| School of Humanities | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MUS-20043 | Lyrics and the Popular Song | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Co-ordinator: | Mr Nick Reyland Room: CKF08, Tel:33297 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teaching Team: | Prof Mike Vaughan, Dr Diego Garro, Dr Miroslav Spasov Spasov, Miss Jo-Anne Watts, Miss Michaela Owen, Mr Joe Stretch, Mrs Louise Morris, Miss Anna Lydon, Dr Caroline Rae | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture Time: | See Timetable... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level: | 2 | Credits: | 15 | Study Hours: | 150 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School Office: | Tel: 01782 733147 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Programme/Approved Electives for |
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| English and American Literatures
Single Honours (Level 2) English Dual Honours (Level 2) English Major (Level 2) English Minor (Level 2) Music Dual Honours (Level 2) Music Minor (Level 2) Music Single Honours (Level 2) Music Technology Dual Honours (Level 2) Music Technology Minor (Level 2) Music Technology Single Honours (Level 2) |
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| Available as a Free Standing Elective |
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| Yes |
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| Barred Combinations |
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| None
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| Prerequisites |
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| None
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Description What makes a great lyric? Why are song lyrics sung? And why are those sung song lyrics accompanied? What, and how, do popular songs mean? Is pop and rock disposable, meaningless commercial art, or a site of profundity, self-discovery and meaningful explorations of socio-cultural issues and the human condition? On this innovative and highly interactive interdisciplinary module fusing creative and critical approaches, you will learn to create, critique, analyse, edit and sing lyrics, in order more fully to comprehend the powerful fusion of words and music at the centre of pop and rock's socio-cultural and artistic meanings, and to develop your own creative voice and abilities as either a writer or a musician. Led by song writer, pop star and novelist Joe Stretch (English) and erstwhile songwriter, never a pop star and musicologist Nick Reyland (Music), the module will proceed through two phases, critical and creative, all sessions having a high level of student participation. In the first phase, lectures, seminars and tutorials will explore core critical issues in the analysis of popular songs lyrics, how they are sung and their interaction with a musical environment; creative considerations including specificity vs opacity, use of names, sexuality and place will be explored. A critical essay will be submitted at the end of this phase of the module. The second phase will take the form of a series of creative workshops involving group and later individual creative work. Indicative themes for the workshops include critiquing and improving flawed existing lyrics, finding melodies for new lyrics, and creating lyrics and melodies for pre-recorded musical environments, in response to literary stimuli. Towards the end of the module, students will bring in their own developing work on their second piece of coursework (a creative task involving either editing an existing lyric or creating a new lyric and melody for a pre-recorded environment) and discuss, with peers and with the tutors, their work in progress. Please note that, while an interest in popular music, creative writing and/or song writing are obviously 'must haves' for students taking the module, no particular musical talent, particularly as a vocalist, is required to enrol. On the other hand, whether or not you consider yourself a singer, you will be singing out loud and sharing your creative work by week twelve, albeit in an informal and supportive creative environment. The module is therefore most obviously suited to musicians and writers with a developing interest in the creation of popular music, but is open to all. |
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| Aims |
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| Students will be trained to: - critically analyse the role of lyrics and the manner in which they are sung in popular songs - nourish their own ability to create, or creatively edit, examples thereof - analyze song lyrics, and creatively utilize those analytical competencies in the creation of new work - develop competence in critically explaining, and creating examples demonstrating, the manner in which words and music form a potent synthesis at the centre of popular music&©s artistic and cultural achievements. |
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| Intended Learning Outcomes |
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| analyse popular song lyrics, the way they are sung, and their relationship to the musical environment in which they are experienced. will be achieved by assessments: 1 compare and contrast the functions of lyrics and music in set texts and songs they already know. will be achieved by assessments: 1 creatively edit existing song lyrics to improve them or create new lyrics and melodies for pre-recorded musical accompaniments. will be achieved by assessments: 2 engage critically with the process of editing existing lyrics or creating new lyrics and melodies. will be achieved by assessments: 2 |
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| Study hours |
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| - 12 hours of lectures, seminars and tutorials - 12 hours of small group workshops (less than 15 students) - 48 hours (4 hours x 12) of preparation time per lecture, seminar or workshop (carrying out set reading and listening, analysis and creative exercises, etc.) - 24 hours of reading and listening around the topic - 54 hours of work on coursework |
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| Description of Module Assessment |
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| 01: Essay weighted 50% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Critical 1,500 word essay A critical 1,500 essay in which students analyse set texts and popular songs of their own choosing (to be submitted mid-way through the semester). |
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| 02: Project weighted 50% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Creative project A creative project consisting of ONE of the following: a) an improved version of a pre-existing song lyric, accompanied by a 1,000 word critical commentary on the manner in which the changes made alter and improve the song. b) a recording and print copy (which can be of the most basic quality; a student&©s ability to sing will not be an assessed factor either) of a new lyric and melody for a pre-recorded accompaniment. This should also be accompanied by a 500-word commentary on the process of writing the lyric and melody. |
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| Version: (1.05A) Created: 23/Apr/2012
This document is the definitive current source of information about this module and supersedes any other information. |
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