Study Abroad Programme

The module description below is for 2020/21 academic year and reflects changes due to the majority of teaching being offered online due to Covid-19 and therefore content and assessment for future years are subject to change. This description is provided for the use of study abroad students only.

MODULE SPECIFICATION – UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMMES

KEY FACTS

Module name Electronic Dance Music

Module code MU2201

School School of Arts and Social Sciences

Department or equivalent Music

UK credits 15

ECTS 7.5

Level 5

Delivery location (partnership N/A programmes only)

MODULE SUMMARY

Module outline and aims

In this module you will investigate a number of dance music scenes that have emerged from the last four decades and up to the present day. It will combine historical, practical and analytical approaches to explore a range of music through geographic, political and socio-cultural contexts and via technological developments. Particular focus will be given to how genres and movements may be understood through their roots in particular cities, questioning how and why these have developed and mutated into global strands of club music, or not. You will critically respond to particular developments in idiom, technology, production and practice through written assignments, plus an option of practical work.

The core aims of the module are:

 To develop knowledge of a wide range of electronic dance music  To investigate the ways in which various developments in dance music culture can be understood from both local and global perspectives  To improve aural analytical techniques and gain a critical awareness of distinctions in genre, era, and production techniques  To reflect on the relationship between dance music and place, social context and technological developments across time

 To understand, evaluate and critically engage with contemporary research, writing and wider discourse on dance music cultures

Content outline

The module will cover a wide range of genres and styles, possibly including: Techno, House, Rave, Hardcore / Jungle / Drum n Bass, Dubstep, Funk Carioca, Kwaito and Footwork. Lecture topics may include:

 Detroit: Techno and the influence of the TR-808  Afrofuturism in Chicago: from House to Footwork  16-step: drum machines across the development of dance music  PinkNoises: Gendered practices in dance music culture  Rio vs Lisbon: Funk Carioca + the evolution of Principe Discos  Side-chain and parallel compression via Berlin and New York  Amen, Brother: Sampling culture + the break that spawned a sound.  Taxi! Johannesburg’s Kwaito House scene

WHAT WILL I BE EXPECTED TO ACHIEVE?

On successful completion of this module, you will be expected to be able to:

Knowledge and understanding:

 Demonstrate knowledge and awareness of various genres of dance music  Demonstrate a critical engagement with the geographic, social, aesthetic and technological issues contextualising those various genres  Show developed critical abilities in relations to evaluating a variety of current and historical writing and research on the topics.

Skills:

 Undertake independent learning  Apply critical listening and evaluation skills  Demonstrate fluency with the key concepts relevant to the discourse on dance music  Situate the specific learning outcomes from the module within broader (ethno)musicological contexts

Values and attitudes:

 Respect and acknowledge the ideas and work of others

HOW WILL I LEARN?

Teaching pattern:

Teaching Teaching Contact Self-directed Placement Total component type hours study hours hours student (scheduled) (independent) learning hours

Lectures Lecture 16 103 0 119

Workshops Seminar 4 26 30

Tutorials Tutorial 1 1

Totals 150

WHAT TYPES OF ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK CAN I EXPECT?

Assessments

Assessment is based on two elements: one coursework (written critical listening accounts) and one final project (essay, or practical response + commentary).

Assessment pattern:

Assessment component Assessment Weighting Minimum Pass/Fail? type qualifying mark

Coursework (1050-1200 Written 30% 40 N/A words) assignment

Project Option 1: 70% 40 N/A Written Students choose from one of assignment the two options below: Option 2: Other • Option 1: Essay (2,700 – project output 3,000 words)

• Option 2: A Practice-based project, e.g. original composition with

accompanying critical commentary, to be devised and approved through consultation with the module tutor.

Assessment criteria

Assessment Criteria are descriptions of the skills, knowledge or attributes students need to demonstrate in order to complete an assessment successfully and Grade-Related Criteria are descriptions of the skills, knowledge or attributes students need to demonstrate to achieve a certain grade or mark in an assessment. Assessment Criteria and Grade-Related Criteria for module assessments will be made available to students prior to an assessment taking place. More information will be available from the module leader.

Feedback on assessment

Following an assessment, students will be given their marks and feedback in line with the Assessment Regulations and Policy. More information on the timing and type of feedback that will be provided for each assessment will be available from the module leader.

Assessment Regulations

The Pass mark for the module is 40%. Any minimum qualifying marks for specific assessments are listed in the table above. The weighting of the different components can also be found above. The Programme Specification contains information on what happens if you fail an assessment component or the module.

INDICATIVE READING LIST Books and articles

 Beyer, T. Burkhalter, T. & Liechti, H. (eds.) (2016) Seismographic Sounds: Visions of a New World, Norient.

 Butler, Mark J. (2006) Unlocking the groove: rhythm, meter, and musical design in electronic dance music, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Ind.

 Demers, J. (2010) Listening through the Noise: The Aesthetics of Experimental Electronic Music, Oxford University Press

 Eshun, K. (1998) More Brilliant Than the Sun: Adventures in Sonic Fiction, Quartet Books.

 Ferreira, P. P. "When Sound Meets Movement: Performance in Electronic Dance Music." Leonardo Music Journal, vol. 18 no. 1, 2008, pp. 17-20

 Gilbert, J. & Pearson, E. (1999) Discographies: dance music, culture and the politics of sound, Routledge, London.

 Hanf, M.K. 2010, Detroit techno: transfer the soul through the machine, VDM Verlag Dr. Muller, Saarbrucken.

 Haq, N (ed.) 2016, Rave: rave and its influence on art and culture, Black Dog Publishing, London.

 Middleton, C. 2006, Creating digital music and sound, Focal Music Press.

 Palombini, C. 2011, "Notes on the historiography of Música soul and Funk carioca", Historia Actual Online, no. 23, pp. 99-106.

 Reynolds, S. 2013, Energy flash: a journey through rave music and dance culture, New and revised edition, Faber and Faber, London.

 Rogers, T. 2010 Pink Noises: women on electronic music and sound, Duke University Press.

 Shapiro, P. (ed.) 2000, Modulations: A History of Electronic Music: Throbbing Words on Sound, Caipirinha Productions.

 Snoman, R. 2007, The dance music manual, Focal Music Press.

 Stirling, C. 2016, "'Beyond the Dance Floor'? Gendered Publics and Creative Practices in Electronic Dance Music", Contemporary Music Review, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 130-149.

 Warner, D. and Cox, C. (eds.) (2004), Audio culture: Readings in modern music, Continuum.

Films

 High On Hope (2009) dir. Piers Sanderson  All Ears (2012) dir. Gus Sutherland  I’m Tryna Tell Ya (2014) dir. Tim & Barry

Version: 1.0

Version date: Feb 2017

For use from: 2017-18

Appendix: see http://www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/1805/296/ for the full list of JACS codes and descriptions

CODES

HESA Code Description Price Group

144 Music, dance, drama and performing arts C1

JACS Code Description Percentage (%)

W350 The systematic study of the forms and methods of music art, 100 and the functions of music in societies and cultures.