Areas of study
Bachelor of Music
Students taking the Bachelor of Music (BMus) can put together a flexible pathway through the degree that allows them to specialise in the areas of music that fit their passions, experiences and aspirations. The courses in the BMus fall in three streams - Performance; Creative and Professional Practice; and Music Inquiry. BMus students are required to complete one major (8 courses) and one minor (4 courses) from these streams, and can take the remainder of their music courses from any stream.
Performance
Most BMus students will take a major or minor in Performance. These courses allow students to refine their skills in the understanding, interpretation and execution of solo and ensemble performance. Students may elect to specialise in a particular genre - classical, jazz, contemporary or folk and world musics - or combine genres. In addition to classes, masterclasses, rehearsals and workshops at the ANU School of Music, Performance students have access to weekly individual instrumental lessons with a teacher (or equivalent summer schools or intensive external tuition). Access to Performance courses is by audition.
Core courses for Performance are: Music Performance 1; Music Performance 2; Music Performance 3; Music Performance 4; Music Performance 5; Music Performance 6.
Collections and Facilities: Strings; Drums and Percussion; Winds and Brass; Voice, Guitar and Keyboard
Creative and Professional Practice
All students in the BMus degree take core courses in the basic language of music: theory and analysis, aural, improvisation and composition. Students who wish to make a focus of these areas can specialise in composition and/or improvisation, through taking extension and advanced courses in these areas. Alongside these creative musicianship courses, students can also take courses that develop their theoretical understanding of areas such as music education, music technology, music policy and advocacy, and have the opportunity to apply this theoretical understanding in practice.
Core courses for Creative and Professional Practice are: Creative Musicianship 1; Creative Musicianship 2; Creative Musicianship 3; Creative Musicianship 4; Advanced Composition & Arrangement 1; Advanced Composition & Arrangement 2; Advanced Improvisation 1; Advanced Improvisation 2.
Collections and Facilities: Aural Skills, Composition, Analysis and Improvisation; Music Business, Policy and Production; Music Education; Music Technologies and Sound Design; Songwriting and Recording
Music Inquiry
Courses in the Music Inquiry stream place allow students to study music in its historical, cultural, philosophical and sociological contexts. All BMus students are required to take at least a minor in Music Inquiry, and in this they study both the fundamental concepts underlying musical communication, and also the significant events in music history. Later-year courses allow students to study a range of specialist courses, that look for instance at the relationships between music and politics, or music and religion; or the issue of musical identity in a globalised world; or allow students to complete an individual research project on an area of musicological research.
Core courses for Music Inquiry are: Music & Meaning and Turning Points in Music History.
Collections and Facilities: Understanding Musical Pasts; Australian Indigenous Music and Media; Global Musical Cultures; Music in the Digital Age; Music and Politics; All Shook Up: A History of Rock 'n' Roll
