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Colleges - Academic, Research, Post Graduate
1/ University of Limerick (UL)
MA Classical Strings Performance
MA Dance Performance: Irish Traditional Dance
MA Dance Performance: Contemporary Dance
MA Irish Traditional Music Performance
2/ University College Cork (UCC)
http://www.music.ucc.ie/index.php?/postgrad/
Postgraduate Studies
We offer a range of postgraduate degrees from taught programmes (the HDip in Arts (Music) and MA degrees in Composition, Ethnomusicology, and Music and Cultural History) to research programmes (PhD/MPhil degrees by research, including composition).
At masters level, there are two main types of degree: (1) a predefined, taught programme; (2) a degree by original research (composition is considered a type of research). One type is not necessarily better than another. Taught programmes are ideal for fostering specialization in a particular field, and can be an excellent preparation for proceeding to further advanced work. Our taught masters degrees are the MA in Composition, the MA in Ethnomusicology and the MA in Music and Cultural History. If you are already strongly motivated towards a particular field of enquiry you may prefer to embark on a research degree, for this will give you maximum scope for pursuing your own ideas, showing initiative and working independently under supervision.
All doctoral level degrees in this department are by research (including composition).
The MA in Ethnomusicology combines scholarship and performance in the study of a diverse range of music traditions from around the world. Emphasis is given to performance, history and theory of ethnomusicology, cultural and performance theories, and ethnographic field research.
Modules
History and Theory of Ethnomusicology (15 credits) Ethnography of Music (15 credits) Performance Theory (15 credits) Performance (15 credits) Research Dissertation (30 credits) or Research Project/Performance (30 credits)
3/ University College Dublin (UCD)
http://www.ucd.ie/music/postgraduate.htm
Our graduates in the Master in Musicology Programme (MMus) have proceeded to doctoral studies in Cambridge, Munich, Manchester, Leeds, London, as well as in many Irish universities.
The School offers several different pathways for graduate studies. The Master in Musicology (MMus) is a taught programme with a strong research element that can be studied with an emphasis on Historical Musicology or on Ethnomusicology. Both MMus programmes can be finished within one year. The Master of Literature (MLitt) is a two-year research degree while the PhD can be finished within three or four years. Furthermore, the School is the intellectual home of several postdoctoral researchers holding IRCHSS postdoctoral fellowships.
The research interests of the School are extremely varied and wide-ranging, which means that the courses offered are correspondingly stimulating and attractive to students. Current research topics include:
African-American Music
The Symphonies of Anton Bruckner
The Music of Györgi Ligeti
Nineteenth-Century Sonata Forms
Musics of South Asia
Medieval Vocal Music
Musical Discourse in Early Eighteenth-Century Europe
Music and Cultural History in Ireland
Music in Film and Literature
Irish Traditional Music
Music and Art in the 20th Century
Theories of Musical Genre
Music in Western and Non-Western Religions
4/ Queen's University Belfast (QUB)
http://www.mu.qub.ac.uk/ProspectiveStudents/
http://www.mu.qub.ac.uk/ProspectiveStudents/TaughtPostgraduateProgrammes/
MA in CREATIVE PRACTICE (new programme, subject to approval)??Creative Practice is at the centre of the School's research and teaching strategies. With ten practitioners on staff, working in areas that range from instrumental composition to intermedia performance and sound art, the School provides an extremely rich environment for the development of creative practice at MA level. The programme focuses on contemporary discourse as articulated through composition and performance and including practices such as improvisation and installation.
MA in Creative Practice (Composition) ?
The MA in Music programme provides a solid basis for independent research in a number of areas of research excellence in the School: Eighteenth-Century Studies, Opera Studies, Source Studies, Nineteenth or Twentieth-Century Music and Irish Music. The programme combines core research methodologies, ranging from source studies to critical musicology, with a choice of historical topics and related areas such as collection development and arts administration.
MA in SONIC ARTS ??The MA in Sonic Arts is based on establishing a foundation in digital audio and offers four specialist routes that culminate in a portfolio or dissertation. The programme is focused on links with research activities at the Sonic Arts Research Centre and provides students with unique opportunities to develop Masters level research in the context of larger research projects. The programme addresses the synergy between technology and creativity and prepares students with technical, critical and creative skills for future professional practice or further research in the areas of audio, music technology and new media.??
5/ University of Ulster, Derry (UU)
http://prospectus.ulster.ac.uk/course/?id=6800
MMus (Master of Music)
Music, Master of [MMus]
Year of Entry: 2009
The Programme:The MMus is designed to appeal to musicians from a variety of backgrounds, particularly those with strengths in one of three main areas: performance (including jazz, rock, pop and traditional styles), composition (which may include music for acoustic and electro-acoustic resources) or musicology (including the study of popular music and film music). The course aims to meet the needs of those who wish to refresh or develop their professional expertise and/or to prepare for study at PhD level
6/ Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT)
http://www2.wit.ie/StudyatWIT/PostgraduateStudy
Masters by Research
20th Century Irish Music; Contemporary
Irish Music
7/ Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT)
http://www.dit.ie/conservatory/Full-timeprogrammes/MMusPerformance/
M Mus (Performance) / PGDip (Performance)
Full Time - DT543 Part Time - DT586
Classical: Irish Traditional Music: Jazz
Programme Description
The M Mus (Performance) is a one-year full-time or two-year part-time programme designed to prepare graduates for a performing career in the music profession. Based in the Conservatory of Music and Drama which has a long tradition in the provision of performing arts education, the programme aims to facilitate the artistic, intellectual and creative development of students by providing integrated, structured and performance experience in a wide range of solo and ensemble contexts, underpinned by complementary academic and supporting professional studies.
8/ Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM
http://www.riam.ie/master-music-performance.html
The Master's Degree in Music Performance provides post-graduate development and aims to reward the exceptional musician with a qualification of excellence and prestige.
Entrance qualification for this two-year course is a BA in Music Performance degree or equivalent advanced qualification from a recognised conservatoire, as well as successful performance at audition. Emphasis is placed on advancing performance skills, both solo and ensemble with supporting studies provided in musicianship.
The Graduate Diploma (GRIAM) is awarded on satisfactory completion of year one with the Masters degree awarded at the end of year two. Holders of the BA in Music Performance degree may proceed directly to the second year in appropriate circumstances. The degree is validated by Dublin City University.
9/ National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM)
Postgraduate Courses: Taught (MA), Research (MLitt, PhD)
The Department of Music offers 2 types of courses at postgraduate level: taught (MA) and research (MLitt and PhD). Our MA courses are aimed at graduates with a passion for music and a desire for intellectual challenge, who wish to enhance research and analytical skills developed at undergraduate level, and improve their qualifications. One-year MA programmes are offered in Composition, Performance, and Musicology. Normal entrance requirements for these courses are 2:1 degree or higher in a music-related discipline. A one year MA is also offered in Computer Music. Applications are welcomed from graduates from any background with a 2:1 degree or higher. A Postgraduate Diploma in Music Technology is also available, running concurrently with the MA in Computer Music. The degrees of PhD and MLitt are available in the areas of Musicology, Performance with Musicology, and Composition (including electroacoustic
MA courses.
M.A. Musicology, MA in Composition, MA in Computer Music / HDip in Music Technology
MA in Performance & Musicology, http://music.nuim.ie/courses/postgraduate/taughtcoursesma/maperformancemusicology
Research Degrees in Music at NUI Maynooth. The Music Department at NUI Maynooth has an international reputation as one of Ireland’s leading centres for research in music. The staff includes acknowledged experts in their specialist fields. Both staff and postgraduate students regularly present papers at conferences at home and abroad and have their compositions performed. The research interests of the Department include: • contemporary composition (acoustic and electroacoustic) • analysis (including Schenker) • music signal processing and computer music languages • performance practice • music in Ireland • nineteenth- and twentieth-century music • the socio-economic history of music • music publishing • organology • Irish traditional music
Research can be undertaken at PhD and at MLitt levels, both full-time and part-time. Students work under the individual supervision of a member of staff and contribute to the research activities of the Department through postgraduate seminars, conferences, performance, composition, and through the department’s postgraduate journal. The subject of research for the PhD or MLitt thesis must be approved by the Head of Department and must be based on original research conducted under the direction of a designated member of the Department. Applicants will be interviewed.
PhD: The student undertakes research, normally over a three-year period, under one of the following categories:
• a research thesis in musicology of c.80,000 words
• a substantial research project in music technology combined with a complementary thesis of c.40,000 words
• a substantial folio of original compositions (which may consist entirely of instrumental/vocal works, entirely of electro-acoustic works, or a combination of both) accompanied by a commentary on the pieces submitted. Professional public performances (monitored by the Department) of at least half the works submitted must take place during the period of the candidate's registration.
Students also attend three Generic Skills modules in research and presentation techniques organised by the Faculty of Arts, Philosophy and Celtic Studies. They may also attend taught postgraduate courses from the MA programmes.
Candidates for a PhD would normally have completed a Masters degree in a related field, be able to demonstrate an advanced level of critical enquiry and writing skills, or have an established reputation as a composer. Applicants may initially be registered for an MLitt., with application for transfer to the PhD programme being made at the end of the first year of study.
MLitt
The student undertakes research, normally over a two-year period, leading to a research thesis of c.40,000 words, an equivalent folio of original compositions accompanied by a commentary, or an equivalent computer music research project. The supervisor may also recommend an appropriate course of preliminary study which may involve attending taught postgraduate courses from the MA programmes.
The normal requirement for entry to the MLitt. programme is a primary degree with an award of at least Second Class Honours grade I in music with demonstrable strengths in the specific area relevant to the planned course of research.
The acceptance of a student onto an MLitt. programme does not carry with it any assumption of differentiation (i.e. of subsequent transfer to a PhD).
Post-graduate music on the neighbouring Island
1/ Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) Glasgow, Scotland
http://www.rsamd.ac.uk/postgraduate/mmus/
Master of Music (MMus) / PG Dip
The RSAMD offers a flexible range of exciting postgraduate programmes, designed to offer high level training that will be a springboard to a professional career or further study. With its Opera School and thriving performance-based research community, the Academy offers the ideal environment for postgraduate study.
Taught postgraduate programmes in the School of Music lead to a postgraduate Certificate (PGCert); Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip); Master of Music (MMus) or Master of Opera (MOpera) depending on the duration of study, allowing students to progress seamlessly through a range of options depending on individual need, ability and aspiration. The programmes are aimed at graduates from conservatoires and universities or at individuals of equivalent standard from related experience. All may involve rehearsal and performance in a wide range of contexts.
Programmes are flexible, and studies in Performance (including all string, woodwind and brass instruments, and in guitar, timpani and percussion, piano solo, piano ensemble, piano repetiteur, harpsichord and concert singing), Scottish Music, Opera Studies, Composition, Conducting, Advanced Accompaniment, Repetiteur and Pianist for Dance are available, as are other options including Research Preparation for those intending to continue to doctoral level studies.
2/ University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Sage Centre (UN)
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/newcastle/music/index.htm
Music MMus and PGDip
MMus: 12 months full time; 24 months part time; PgDip:9 months full time; 18 months part time
Aims: This is a project-based programme in creative musical practice – composition, performance, studio-based work, improvisation, mixed media. It is regarded as a research degree (a practice-based equivalent to the MA) and can be seen as a foundation for a PhD, as a self-standing qualification in creative practice or as the culmination of a first degree focused on creative musical practice. It is possible to choose modules so that you specialise in composition, performance or studio-based work; alternatively, you can mix these areas. You can also include theoretical or musicological modules if you wish. Styles or repertories can range across the full spectrum of early, classical, avant-garde, folk, popular or world music genres.
Programme Description
The core of the programme is the creative projects, which come in 30- to 90-credit packages. They can be taken separately, if you wish to work in different areas, or they can be grouped into a single extensive project of up to 120 credits. Projects can involve performance; arrangement for ensembles; notated composition; studio-based composition, production or re-mixing; work involving live electronics (including improvisation or DJ production); or mixed-media production. A project commentary accompanies this work.
MMus students also take the music research training module (10 credits) and at least two taught modules (50 credits or more). Taught modules are typically drawn from: repertoire studies; performance practice; improvisation for creative practice; and a range of specific topics such as orchestration and arranging. A dissertation may be substituted for certain modules. It is also possible to take modules from the MA in Music programme and from other disciplines in the University.
Diploma students follow a similar programme, but with a smaller amount of creative project work.
The Companion to Irish Traditional Music
new edition, 2010 Writers' guidelines
8th June, 2009
Companion to Irish Traditional Music, 2010
The number of words required is indicated along with the topic; notes on writing style follow. Some details of the new format of this book will be given; these should be useful to your decision-making and writing.
All contributors are additionally invited to suggest changes or provide corrections to any articles (not just their own).
The function of a 'companion' is to provide key data conveniently within a complete, broad and deep overview. It also has to augment other sources in its field, rather than compete with them. Hence the new edition will strive to open up ideas where desirable, supplementing the core data and biographies with much that is not available else where, particularly in relation to how the music is actually played, presented and promoted in the 21st century. Assessment of the need for all changes has been an informal process, but drew on the book’s users - reviewers, performers and aficionados in several countries in addition to Ireland. This, with the panel of writers increased from 109 to 250, it is hoped will render the new edition somewhat everyone's work, and thus more universally useful.
The changes have particular regard to The Companion’s use by a relatively new category, students. Those familiar with the music already know its structural inter-relationships, and just need to get hard information fast. But students and newcomers do not have sufficient information to benefit from A-Z organisation of information alone, and would benefit from the book being broken down – like a text book – into discrete sections on Music, Song, Dance and Analysis The challenge has been to accommodate the conflicting needs. It has been resolved by re-organising all the book's data into a family-tree structure wherein inter-connections are visibly clear, and the reader is given a variety of alphabetical references to check under any desired topic.
Additionally, while most of the original book's information will be going into the new edition, but revised into smaller sub-headed blocs, there will also be significant new material which reflects the great changes in the field over the last decade. Dealing with the main features of the new edition is as follows:
1/ Re-organisation of structure
This involves i/ an underlying database structure, ii/ strictly A-Z visual presentation, and iii/ an index.
The new edition of the book has received research support from An Foras Feasa, with a view to its eventual development as a ‘digital humanities’ resource, either as a digital book, and being available via licence on the web at some point after publication. This in itself has demanded re-design of the structure, suggesting indeed representation of the information in ordered, ‘family’ blocks, within which inter-relationships of items are made clear.
To make this possible as well as retaining the A-Z format, the material will be organised in an underlying structure as a relational database. In this, the three major areas of music, song and dance are used as a ‘stemma’ – a visual, family-tree-style representation showing how each subject breaks down. This may be published in the early pages of the book, but will certainly be available on the web at the time of publication at www.ceolnet.net It will provide a vital support for students’ and newcomers’ use of the book, making it feasible for them to see at a glance which individual article or articles they could consult in order to read up on a subject as broadly as possible.
This stemma will be an equally valuable backup for the old edition, and indeed it will function independently as a basic educational resource in Traditional music.
An index of material not covered in the main A-Z will also be provided to open up rapid access to all information types and some c. 10,000 discrete facts.
Information Categories
Practically, this means that larger subjects will be broken into web-friendly chunks, giving the projected new edition a total of 2100 individual articles (compared to 1100 in the first edition. About 900 of these are completely new, as demanded by upgrading of the information to include a great number of issues and people relevant to the current practice of Traditional music.
The material has been subdivided into 22 separate main categories, each of which has sub-sections, and sub-sub-sections as appropriate to exploring the different layers of knowledge. Thus, in order to avoid overlap, writers of new articles should bear this categorisation in mind, being aware where cross references to other sections should be included, but also that there is a need to keep information strictly to the point. No ranking of importance or prestige is intended in the ordering of these categories, or by the number of articles allotted to each of them. The categories are:
01 Song
02 Music
03 Instruments
04 Music Style
05 Music & notation
06 Composition & Arrangement
07 Dance
08 Story
09 Performance
10 Transmission
11 Recording
12 Broadcasting
13 People
14 Ensemble
15 Organisation
16 Learning
17 Events
18 Print
19 Audiovisual
20 Listening
21 Internet
22 Terms
Sub-sections
Managing the large number of individual articles inside the categories is done by allocating them among potential contributors in a database format. This keeps the inter-relationships in view with regard to the production of the final stemma diagram and web-support structure. Each of these main categories has been broken down to – for convenience – five sub sections:
Section
Topic
Issue
Item
Detail
‘Category’ is the major section, the next level is contained within in, and each succeeding level contained within the one above it. An example will illustrate:
INSTRUMENTS (Category)
WIND (Section)
REEDS (Topic)
DOUBLE REEDS (Issue)
UILLEANN PIPES (Item)
CONSTRUCTION (Detail)
2/ Editing for errors and data change
The second change necessitated by the production of a new edition of The Companion is correction and amendment to existing articles. There will also be select deletions in order to make way for necessary new material. This will render the book as partly additional to the first edition rather than a replacement. However it is proposed that existing material which is valuable in itself will be retained, and, subject to writers’ agreement, made available on a complementary website – ceolnet.net. This web site will be the external reference point for the book, a companion to the companion so to speak. It will make possible live linkage of the book to the huge variety of wonderful internet resources. In this way The Companion can function as a junction for information quests in Irish and related musics. It is not intended as a substitute for the existing knowledge pools which are provided with care by dedicated individuals, but as a route in to them, and a way of using their data efficiently.
3/ Articles
The number of contributors has been expanded from 109 to 250 – this reflecting the great burst in scholarship which has marked the last decade. Much new hard information has been filtered out by researchers over that decade, under the direction of many of the contributors to the original volume, and it seems proper that this should be included to make the book truly a companion – stimulating, provocative and investigative. Some 800 new pieces are being requested from writers, a total of c. 200,000 words, the greater part of it in the area of biography.
The writing style required is academic - objective, and about the issue - no first person comment, no opinion (as such), no PR jargon, no superlatives. Topics are dealt with as an outsider looking in and at, with no assumptions made as to the reader having any prior knowledge. Sentences should be concise - rich in hard facts (names, dates, places, eras), and articles should indicate where appropriate any cross-references to other subjects. Articles on people (performers, stylists, etc.) should state reputation and achievements (awards, recordings, publications and such) without value judgment. The editorial policy is to provide information in the raw, so to speak, free from bias, leaving the reader to fill out opinions and evaluation by follow-up reading or listening. In this regard, the range of topics is derived from standard Traditional-music practices and experience, and indeed suggestions as to additional topics are welcome.
In addition to the overall section and sub sections of which the requested article is part, you may also be given a blurb with a range of terms or ideas. This is necessarily potted information, and not all of it will apply to your topic, so we ask you to read it as mental stimulation, not a prescription. However, the range of coverage it points to is the kind of breadth which we would urge you to consider.
Articles are required typed, ideally in any word processing programme, saved as TEXT, or RTF (Rich Text Format), or as a Word .doc. But any file type will do, done on PC or MAC, and even articles typed or written on paper are acceptable if that is all that is possible. They can be sent on floppy disc, CD, DVD or memory stick, or as email attachments
- email to ceol@imusic.ie and put ‘companion’ in the subject heading
All photographs, negatives, leaflets or publications, transcriptions or diagrams are welcomed; these should be sent to the address below. Scanning of images should be done at the highest resolution possible (300, 600 or even 1200 dpi), and provided on floppy disc, CD or DVD, Zip disc or memory stick - or emailed as attachment. All material required back will be returned immediately, or, if wished, can be placed, credited to the contributor, in the Irish Traditional Music Archive for permanent, public access.
email (subject = ‘companion’) ceol@imusic.ie