Studying at York
Independent Project for Music & Sound Recording - MUS00102H
Module summary
During your Independent Project you will develop a substantial piece of creative, technical or scholarly work which will be presented to professional standards.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2024-25 to Semester 2 2024-25 |
Module aims
The Independent Project is a substantial piece of work devised and researched during the 3rd year. It gives you the experience of real research planning, establishing a scholarly or creative project and seeing it through to a finished piece of work which will be presented to professional standards.
The Independent Project topic submission occurs in Year 2, Semester 2. You submit an outline proposal, which is approved by the Music and Sound Recording course team.You are then allocated a supervisor, who oversees and guides the development of the project.
Because the Independent Project springs directly from your own interests, it often develops skills appropriate to, or even acts as direct preparation for, a number of graduate career routes. The alignment between skills encountered in the Independent Project, and those you wish to focus on for future employment is monitored by the supervisor to steer provision in relevant, employable areas. This may be of relevance in Sound Entrepreneurship.
As such, the module aims to facilitate a large-scale independent project, which identifies and directly engages with the current state of an area of Production practice, analysis and/or theory and undertakes work that employs appropriate research methods to solve problems and/or answer questions in this area. Finally, the module aims to encourage independent work, problem solving, and critical thinking with respect to music production and sound recording.
Module learning outcomes
By the end of this module, you should:
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Be aware of current research / practice in your chosen field, and be able to situate your own outputs within that context;
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Be able to articulate the new ground that your approach investigates, and to evaluate its effectiveness;
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Be able to demonstrate specific musical / audio production or software / musicological / music-administrative skills in relation to your chosen area (compositional, performance, project-management, recording, etc.).
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Be able to demonstrate experience in devising original research projects, monitoring their progress, and carrying them through to a successful conclusion.
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Be able to demonstrate successful strategies of time management in the production of the project over an extended timeframe;
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Be able to demonstrate skills in recognising a professional level of achievement, and in self-evaluation of the effectiveness of your project.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 | A |
| Essay/coursework | 100 | B |
| Essay/coursework | 100 | C |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
All Independent Project submissions include a written element; and usually takes the form of one of the following scholarly and/or creative possibilities:
- an extended essay/dissertation (of around 8000 words)
OR - an empirical research article including primary research (of around 6000 words)
OR - a substantial piece of creative or practical work, with accompanying documentation (plus commentary). This can include:
- a substantial piece of practical production work i.e. an album (35 minutes of audio, plus 2000–3000 critical essay)
- a shorter piece of practical production work i.e. an EP (15-20 minutes of audio, plus c.4500 word critical essay)
- working to visual stimulus i.e. foley, short film soundtrack or short film score (15-20 minutes of audio, plus c. 4500 word critical essay)
- artistic installation work i.e. sound art, AV, or electroacoustic installations (15-20 minutes of audio, plus c. 4500 word critical essay)
- composition and production of an original album (35 minutes of audio, plus 2000 - 3000 word critical essay)
- development of software systems, software or an app (substantial software artefact, plus 2000-3000 word technical report)
- a recital or performance (35 performance, plus 2000-3000 word critical essay)
- organising and evaluating a themed event (appropriate documentation/evidence, plus 5000–6000 critical essay)
- community-based project involving production (appropriate documentation/evidence, plus 3,000–4,000 critical essay)
You will be expected to deliver a formal summary of their progress, in the form of an interim report, or literature study, or preliminary sketch materials (for practical work) to be submitted as a draft in Week 7 of the Semester 2.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 | A |
| Essay/coursework | 100 | B |
| Essay/coursework | 100 | C |
Module feedback
You will receive written feedback in line with standard University turnaround times.
Indicative reading
Cottrell, S. (2019). The Study Skills Handbook. London: Macmillan Education UK.
Cooley, L., & Lewkowicz, Jo. (2003). Dissertation writing in practice : turning ideas into text / Linda Cooley and Jo Lewkowicz. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Richer, S. (2013). Writing a dissertation : the essential guide / Suzi Richer. Peterborough: Need2Know.
Rudestam, K. E., & Newton, Rae R. (2015). Surviving your dissertation : a comprehensive guide to content and process / Kjell Erik Rudestam, Fielding Graduate University, Rae R. Newton, Fielding Graduate University. (Fourth edition..). Thousand Oaks, California : Sage Publication.
Walliman, N. (2004). Your undergraduate dissertation : the essential guide for success / Nicholas Walliman. London: Sage Publications.