MCGY2612: Music of the Classical and Romantic Eras

Essay (30%); Tutorial assignments and participation (30%); In-class tests (10%); 1 x 2hr exam (30%).

The ability to read musical notation and basic knowledge of music theory.

If I could give this subject a 10/5, I would. This subject is compulsory for all classical students and music education majors to take in their degree. Despite my history of not being particularly fond of all the mandatory units I have been made to do, MCGY2612 has been hands down my favourite subject yet that I have done in university.

The assessments for this unit were difficult but intellectually stimulating. I chose to write about Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony for my tutorial assignment which I started researching for, as advice from an ex-student, as soon as the semester commenced. This really enabled me to develop a stronger grasp on the critical issues surrounding the work and to approach my assignment with more control. For my essay, I chose to write about the exotic portrayals in Bizet's The Pearl Fishers and Rimsky-Korsakov's Antar Symphony. The question was not only a thrill to respond to, but I also felt validated by the end of the unit because I took a fairly controversial argument in my essay and managed to have it approved, I assume since there was no criticism in the feedback for it, by my lecturer. I think a good unit of study should push for students to explore radical ideas and challenge accepted ways of understanding music and to inspire students to think bigger. The exams for this unit, while a total nightmare to study for because of the enormous amount of content, were great for differentiation purposes. My only qualm about the way assessments were conducted was using ProctorU for the final exam. A number of students were affected by this which meant they had to retake the exam and having to not accidentally make yourself look suspicious was just added pressure even if our exams were submitted successfully. Everything else about this unit was highly successful.

You could not imagine anyone more excited than I was to study this subject. I dedicated my entire Monday night to just completing my tutorial preparation and even doing extra reading to answer some of the general knowledge questions David asked in the tutorials. I chose to make MCGY2612 worth my time and effort and it paid off well not just with my result, but also my newfound confidence in my knowledge of Classical and Romantic music. Considering I was told by my distance education teacher in Year 11 that I was going to struggle in university if I could not handle Music 2, this unit felt like a destiny I was always meant to fulfil. All of this came down to David Larkin who really lives up to his name as being one of the best lecturers at the Con. I was fortunate to have him as a tutor as well and he responded to all my enquiries with immense help. His feedback for my assessments was also very detailed and I overall owe him the success and enjoyment I had in this unit. This unit has inspired me to take on another historical studies unit next semester for my principal study and if I were given the option to redo it, I would. In summary, I had nothing of an amazing experience in MCGY2612 and hope anyone else who picks it makes the most out of it too.

1x 2 hour lecture, 1x 1 hour tutorial

4/5

Yes; these were usually uploaded after class but due to COVID-19, they pre-recorded and uploaded the night before instead.

David Larkin

None

5/5

A History of Western Music 9th Edition (J. Peter Burkholder, Donald Jay Grout, Claude V. Palisca)

2020 Semester 1

89 HD