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MUS41270

Academic Year 2026/2027

Composition Portfolio (MUS41270)

Subject:
Music
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
Music
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
30
Module Coordinator:
Dr Sean L Clancy
Trimester:
Summer
Mode of Delivery:
Blended
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

The composition portfolio is an opportunity for students to define their own creative practice and projects in discussion with the module coordinator. Students are required to submit three separate works of different forces and duration. At least one work will be supported by performance from a visiting professional ensemble with a set instrumentation, the other pieces are self-defined project organised by the student themselves. The student is supported by one-to-one tutorials, where work-in-progress is analysed and reflected upon, and related scores, recordings and approaches are shared. Through one-to-one tutorials, students hone their technical, creative, and presentation skills in preparation for life as a composer. Students are encouraged to work as creatively as possible with all forms of music-based creative practice welcomed be it notated, improvised, or recorded.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module students should be able to:

- Employ an assured level of technical skill in the execution of original compositional work.
- Demonstrate creativity, imagination and individuality through composition.
- Use professional standard presentation skills to prepare and present a portfolio of works appropriate for public performance and dissemination.
- Articulate an informed awareness of contextual, technical and/or aesthetic issues in relation to the portfolio by means of a short written commentary.

Indicative Module Content:

Content will be defined by each individual student and their needs.

Students can expect to discuss:
- How to generate and develop musical material
- Form & structure
- Orchestration
- Different forms of notation
- Writing for acoustic and electronic instruments
- Inspiration from other art forms
- How to present work for performers
- How to contextualise their work

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Expert

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Expert

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Expert

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Expert

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Expert

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Expert

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Expert

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Expert

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Expert

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Autonomous Student Learning

566
Practical

10
Project Supervision

24
Total

600

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Regular one-on-one or two-on-one tutorials
Workshop with musicians
Self-directed research, study, and composition

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade Component repeat (in-module) Offered
Portfolio: Present a balanced portfolio of 3 creative compositional works. Portfolio must include audio artifacts and scores presented at a professional level. A commentary of c. 2000 words should accompany. Week 14 Graded No
100
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback will be given individually to students, post-assessment by written and annotated remarks through the VLE

ADAMS, Tony, HOLMAN-JONES, Stacy, ELLIS, Caroline, Autoethnography (Understanding Qualitative Research), (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014)

ADLER, Samuel, The Study of Orchestration, 4th Edition (New York, Norton, 2016)

BERGER, John, Ways of Seeing (London: Penguin, 2008)

BISHOP, Claire Disordered Attention: How We Look at Art and Performance Today (London: Verso, 2024)

BURROWS, Jonathan, A Choreographer’s Handbook. (Abingdon: Routledge, 2010)

CAGE, John, Silence (London: Marion Boyars, 1968)

CAGNEY, Liam, Gérard Grisey and Spectral Music: Composition in the Information Age. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024)

CONRAD, Tony Writings (New York: Primary Information, 2019)

ELLIS, Caroline, The Ethnographic I: A Methodological Novel about Autoethnography (Walnut Creak, CA: AltaMira Press, 2003)

FELDMAN, Morton, Give my Regards to Eighth Street (Cambridge MA: Exact Change, 2000)

GALLOPE, Michael; HARREN, Natilee; HICKS, John, The Scores Project: Essays on Experimental Notation in Music, Art, Poetry, and Dance, 1950-1975 (Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute, 2025)

GLOVER, Richard & HARRISON, Bryn, Overcoming Form: Reflections on Immersive Listening (Huddersfield, Huddersfield University Press, 2013)

GOTTSCHALK, Jennie, Experimental Music Since 1970 (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016)

GRIFFITHS, Paul, Modern Music and After 3rd edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010)

HOLDRIDGE, Lin & MACLEOD, Katy. Thinking Through Art: Reflections on Art as Research, Oxon: Routledge, 2006

LEWIS, George, A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2009)

LELY, John & SAUNDERS, James, Word Event: Perspectives on Verbal Notation (London: Bloomsbury, 2012)

LUCIER, Alvin, Music 109: Notes on Experimental Music (Middletown CT, Wesleyan University Press, 2012)

LUCIER, Alvin, Eight lectures on experimental music (Middletown CT, Wesleyan University Press, 2018)

NELSON, Robin. Practice as Research in the Arts: Principles, Protocols, Pedagogies, Resistances, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013

NYMAN, Michael, Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1974)

OLIVEROS, Pauline, Deep Listening: A Composer's Sound Practice (iUniverse, 2005)

PRIEST, Eldritch, Boring Formless Nonsense: Experimental Music and the Aesthetics of Failure (London: Bloomsbury, 2013)

RADIGUE, Éliane, Alien Roots: Éliane Radigue: Blank Forms 10 (Chicago: Blank Forms Editions, 2025)

RUTHERFORD-JOHNSON, Tim, Music after the Fall, (Oakland, University of California Press, 2017)

SMITH, Hazel & DEAN, Roger. Practice-led Research, Research-led Practice in the Creative Arts (Research Methods for the Arts and Humanities), Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009

SPENCER, Catherine Beyond the Happening: Performance art and the Politics of Communication (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2020)

STRAVINSKY, Igor, Poetics of music in the form of six lessons (Cambridge Mass. Harvard University Press, 1970)

TENNEY, James, From Scratch: Writings in Music Theory (Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2019)

WOOD, Catherine: Performance in Contemporary Art, (London: Tate Publishing, 2022)

ZIMMERMANN, Walter, Desert Plants, Conversations with 23 American Musicians (Cologne, MusikTexte, 2020)

It's also useful to read articles in periodicals such as Journal of Music, Tempo, Perspectives of New Music, MusikTexte, Leonardo Music Journal.
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