Bachelor of Music Honours

• To extend and deepen the student's familiarity with the content of music as a field of research and debate this means that they should be equipped with the advanced intellectual and cognitive skills to solve relatively complex problems, utilising appropriate methods and theories;
• To ensure that South Africa has sufficient specialist music practitioners by equipping students with a comprehensive set of specialised and focused performance, educational and academic skills applicable to a chosen area of speciality within the broader field of music and related fields;
• To provide students with advanced academic skills in order to equip them for further study at Masters level;
• To provide students with opportunities for attaining high level of artistic fulfilment and for making and artistic contribution to the South African and international community;

Senior Certificate with Matriculation Endorsement or equivalent university admission qualification.

BMus degree or a qualification that is regarded as equivalent by Senate.

Generic/ Critical Cross-field outcomes

The successful BMus Hons students will have

1. The ability to perform and plan basic research, ask appropriate questions, analyse data and map new information, under guidance, into a coherent understanding of the discipline and the ability to solve more complex problems using appropriate methods and theories;
2. Considerable knowledge of, and experience in applying, a variety of scholarly, creative, educational and performance skills in practical situations;
3. The ability to organise themselves and manage their activities effectively;
4. The ability to work with others as a member of a team or ensemble, and to take responsibility for participation in such a team;
5. The ability to organise ideas and communicate them effectively using language, performance and demonstrative skills in oral, written and concert format;
6. Basic research capacities which include collecting and interpreting relevant literature, and formulating and solving problems.
7. Knowledge and insight into the nature, history and processes of music, its performance and contexts, and the recent and relevant research methods applicable to the field;

Specific outcomes

For specialisation in the area of performance, the successful BmusHons student will have

1. Advanced technical and solo skills with regard to his/her instrument/voice/choir in order to obtain a high level of professionality;
2. Specialised knowledge and skills which include the interpretation and evaluation of different musical notation conventions, historical practice and stylistic approaches.

For specialisation in the academic areas (musicology and music education), the successful BMusHons student will have

1. General skills which include the ability to work with relevant literature/representative musical works in a critical and responsible way, as well as effective communicative skills;
2. Specialised knowledge of, and insight into core issues within every area of specialisation, e.g. models of musical analysis, approaches to interpretation of the history of music, models and approaches of music education.

The assessment of the BMus Hons falls into two broad but related categories

1. The assessment of academic skills and knowledge, which takes the form of written and oral examinations, essays and research projects. Competence in this category will be demonstrated if the information and conceptual content of the work submitted by the student is correct, and demonstrates a clear ability to interpret questions, to analyse and utilise information and to communicate the resulting deductions clearly and logically, utilising the appropriate discipline-specific conventions.
2. The assessment of creative and performance and other practical skills, which takes the form of practical, public assessment. Competence in this category will be demonstrated if the student demonstrates a high degree of proficiency in the specific skills taught, a clear knowledge of related theoretical concepts and conventions, and an ability to apply these skills, theories and conventions in a practical performance context.

Integrated Assessment

Integrated assessment takes place by means of the evaluation of one (or more) practical and/or research project(s), depending on the field of specialisation. Competence will be demonstrated by the student's ability to integrate and activate such skills and knowledge in a comprehensive work of musical/musicological communication.