Part-time courses for adults

Arranging Music Workshop Online

This course offers personal, long distance tutorial support (usually via e-mail) to new and experienced arrangers of music who want to pursue a project of their own.

The nature of the study will be tailored to the student's individual requirements.

The course is primarily aimed at students who would like to arrange music from a range of genres for a combination of instruments and/or voices.

Enrolment in advance, accompanied by a statement of your interests, is essential.

The syllabus content will be specific for each individual student and tailored to their specific needs.

There will be an emphasis on expanding students’ understanding and awareness of music arranging practices in order to develop their own arranging abilities.

Guidance and direction is provided by an experienced, practicing music arranger.

Musical styles and genres could include: Western art classical music, jazz, folk, rock and pop, and world music.

Musical groups to arrange for could include: standard and non-standard instrumental and/or voices, ‘standard’ chamber music (trios, string quartet, wind quintet, piano quintet etc.) orchestral, brass band, wind band, instrument(s)/voice(s) and piano, choir, barbershop, school ensembles, training bands/ensembles, combination of easy and more difficult standards.

Learning and teaching

The course provides online tutorial support, advice and encouragement to arrangers working on a personal project in the techniques of arranging music. Students will be given advice on how to successfully combine different combinations of acoustic instruments and/or voices in order to produce effective arrangements in a variety of contexts from a range of genres.

They would also be given advice on how to produce a finished score and performing materials to a professional standard.

Teaching and learning are undertaken by means of Web-delivered teaching materials – via Cardiff University’s Blackboard software and e-mail – in which fundamental information about the topic is presented.

This approach runs in parallel with long distance tutorial support and assessment.

Such support is tailored to students’ specific needs relevant to the discipline.

Coursework and assessment

To award credits we need to have evidence of the knowledge and skills you have gained or improved. Some of this has to be in a form that can be shown to external examiners so that we can be absolutely sure that standards are met across all courses and subjects.

You will not have a formal examination. Assessment on this course is achieved both through formative feedback on your project and through summative assessment, which might be one major arrangement or a portfolio of arrangements, the nature of which will be discussed with the course tutor.

The most important element of assessment is that it should enhance your learning. Our methods are designed to increase your confidence and we try very hard to devise ways of assessing you that are enjoyable and suitable for adults with busy lives.

Reading suggestions

The course tutor will recommend reading material, musical scores and recordings, as appropriate to the individual student.

Library and computing facilities

As a student on this course you are entitled to join and use the University’s library and computing facilities. Find out more about using these facilities.

Accessibility

Our aim is access for all. We aim to provide a confidential advice and support service for any student with a long term medical condition, disability or specific learning difficulty. We are able to offer one-to-one advice about disability, pre-enrolment visits, liaison with tutors and co-ordinating lecturers, material in alternative formats, arrangements for accessible courses, assessment arrangements, loan equipment and dyslexia screening.