When you think about a world without music, the silence is deafening. As old as humanity itself, music is indispensable for communication, entertainment, wellbeing and imagination. It is the soundtrack to our lives, whether streaming content, playing video games, or living through societal upheaval and cultural change, and continues to take on exciting new forms.
Studying music from our island campus of Tasmania teaches you to embrace diversity, connections and ingenuity, leading to a rewarding future in music. Your degree is built around a Music Practice major, in which you develop your individual skills in a specialisation of your choice:
- Classical Performance
- Jazz and Popular Music Performance
- Composition
- Commercial Music Creation
- Music Technology
- Songwriter
You also have the unique option to combine two specialisations, or two different instruments within a single specialisation, with the Dual Practice major.
Tasmania provides a unique backdrop for exploring both current and historical cultural contexts of music. Discover how place, spectacle, politics and the future borrow from and influence music, letting your interests drive the creation of new works and projects. To help you realise ideas and prepare you for the ever-changing musical landscape, you will pick up essential skills in recording, digital production, arranging, project management and an awareness of the music industry.
It all happens from the new home of music here in Hobart at the
Students develop a broad body of knowledge about music through three suites of units. In the Music Practice suite (FCA111 Music Practice 1; FCA112 Music Practice 2; FCA211 Music Practice 3; FCA212 Music Practice 4; FCA311 Music Practice 5; FCA312 Music Practice 6) students develop specialist music knowledge and skills in relation to their individual practice, and contextualise this in relation to music and cultural histories and technological and industry changes. There is a clear progression in conceptual and technical skill building within this suite, where strict pre-requisites ensure that students are at an appropriate level to succeed as they move through the sequence of units. Students engage in performance/production assessment tasks that mirror disciplinary/industry practices.
In the Tools and Techniques suite (FCA1XX Tools, Techniques and Sound; FCA1XX Tools, Techniques and Digital Audio; FCA2XX Arranging and Music Creation) students develop and apply theoretical knowledge and digital literacies. Making these units core ensures that all students have the digital literacies required within the discipline as well as generally to progress in their studies and apply in industry settings.
In the Music and suite (FCx1xx Music and Place, FCx1xx Music and Spectacle, FCx2xx Music and Politics, FCx2xx Music and the Future) students develop and apply contextual and conceptual knowledge of music through the thematic frames specified in the unit titles. Students develop a tool kit of communication skills, where scaffolded tasks build confidence with writing and oral presentations and familiarity with the conventions of academic writing as well as writing for other specialist and non-specialist audiences.
In FCI303 Music Capstone Project, students integrate skills and knowledge from across the suites, in a self-directed project that sets a foundation for future and lifelong learning. In the Creative Curriculum units, students draw on their disciplinary knowledge to apply it to interdisciplinary and industry-based settings and assessments.