Although I studied music before, I choose this course to deepen my knowledge in music history and to learn a better communication about music. This course involved a much deeper investigation of topics and introduced more sociological aspects of music than my previous studies. It was containing more practical exercises and research which are perfect tool to gain a deeper understanding and knowledge on this field.

Overall, there were many aspects in the course which helped me gain a wider knowledge such as the exposure to a broad range of unfamiliar music including many contemporary genres. I also got an insight into a wider social and political context of music of different periods. Through the better understanding of the relevant philosophical context, I appreciate more those genres that I did not like before. I can also see clearly that music reflects the society in which it is created which could have a negative consequence, for example Wagner`s work and the anti-Semitism. Other problem between society and music is the innovations as sometimes this could clash between composer and listener.

I faced a couple of challenges during the whole course. The first issue was my academic writing. My tutor`s feedback helped me a lot on this area. Focusing on the advice I really had to work on my essay writing skills such as clear and logical structure and flow. I also had to learn to implement my own analysis and criticism and link them more strongly to concrete features. I had difficulty with the use of different sources and implement them in my essays in such a way that I avoid plagiarism. I believe I made some progress, but there is more room to improve here in the future.

Another challenge was my listening log as making entries was problematic at times. The main issue was the right balance between personal response, technical analysis and contextual information. I think at the end of the course my writings improved but still I need to develop more. Other issue was the number of entries I put on my page. I never did this type of exercise before so it took me some time to realise the number of entries I have to do for each part.

I also encountered a practical challenge as the access to appropriate reference materials, in particular books and contemporary scores were limited especially after the Covid break out. Mostly I had to rely on digital material. Beside this issue my ability to use a variety of right resources improved.

Another part of my studies which I had to focus on was my language. Originally, I am from Hungary, so English is my second language. When I wrote my essays and analysis, I had to make sure that I am communicating on a professional level using the correct words, expressions and grammar. I think I developed a lot since from the beginning but I could improve more.

It is difficult to chose which project was my favourite as I liked the different challenge and aspect that each work brought. I looked at them as a learning opportunity. But I found one particular part of the course interesting and that was the exercise of the folk tradition. The use of the folk elements in music was fascinating. I also enjoyed talking about my own traditional folksong and give a small insight of Hungarian life. Overall, I enjoyed all areas within this course except the word count. Although I understand the purpose of it, I found challenging and sometimes annoying to write the required number of words.

There are several areas I would like to develop more. Firstly, as I previously mentioned there is still improvement needed in my score analysis task. I hope I will have more opportunity for this in the future courses. I also like to dive deeper into several genres and composers I have discovered throughout this course, for example early music. I am also interested to understand better how composers can evoke specific emotional responses using different musical devices.

Finally, I appreciated the high quality and constructive feedback that I received from my tutor. The tone of his message was very professional and well balanced. He started his feedback on a positive tone than explained the error I made in a respectful but straight to the point manner. This gave me a better understanding of my mistakes and also it was an excellent help for preparing to my next assignment. I found it was the best way to improve my abilities.

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