MO4S12 - Songwriting 1: Skills and Strategies 31 Jul 2018 - 31 Aug 2027 | Version 2

Associated Module Information

Module Code: MO4S12
Module Title: Songwriting 1: Skills and Strategies
Faculty: Faculty of Business and Creative Industries
Faculty Group: Music and Drama
Faculty Sub Group: Music
Module Leader: Matthew Evans
Module Team: Skip Curtis, Lucy Squire, Yasmine Davies
First Intended Intake: SEP 2015 Final Year of Intake:
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 20 Credit Level: 7
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module:
HECOS codes: 100695 - music composition
HECOS Code Weighting: 100

Document Version Information

Version 2
Valid From 31 Jul 2018
Valid To 31 Aug 2027

Module Aims

This module aims:

1. To enable students to appraise differing solo songwriting skills and strategies, and to select and apply those most appropriate to their own professional practice.

2. To cultivate in students a higher-level understanding of core songwriting skills, such as song form, harmonic palette, and lyric writing.

3. To support students to develop complex problem-solving capacities in relation to solo songwriting, including compositional, evaluative, editing, and re-drafting skills.

Content Summary

Songwriting workshops provide weekly formative assessments and an opportunity for peer-critique linked to the re-drafting process.

Students will be presented with regular songwriting tasks that facilitate the exploration of exemplary methods and techniques, such as writing to a brief, writing to a prescriptive form (e.g. AABA, AA, ABAB), writing to a title, and lyric writing exercises.

Students will engage creatively with their own songwriting and re-drafting processes by appraising and evaluating their own work and that of their peers.

Students will undertake exercises that develop their lyric, harmonic and melodic ranges.

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Lecture 6
Seminar 8
Tutorial 4
Practical classes and workshops 20
Supervised time in studio/workshop 6
Directed Study 150
Formative Assessment - Scheduled 6
Total Hours Selected 200

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 Analyse a range of solo songwriting strategies, identifying those most appropriate for the student’s own practice within the subject domain (disciplinary methodologies).
LO2 Produce a portfolio of original solo music that evidences an understanding of how current research in the subject domain can be used to create songwriting (application).
LO3 Advance the students’ solo songwriting skills, through their creation of effective music, and lyrics that demonstrate an understanding of phrasing and poetics (technical expertise).

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Asynchronous Assessment Presentation (Asynchronous) 1 Oral/Poster presentation of a reflective critique documenting the songwriting process for the completed music. 10 N/A 30 No 40
Asynchronous Assessment Practical Coursework 1 (Asynch) Submission/presentation of 15 minutes (max) of original music, accompanied by an 'Artist's Statement'. 15 N/A 70 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2 LO3
Presentation (Asynchronous) 1
Practical Coursework 1 (Asynch)

Reading List

Blume, J. (2008) Six Steps to Songwriting Success. (Exp. Ed.), New York: Billboard Books.

Cahn, W. (2005) Creative Music Making. London: Routledge.

Frith, S. (2007) Taking Popular Music Seriously: Selected Essays. Hants: Ashgate Publishing Limited.

Middleton, R. (2000) Reading Pop: Approaches to Textual Analysis in Popular Music, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Moore, A. (ed.) (2003) Analysing Popular Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Morley, P. (2003) Words and Music. London: Bloomsbury Books.

Pattison, P (2010) Writing Better Lyrics. New York: F&W.

Pattison, P (2014) Song writing: Essential Guide to Rhyming: A Step-by-step Guide to Better Rhyming and Lyrics. United States: Berklee Press.

Waterman, D.J. (2007) Song: The World’s Best Songwriters on Creating the Music That Moves Us. New York: F&W Publications.

Webb, J. (1998) Tunesmith. New York: Hyperion Books.

Zollo, P. (2003) Songwriters on Songwriting. United States: Da Capo Press.