Modules

Discovering the arts and humanities (A111)

A111 will introduce you to the study of the arts and humanities at university level. It is an interdisciplinary module, which presents a broad survey of works of art and literature, people, events, practices and ideas in a period ranging from about three thousand years ago to today. You'll think about the kind of knowledge and understanding that is gained through the study of the arts and humanities and why this matters. The module is structured around three themes: ‘reputations’, ‘traditions’, and ‘crossing boundaries’. A111 is therefore an ideal starting point for further study of art history, which will enable you to develop your academic skills before proceeding to study at higher levels.

Music, sound and technology (A232)

This module explores the nature of musical sound and the ways that technology can be used by creative musicians. You'll be introduced to the skills needed for making recordings, and the module resources include software packages for analysing and editing recorded sound. You'll study how the physics of sound underlie musical experiences, and investigate the acoustic properties of different instruments. The module aims to deepen your understanding of the nature of sound and to equip you better as a musician, whatever your background and musical interests.
Understanding music (A234)

This introduction to the fundamentals of music will allow you to understand and use music notation. You’ll study the elements of music and how these are assembled into larger musical structures, focusing on music encountered in Western traditions (popular and classical). You’ll learn to make sense of a wide variety of notated music, and you’ll be encouraged to make meaningful connections between the topics you study and your own experiences and tastes through independent study. You’ll develop practical musicianship skills, using professional music-notation software, that will provide you with a grounding for arranging and composing.

Central questions in the study of music (A342)

What does music mean? What does it do? These are the queries at the heart of this module. You will explore how music conveys meanings and impacts its social contexts, before moving into investigations of audiences, performances, and film music. The module incorporates a focus on the transmission of music, examining how it is edited, notated, and recorded. The final part looks at music in relation to specific social and historical contexts, incorporating case studies of works of western art music from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries.
Creative Music Making (CTLU302)

This module, offered by Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in collaboration with the Music at the OU, is aimed at practising musicians engaged in degree-level study of music. Students may be active in any genre of music, and there is no specific level of technical attainment required to register. Students examine their own and other musical practices, methods of developing and improving technical and practical skills, and the cultural place and value of different performance contexts. The module includes a residential school.

MA Music part 1

This module is the first part of the MA in Music, which is taught and assessed entirely online. It introduces a wide range of music research skills in the context of the ‘digital humanities’ (the use of computers and the internet for research and study). Several topics and themes are included in the programme that will help you think in new ways about written documents about music, musical criticism, musical performances, and ethnographical approaches to music. Music databases contained in The Open University’s online library (one of the largest in the world) are central to this module. This module has a wide cultural and thematic breadth: all students engage with a range of western, non-western and popular music. The module is accessible and relevant to those who have a vocational or leisure interest in music.
MA Music part 2

This module is the second part of the MA in Music. You will explore three main study areas of current interest to musicology (music and politics; notations and performances; musical relationships) prior to examining a number of case-study research projects. Topics covered include: the role of music in Nazi Germany, reception history; the protest song; the role of music in communities; early keyboard music; contemporary composition, notation, and performance; composer autographs; opera and gender; and music and social media. The module concludes with the writing of a dissertation, which may be presented digitally.