Following the recent thread on the LCM composition exams I read through the LCM syllabus and spotted that it is possible to enter for their ACLM exam by thesis with no pre-requisite qualifications. To enter for this you have to submit a dissertation on a musical topic. The syllabus suggests that acceptable subject areas could include issues related to analysis, historical musicology, performance or teaching practice, biography of eminent musician or composer, ethnomusicology, contemporary or social issues, music education or aesthetics.

Before I commit myself to doing this exam I will discuss my choice of topic with LCM but (and now I finally get to the purpose of this thread!) I could do with some help in coming up with the best possible subject, please. The subject has got to be 'sufficiently extensive to provide enough subject matter for a thesis at ACLM level but not so broad that it compromises the depth of scholarship (!)' and for the candidate to have 'researched a wide selection of relevant primary and/or secondary source materials'.

My own thoughts so far have been:

1. A comparison between the different approaches to teaching adults and children.
2. Discussing the different approaches to teaching a group or teaching an individual.
3. The development of notation.
4. The development of the modern orchestra.
5. Something about recorders (don't know what yet).
6. The history of brass bands.

Any other ideas will be very much appreciated. Thanks

Numbers 1 or 2 sound much more interesting to me because of the scope for different interpretation and opinion whereas the others seem more historical research based. Just my personal opinion!

I don't really know what the ACLM means by thesis but I have written a doctoral thesis and supervised Masters students' thesis.
The first point to consider (as Carole Piano has said) is are you supposed to just show that you can do research and write a coherent synthesis of what you have read or are you supposed to give your own ideas and develop your own hypothesis? If the latter than all but your first two subjects and the recorders would be difficult to do.
What I tell my students is that you are supposed to be asking a question and/or verifying a hypothesis and your thesis provides the answer to the question/the proof of your hypothesis. (When it comes to writing it, the introduction contains the question, the body is the proof and the conclusion the answer). For example: "The history of brass bands" is not a question but "why did brass bands develop in mining communities?" is. This is the crude first stage of finding an idea and obviously you will spend some time finding a good title but that is secondary (and may very well change in the course of writing).
My second point is that all your suggestions are too large. Almost all students initially come up with a topic which is too vast. Once you start doing even a bit of research you will find that there is far more material available than you imagined. Since you are going to be working on it for some time, chose the topic you are really interested in and start doing some reading. Once you have an idea of the material available you can start thinking about a smaller sub-topic to work on.
Finally, when chosing your topic, think about what sort of material you are going to need and how you are going to get access to it (ie Where is your nearest big library? What are their lending conditions? How much do they charge if you want them to get a book for you? How much do they charge for getting a photocopy of an article?). Research can work out to be expensive!

I've done one or two theses over the years (non musical) and I'd recommend going with one that really fascinates you.

My best one was when I researched the life of a modern movement architect (in the late 80s) and found that many people who knew were him still alive - and not all of them happy about my research (for various reasons). The highlight was going to stay with his mistress who was in her 80s.

I'd like to do the LCM thesis too one day - but only when I'm really gripped by a subject and it will be a joy - oh, and when there's time... there's parallels here with my son choosing his GCSEs .. he said "I don't think I should do German because it's really easy"... He'll learn.

My advice is that you choose a subject that you are very familiar with, and that does more than just interest you. You will need to spend a lot of time and effort on your research so the nearer to your heart it is the more you will enjoy it. The ALCM thesis is only between 8,000 and 10'000 words long but the writing and academic styles have to be of a high standard, as one would find in a published publication. It will need to begin with an abstract and you will set out there what you are researching and what you hope to achieve. (I am sure that you will know about this already, so accept my apologies if so.) The development of just one orchestral instrument would be a massive topic alone. Keep the really lengthy stuff for your FLCM! Good luck with it and keep us informed please. London College will be surprised at all of this interest in composition and thesis dips. and grades.

Thanks for for your advice everyone.


I've read through the syllabus again. The marking system awards points for 'the ability to construct, communicate, sustain and organise a clear and well-constructed argument' so you have to develop your own hypothesis. I take on board that some of my suggestions are too broad so I'll be doing some background reading on all of them before I settle on the more specific topic for the actual dissertation.



Thanks kerioboe. Your suggestion complements one from a friend, who suggested something to do with the growth of male voice choirs in the mining areas. I may be able to combine the two in some way.



Thanks for pointing this out but access to large libraries is fortunately not problem for me. Bath and Bristol University libraries are within easy distance of home and both have good music sections. I also have a ticket for the Bodlien library in Oxford which is just over an hour's drive - I go there regularly and have the option to stay with relatives in Oxford if I need to work in the library for longer periods.



petrat, there was absolutely no need for you to apologise! I have written at this level before so have some idea what to expect but I do appreciate you and the others taking the time to reply to me. I have done a lot of research in the past, mainly for history papers and publications so I'm not worried about my ability to find the info and organise it into a dissertation - it's finding a good approach to discuss in the dissertation that's the difficult bit!!



Maybe one day!!

An update ....

I now have an idea of the broad area to research for the thesis - to do with learning music and the affect on a child's development and education. I know that's still a massive subject but that's what I'm going to concentrate my efforts on and I'll settle on the actual topic later. I've requested some books at the local library and there's loads of info online, but please can anyone recommend suitable books and/or reports to read?

I'm particularly interested in how the teaching of music has changed in primary schools over the past few decades. Does anyone know of any reports on this subject? I've got copies of some of the recent press articles but haven't yet been able to find the actual reports they are referring to. I'd also like to get hold of some of the older reports from when the teaching of music in schools changed/stopped - to see what the 'thinking' was behind the decisions at that time.

Any suggestions will be very much appreciated.

Have a quick look at the Teachers' Forum. Ruthypegs has got a similar topic going there (albeit for an essay rather than a thesis) and I think BarryThain has done work in that area.

thanks Katyjay. I'll pm Barry.

For many years I have collected old books on the teaching of music and old tutors for different instruments. I have several music primers intended for use by teachers when teaching classes. I will sort out a list of what I have over the next few days as it is half term week and I will have a bit more free time to hunt through the library.

thanks petrat

I thought LCM was the only board offering Dip by thesis. I'd be interested to hear about any other board offering a similar option.