Learning outcome

The candidate can plan, justify and assess the consequences of folk music mediation in various contexts. He/she has gained awareness of various elements that are important in a mediation situation. He/she is able to use their knowledge of mediation in practice to convey folk music to different audiences in various ways. This may involve mediation activities in public institutions, archives, schools, media, and non-governmental organisations or through their own activities.

The candidate has further developed a critical and nuanced view of folk music and the folk musician’s role in today’s society. He/she has gained an international and comparative perspective and deeper understanding of Norwegian folk music. The candidate is able to view Norwegian folk music from a historical perspective and in relation to the musical expressions of other cultures.

He/she is able to organise traditional music in accordance with both traditional and modern innovative practices.

He/she has, through applying research and development methodology, gained the necessary skills to carry out simple projects and assignments related to traditional folk music mediation.

He/she is able to find methods for data collection from archives and other sources and use this material in practical and theoretical work, thereby achieving the goal of preservation, continuation and renewal of traditional folk music.

Candidates who have chosen to study abroad (three months) will have become familiar with the traditions of the area visited. He/she is able to contrast and compare Norwegian folk music with the local traditions, and can view Norwegian folk music in a wider musical and social context.

The candidate has developed his/her skills as a performer.

Course Description

The course consists of two main components: a common component and a specialisation component. The common component covers cultural policy issues in addition to professional musical and educational aspects. Students may complete the elective course at an educational institution abroad.

The common component includes the following major course units:

1. Folk Music Mediation 20%
2. Traditional Music and Society in Norway and other Countries 10%
3. Composition Theory, Arranging and Ensemble Playing 10%
4. Traditional Knowledge, Use of Sources and R&D Methodology 10%

Practice and performance will also relate to the major course units in the common component.

In the specialisation component, students will normally be able to choose from:

• Folk Music Mediation 50%
• Performance 50%

Folk music mediation is an important aspect of all major course units, so the common lectures and group work are the same for all students no matter which courses are chosen. The instruction in traditional music mediation will therefore be given more focus than suggested by the weighting in the common component (see above).

• Elective course: Period of study abroad

Electives: It is possible for students to include a 3-month study period abroad. The stay may be at an educational institution or be in the form of fieldwork planned in cooperation with the subject teacher and the department’s administration. The elective replaces practical training in the spring semester and the obligatory study trip. The elective will form part of a specialisation course.

COMMON COMPONENT

Major course unit 1 - FOLK MUSIC MEDIATION

The major course unit Folk Music Mediation is compulsory for all 2^nd year students.

Content

The expression “folk music mediation” is interpreted widely, and the course will deal with theories about choice of material (music and lyrics), stage performances, verbal comments, body language, and knowledge of/relationship to the public. The what, why and how of music mediation, especially folk music mediation, will also be studied.

The course focuses closely on the preparation of practical training and the students’ experiences. The practical training may vary from year to year depending on the students’ interests and experience, and the course will emphasise the development of students’ awareness regarding mediation. The course includes both performative and pedagogical practical training. Students will individually and in groups prepare and implement various mediation projects: for instance, arranging a concert or local performance, mediating material from the archive or playing at a concert.

Course units

• Scene preparation (body language, voice, comments, etc.)
• A variety of musical cultures and dissemination/performance traditions
• Knowledge of the public/choice of repertoire
• Music mediation and identity
• Didactics
• Marketing and media
• Children and musical development

In the teaching of Folk Music Mediation, practice and theory will be discussed and placed into context in the preparation for mediation practice, both with regard to concerts, presentation of material and teaching sessions. The group will take on the role of the public and provide feedback when individual students perform. Concert planning is also dependent on all the students in the group participating: consequently, all the teaching in Folk Music Mediation is obligatory, unless other arrangements have been previously agreed upon.

Major course unit 2 – TRADITIONAL MUSIC AND SOCIETY IN NORWAY AND OTHER COUNTRIES

Content

The course builds further on the topics discussed in the one-year study programme, and examines questions concerning identity and the passing down of traditions. Students will be introduced to a representative selection of music from around the world.

Course units

• The local, national and global. Identity, ethnicity and nation. The importance of folk music considered in an international perspective. At least one European folk music culture besides Norwegian will be focused on.
• Folk music as a modern phenomenon. What is the future of folk music? Keywords: professionalism, the market and creative aspects.

• Music systems and instrumentation in a selection of non-Norwegian musical cultures. Information about other music cultures, both Western and non-Western.
  

A major field trip abroad (usually Hungary and Slovakia) will take place in the spring semester.

Students who are unable to participate in the field trip must complete alternative assignments.

Major course unit 3 – COMPOSITION THEORY, ARRANGING AND ENSEMBLE PLAYING

Content

Course units

• Polyphonic Modes – Ethnomusicology
• Polyphonic Modes in Norwegian Traditional Music
• A Selection of Composition Techniques
• Chord Progression Theory; Playing Chords
• Basic Principles for Arranging
• Composition Approaches within Traditional Music
• Ensemble Playing

This course includes mandatory participation.

Major course unit 4 –TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, USE OF SOURCES AND R&D METHODLOGY

Content

Understanding of the material will be accomplished through lectures and group work where the use of literature and audio material will be important. Various texts, monographs, collections, CD releases and other phonographic and film/video material will be discussed with a focus on a close examination of various traditions and an analysis and evaluation of sources.

Course units:

• Regional Characteristics and Variation

The course will take as its starting point books, publications and archive materials that document and describe various traditions, performers and regions. Through a practical and theoretical approach to this material, students will gain a basis for assessing the delineation of regional stylistic features and distribution of types. They will also critically examine the concept of dialect in Norwegian folk music and the individual’s position in the formation of Norwegian folk traditions.

• Instruments

Students will gain insight into and evaluation of archival material and publications with different instruments.

• Historical topics

- Note collections from various periods

- Interpretation of historical material

- Working with archival material as a source for performance

• Dance

Dance will be organized jointly with the teaching of the foundation study programme in folk music

• R&D methodology

Students will primarily work on appropriate strategies and methods in relation to the mediation of folk music and report writing; quantitative and qualitative methods will be discussed.

SPECIALIZATION

Content

In the specialisation component, students may choose between the following major course units:

• Folk Music Mediation (e.g. in schools, institutions and the media)
• Performance (performing in public and individual musical development)

Related to these major course units, there are 2 course units:

• Practical Training
• Performance on the Main Instrument. The students who choose Performance as an area of specialization must have achieved a grade A or B in Performance in Folk Music 1.

An elective course may replace part of the practical training:

• Elective course - study abroad

In the specialization component, it is possible for students to include a 3-month study-period abroad.

FOLK MUSIC MEDIATION

Folk Music Mediation refers to instruction in and the dissemination of folk music and folk dancing. Students will be introduced to teaching methods and educational ideas and receive training in presenting material. The theory will include the role of folk music in schools and various instruction/teaching methods. A lot of the theoretical teaching will consider topics that are also focused on in elective courses, such as archives and performance.

The practical training chosen by students may be related to schools and institutions, or focus on dissemination through media. It may also involve making music/dance more accessible; for example when working with note music, video recordings or other audiovisual aids.

PERFORMANCE
Students who choose this specialization course must be prepared to devote a lot of time to their main instrument and should also have a solid background as a performer. During the year, they should expand their repertoire and gain experience in performing for others. Focused stage performance and knowledge of the public are key areas. Theory will include concert productions and arrangements as well as marketing, finance and knowledge of cultural organisations.

Students’ self-chosen practical training may focus on a series of concert performances or a number of different types of concerts. Radio/TV presentations may also be appropriate.

Students who choose Performance as an area of specialization must have achieved a grade A or B in Performance in Folk Music 1.

Course unit: MAIN INSTRUMENT and PRACTICAL TRAINING
Main Instrument
Individual instruction in this unit builds on the instruction given in the first year of study. Normally each student will receive 20 hours of individual lessons, but this will vary according to available resources.

Generally, students who choose Performance as an area of specialisation will be expected to reach high standards in their individual performances. This will be judged with regard to good technique, an ear for tradition, artistic communication ability and development capability. For the performance (main instrument) examination, students who have chosen Performance as a specialisation course will be assessed more thoroughly than students who have chosen Folk Music Mediation.

Practical training

The intention of training periods is to provide students with practical experience in mediating folk music to others, either in connection with performing or mediating and teaching folk music. The course focuses on the relationship between folk music performance and theory.

• Individual practical training for the area of specialisation and performance

Students will decide, in consultation with the teacher, what area of study they wish to focus on. The scope of the practical training may vary, and the college will in each individual case consider what kind of practical training may be approved.

Practical training may involve teaching, music programmes (radio/television), concert participation, archive and collection work, etc.

Practical training will be documented through planning work and reports.

• Concert practice for the specialisation area of Performance

Concert practice involves school concerts (autumn) and a concert tour in the spring semester. The concert tour will take place in upper secondary schools and folk high schools. Students must arrange an itinerary and will be responsible for the practical aspects of the tour. The concerts will be planned in collaboration with the teachers. If approved by the teaching staff, students with Mediation as their area of specialisation may also participate in these concert activities. However, an adequate professional standard is required, and assessment of this will be based on the grade achieved in the performance component of the foundation study programme (a grade C or higher is normally required). Those students who do not qualify for concert activities as part of their practical training must have a larger part devoted to alternative individual practical training.

ELECTIVES

The elective course may replace part of the practical training.

Content

The study trip may take the form of fieldwork in which the student makes contact with local professionals and researchers. This type of fieldwork must first be prepared in consultation with teaching staff and the department and in agreement with the local professionals and researchers. This may also involve studies under the direction of a local educational institution in cases where there exists a formal agreement between the aforementioned institution and Telemark University College.

The content of the study abroad will vary depending on which area of specialisation the student has chosen, and which institution and local area the student visits.

Example:
The department has a well-developed network in Hungary. Students are able to examine more closely the Dance House Movement, the innovative Hungarian folk music movement. Students will be given instruction at Óbuda Folk Music School in Budapest, a school that has approximately 300 pupils and students. Telemark University College has good contacts with key performers in the community in and outside Budapest, with researchers and teaching staff at the Loránd Eötvös University and the Bartok-collections (folk music archive). The college also has close contact with the Department of Folk Music Studies at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. Students can receive instruction in traditional music at the University of Nitra, Slovakia or apply for a 3-month study period at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland. Other options are also available.

Teaching and Learning Methods

Teaching and learning methods include lectures, seminars, group work, excursions, self-study and home assignments. The instruction is usually on fixed weekdays throughout the year; however, especially in the work on the specialisation component, students will work in groups to plan and hold concerts, touring and other relevant mediation activities. Assignments may also involve working in the afternoons and evenings.

In the spring semester, students will participate in a study trip abroad (normally Hungary and Slovakia). Students who are not able to participate will complete an alternative assignment that focuses on European or other international traditional music.

Students who choose a period of study abroad as their elective will not have to participate in the practical training in the spring semester, and will not participate in the study trip.

Winter Festival – folk music – specialisation, students arrange a concert and participate in folk music workshops.

At the end of the academic year, the department opens its doors to the public. Students will present work that they have completed through the academic year in the form of concerts and exhibitions.

Assessment Methods

The examination includes an oral examination and portfolio assessment.

Oral examination and performance

In the oral examination, the candidate will give a lecture on topics related to the specialisation course. The candidate will submit the title and specify the length of the lecture (usually 30 to 45 minutes) one week before the oral examination. Normally, only the examiner and the subject teacher(s) will be present during the oral examination. After the lecture, the examiner will have a brief discussion with the candidate that focuses on subject theory.

If the candidate has chosen Performance as a specialisation course, then the candidate’s performance will be assessed as 50% of the oral examination. The performance may be an integral part of the lecture and related to its content, or constitute a separate part. This will be evident in the title of the lecture.

Performance may also be integrated into the lecture by those candidates who have not chosen Performance as a specialisation course, but it will then be assessed as a part of the whole mediation. There will be no separate performance part in the oral examination for candidates who have not chosen Performance as a specialisation course.

The oral examination counts for 50% of the final grade.

Portfolio assessment

The student portfolio will include the student’s written work/reports and assessments of these by the subject teachers.

In addition, the portfolio contains the subject teachers’ continuous written assessments of the various assignments completed by the student (programme requirements), such as presentations, concerts, work on the main instrument, etc.

The student portfolio assessment counts for 50% of the final grade.

Portfolio and specified requirements

Folk Music Mediation

• Two written examinations in Folk Music Mediation assessed with grades
• Approved practical training (performance, teaching or other mediation by agreement with the subject teacher) with the plans and reports
• Approved attendance requirement of mandatory teaching

Traditional Music and Society in Norway and other Countries

• Two written examinations assessed with grades

Composition Theory and Arranging

• Four home examinations assessed with grades

This subject includes mandatory participation.

Knowledge of Traditions, Use of Sources and R&D

• A written home examination assessed with a grade

Elective

• Report from three months of study abroad, assessed as approved
  

Study trip

• Approved completion of mandatory study trip or alternative assignment by agreement with the course teacher

Main instrument

• Approved participation in instruction in the main instrument

In order to be permitted to take the examination, the student must have passed the written examinations and had his/her mandatory course requirements/assignments approved.

Regarding compulsory attendance, students must apply to the department to receive a diploma if absenteeism in the respective course is greater than 20%.

WEIGHTING

The various components are weighted thus:

Oral examination	50%
Portfolio	50%

Two written examinations in Folk Music Mediation assessed with grades	20%
Two written examinations in Traditional Music and Society assessed with grades	10%
Four home examinations in Composition Theory and Arranging	10%

One written home examination in Traditional Knowledge assessed with a grade

10%

A single grade will be entered on the diploma; the study programme will be graded A to F, where A is the highest grade, and E the lowest passing grade. Each course must receive a passing grade in order to be awarded a diploma.

MANDATORY ATTENDANCE/COURSE REQUIREMENTS

In order to be permitted to sit the examination, the student must have:

• Attended mandatory guest lectures (specified in the semester plan).
• Attended mandatory group work and presentations (specified in the semester plan).
• Participated in intensive teaching periods (specified in the semester plan).
• Submitted individual reports within the deadline (specified in the semester plan).
• Participated in a mandatory study trip (specified in semester plan).
• Attended mandatory teaching

Regarding mandatory attendance, students must apply to the department to receive a diploma if absenteeism in the respective course is greater than 20%. The application will be processed at our discretion.

For more information, please refer to Telemark University College examination regulations.

The study plan may be subject to minor adjustments.

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean