Music and Health

Tutorial for Assignment

Questions
 Assignment description

In this assignment you need to create a playlist to promote your own personal health
either physical or mental health. To do this, you will carefully choose music that
suits the purpose of the playlist and draw on concepts and theory covered in
lectures to strategically organize the order of songs. Actively listen to the music you
choose for your playlist to test that it meets your intended purpose. Although you should
choose either physical or mental health, you are welcome to draw on any literature from the different weeks of the semester
that is relevant to explain the health benefits for you.

Introduction (approx. 500 words):

In the introduction, describe your selected purpose for the playlist and summarise key theories about how music could be used
to promote the desired outcome. Clearly describe the process you used to create the playlist, stating how you went about
selecting the songs and the order.

Assignment body (approx. 1200 words): In the body of the assignment, list the order of the 10 pieces of music included in
the playlist. Discuss your experience of each track and use the literature to explain how it either contributed to your identified
health purpose, or how and why it was unsuccessful. Include descriptions of the musical aspects (the beat, harmonies etc) and
non-musical aspects (associations etc) of the track, depending on which was more relevant for each particular one.
You must use the literature throughout the assignment to justify your claims about the benefits of music for this purpose.
Dedicate approximately 120 words per song and include the song title and reference details as the subheading for each song
(these titles are not included in the word count).

Conclusion (approx. 300 words): In the conclusion, reflect on any potential mental or physical health benefits that may result
for others through the construction of a playlist similar to yours, including any ideas you have about the use of music to
promote health in the community.
 Key points

You need to show that you understand the material from the
lectures on your chosen topic
The playlist should be considered to be one single whole. The
order and sequencing of the playlist as a progressive whole is
important.
You must choose a specific focus for your playlist, based on
either mental or physical health promotion. However, most
musicking activities have both physical and mental components
to them, so you may reflect on both aspects in your assignment,
from the perspective of your chosen focus.
You can use any kind of music
See marking rubric & assessment criteria!
 Structure

Use the songs as Headings for the body

of the assignment
You can write in 1st or 3rd person
The assignment should be an essay
style with approximately 120 words per
song only a guide.
Include the song title and reference
details as sub-heading AND in
reference list
 Referencing

An academic reference is a journal article,

book or book chapter
Lecture slides are not an academic reference
You can use the recommended readings from
each week or search for your own
For further referencing help see Library staff
or webpage
http://library.unimelb.edu.au/recite
 Submission

Submit only one document

No additional cover sheet is needed
Late submissions have different link
 Where can I find further help?

Academic Skills
Unit http://services.unimelb.edu.au/aca
demicskills
Office hours for Dr Lucy (see LMS)
Week 5 lecture recording
FAQs on LMS
Sample assignment on LMS
Marking rubric & key assessment
criteria
Questions?