers are in demand in both government and private schools to teach general class music and to organise and teach in instrumental music programs.
Appropriately qualified private music teachers have little trouble building a practice, especially those using new technology such as the computer to assist in theory, training and creative music-making.
Composers and music researchers generally have limited opportunities but some find employment at tertiary institutions. Most supplement their income by teaching or acting as critics or journalists for the media.
Music therapy is a relatively new field in which graduates have gained secure employment in working with the mentally and physically handicapped and the aged in hospitals and other institutions.
Graduates contemplating a career in music will find it useful to study the changing scene. In times when funding cuts are beginning to affect many people, it is notable that sales of recordings, music, musical instruments and high quality sound reproduction equipment are booming.
Further information may be obtained from the Degree Programs Manager, Faculty of Music, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052.
Tel: +613 (03) 9344 5256/5258
Fax: +613 (03) 9344 5346
Faculties : Next:Science | Prev:Med, Dent & Health Sci | Search | Help
Handbook 1996 : Faculty of Music
Status: Official 1996 Date created: Sep 27 1995 Last modified: Sep 27 1995 Authorised by: Academic Registrar Email enquiries: Course_Information@registrar.unimelb.edu.au
Maintained by: Faculty of Music
Copyright © University of Melbourne 1995,1996.