UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT HANDBOOK - Music

NUI Maynooth Music Department Undergraduate Handbook 2009-2010
Composition Criteria
Compositions submitted to the Music Department will be assessed with regard to
three main areas:
1. Compositional technique
2. The use of forces /resources
3. Notation and presentation issues/ technical quality
These criteria will not necessarily apply with equal weight, subject to the nature of
the submission.
The following table presents a summary of the criteria governing each band of
marks, given the difference of emphasis mentioned above.
Mark Compositional
Technique
70 –
100%
First
Class
60-68%
2:1
50-58%
2:2
45-48%
Third
Class
40-43%
Pass
25-38%
Fail
0-23%
Fail
An innovative,
confident piece
demonstrating great
fluency and
coherence. Musical
structures are
clearly articulated.
Strong overall
control. Good
development, clear
structure and sense
of proportion.
Adequate overall
control with some
sense of formal
issues.
A limited number of
ideas within a loose
structure.
Limited in terms of
invention and
structure within the
parameters set.
Level of control fails
to delineate musical
materials. Little or
no evidence of
structure.
Incoherent in terms
of invention and
structure.
Use of
Forces/Resources
Idiomatically written
throughout, with
excellent sensitivity
towards control of
forces.
Solid command of the
medium, with good
attention to practical
issues.
Competently written,
with some exploration,
and understanding of
practical issues.
Competent but lacking
any idiomatic sense.
Shows basic
understanding of
forces but little more.
Lack of understanding
of resources to the
point where resources
are impractical,
unidiomatic, or
misjudged
Too impractical or illconsidered
to be
realised in
performance to a large
degree.
Presentation,
Notation, Technical
Quality
Professional standard
in production of
scores, parts, and/or
audio output.
High standard in the
production of scores,
parts, and/or audio
output.
Production of scores,
parts, and/ or audio
output is competent.
Accurate, but low
standard of scores,
parts, and/or audio
outputs.
Score, parts, and
audio outputs provide
only the most basic
means necessary for
realisation.
Presentation is of a
low standard. Audio
may contain errors,
and notation may be
illiterate or poorly
detailed.
Score is largely
illiterate or illegible;
Audio has severe
technical errors.
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