The opportunities for collaboration and creativity are wide and varied on our Music degree courses, inspiring and exciting our students across a huge range of styles: from classical to popular, musical theatre to opera, film to jazz, and from the historical through to the present day
Our degree in music is currently the best music degree in the UK, according to the Guardian University Guide 2025. We offer training in a huge range of styles from classical and popular, to musical theatre, film, jazz and contemporary music.
You’ll be able to join inspiring ensembles and societies, from the University Orchestra, University Chamber Choir, Big Band, student ensembles and bands, as well as weekly lunchtime student concerts.
As a performer, you’ll receive free one-to-one instrumental/vocal lessons in your primary study.
You’ll have access to our custom-built performance and recording spaces, including a multi-purpose concert/recital room, an immersive multichannel speaker performance space, 10 practice rooms, edit rooms and brand-new synth lab.
All music students benefit from visits by industry professionals, including: performers, composers, promoters, publishers and educators.
Whether you’re interested in performance, composition, music history, analysis, the music industry itself, or a whole wealth of other music degree jobs, our experienced staff and vibrant musical community can help unlock your potential.
On our course you can take performance and composition in each year. Alongside these, you’ll study music across history and within culture. You’ll develop advanced knowledge of music theory and analysis.
You’ll graduate from our course with a BMus qualification, which denotes a practical emphasis – we use performing and/or composing as the key ways to increase your knowledge of music and develop your musicianship. You’ll learn about music of the past and the present, in both classical and popular styles.
In your final year, you’ll develop a large-scale individual project; this is a good example of the flexible approach you can take to your learning – it can be a substantial written investigation, or a performance or composition project, with complementary writing.
The academic year is divided into two semesters of 15 weeks each. Each semester consists of a period of teaching, revision/directed learning and assessment.
Music topics
At the core of this course are modules you’ll take in each year that we call the ‘Music Project’ and the ‘Topic Study’. To maximise your choice and experience, these change from year to year depending on the member of staff leading them and their individual research strengths and interests.
Previous themes of Music Project modules have included the following:
Re-working Music
Experimental Music
The Music of Data
Film Music
Terry Riley’s ‘In C’
The Musical
John Zorn’s ‘Cobra’
Medieval Music
Purcell’s ‘Dido and Aeneas’.
Women in Music
Mahler and Musical Meaning
Folk and Nostalgia.
And Topic Study modules (which are usually either presented annually or every two years), include the following:
Jazz Studies
Musical Theatre
Opera Studies
Historical Performance Practice
English Music from Elgar to Britten
Studying Music as Performance
Popular Music and Culture
Popular Music and New Media.
Topic Study modules are more orientated towards the development of academic skills (though some also enable practical activities). Music Projects enable students to respond to a project drawing on a range of academic and musical skills, including collaborations on performances or compositions across years and programmes.
The structure of our programmes follow clear educational aims that are tailored to each programme. These are all outlined in the programme specifications which include further details such as the learning outcomes.
Please note: Thefull module listing for the optional Professional Training placement part of your course is available in the relevant programme specification.
Modules
Modules listed are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Modules are subject to teaching availability, student demand and/or class size caps.
The University operates a credit framework for all taught programmes based on a 15-credit tariff.
This module is one of six project-based learning modules within the Music degree programmes. Project-based modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice, based on a professional model of project implementation to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications. Project modules will develop a coordinated and managed group activity based on the project theme, such as a large-scale performance or musical outcome, a music creation project with associated conference/performance/material outcomes and documentation. This module is a cross-year, cross-programme group project in which students can pursue their own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader, in the context of a large, coordinated group enterprise. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. Themes have included and will be drawn from: Reworking Music – investigations and realisations of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres. The Music of Data - studying and experimenting with music based on all sorts of non-musical data from numbers, to patterns, to the natural world. In C – from Terry Riley's minimalist classic to explorations of the continued attraction of C major for composers. Film Music - uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative. The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth twenty-first centuries. Musical Games after John Zorn's 'Cobra' – starting from Zorn's directed improvisation and exploring a range of generative musical procedures. Medieval Music – exploring medieval music in its own time and ours. Meta-Music - music about, and made from, other music. Dido and Aeneas – contextual and analytical study of Purcell's opera, including performances and the creation of new works based on associated themes. Women in Music - female musicians through the ages in popular and classical music. Mahler and Musical Meaning - studying the music of Gustav Mahler, the ways it may be understood and what it can tell us about music's meaning-making potential. Folk Music and Nostaglia - exploring folk music, primarily in an Anglo-Irish context, and its relationship to nostalgia. Words and Music - investigating the many relationships between words and music in both texted and untexted genres in a range of musical traditions. Other project themes may be offered and the above is not an exhaustive list.
The purpose of this module is to introduce students to aspects of the Western classical and popular music repertoires, increasing levels of cultural awareness, and to develop transferable skills. The module provides a foundation for Topic Studies 1A and B and historically based work at FHEQ 5 and 6.
This module equips all students with the knowledge and skills necessary to arrange pre-existing music, including the vital ability to work collaboratively, that is so useful in many avenues of work, not just the arts. All students learn about the Department’s culture and ‘infrastructure’ around performance, such as the ways in which our concerts are managed and the various ensembles available for students to play in. The module builds resilience, as students reflect on their work as arrangers, performers and assistants at Departmental concerts, identifying what went well and what could be improved, thereby laying the ground to develop further in future modules. All students learn from seminars given by invited speakers, in which a range of sectors within the music industry are represented, and from writing reviews of visiting artists to the Department where they can witness professional performance at first hand. The module has two pathways: ‘arranging’ suits students with a focus on composition, connecting to and applying knowledge acquired during Harmony 1 and building a foundation for the specifically compositional activities in Pathways in Musicianship B in semester 2; ‘arranging and performing’ suits students with all-round skills looking to develop their instrumental or vocal technique through one-to-one lessons with a specialist tutor. In both pathways, students experience performing as part of large or small ensembles and become involved in the performing culture of the Department. The module builds students’ confidence and resilience as musicians, preparing them for the more specialised performance and composition modules in years 2 and 3.
The purpose of this module is to acquire knowledge of approaches to the research, discussion and writing about popular music at FHEQ Level 4. This is pursued through the study of a single album or group of tracks and its/their various contexts. The module provides a foundation for the study of popular music at FHEQ Levels 5 and 6. An indicative case study is Adele¿s output, studied from a range of perspectives such as music analysis, lyric analysis, video analysis, the contemporary music business, cover versions, authenticity in popular music, the popular music canon, gender and sexuality, and popular music on film.
The purpose of this module is for students to acquire knowledge of approaches to research, discussion and writing about music of the Western classical tradition at FHEQ Level 4. This is pursued through the study of a single work or a small group of works and its/their various contexts. The module provides further foundation for historically-based study at FHEQ Levels 5 and 6. An indicative case-study is Beethoven¿s Ninth Symphony, studied in detail and contextualised within Beethoven¿s overall development as well as musical and historical developments more broadly. Perspectives include analysis, reception and historically-informed performance practice.
This module is one of six project-based learning modules within the Music degree programmes. Project-based modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice, based on a professional model of project implementation to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications. Project modules will develop a coordinated and managed group activity based on the project theme, such as a large-scale performance or musical outcome, a music creation project with associated conference/performance/material outcomes and documentation. This module is a cross-year, cross-programme group project in which students can pursue their own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader, in the context of a large, coordinated group enterprise. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. Themes have included and will be drawn from: Reworking Music – investigations and realisations of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres. The Music of Data - studying and experimenting with music based on all sorts of non-musical data from numbers, to patterns, to the natural world. In C – from Terry Riley's minimalist classic to explorations of the continued attraction of C major for composers. Film Music - uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative. The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth twenty-first centuries. Musical Games after John Zorn's 'Cobra' – starting from Zorn's directed improvisation and exploring a range of generative musical procedures. Medieval Music – exploring medieval music in its own time and ours. Meta-Music - music about, and made from, other music. Dido and Aeneas – contextual and analytical study of Purcell's opera, including performances and the creation of new works based on associated themes. Women in Music - female musicians through the ages in popular and classical music. Mahler and Musical Meaning - studying the music of Gustav Mahler, the ways it may be understood and what it can tell us about music's meaning-making potential. Folk Music and Nostaglia - exploring folk music, primarily in an Anglo-Irish context, and its relationship to nostalgia. Words and Music - investigating the many relationships between words and music in both texted and untexted genres in a range of musical traditions. Other project themes may be offered and the above is not an exhaustive list.
This module has a flexible, three-pathway, format that allows students to improve their musicianship in ways that reflect their musical interests and skills. The module also ensures there are opportunities for all students to acquire knowledge, skills and experience in key areas: collaboration (between composers and performers), group work (when performing in an ensemble or taking part in concert management activity), documentation and presentation skills (in compiling a record of performance activities during the semester). Students will continue to be exposed to the Department's culture and 'infrastructure' around performance, such as the role of concert management and the different types of ensembles available to participate in, but will be starting from a more familiar base than in semester 1 with the potential to contribute more visibly and impactfully to music making in the Department. The module continues to build resilience as students reflect on their work as ensemble performers and assistants at Departmental concerts, identifying what went well and what could be improved, thereby laying the ground to develop further in year 2 and 3 performance modules. All students continue to learn from seminars given by invited speakers, in which a range of sectors within the music industry are represented, and from attending concerts by visiting artists to the Department where they can witness professional performance at first hand. The module has three pathways: 'composing' suits students with some experience in composition, providing an opportunity not only to consolidate key techniques in developing musical ideas but to work in slightly larger musical forms according to broadly defined models; 'composing and performing' suits students looking to acquire experience or build confidence in composition whilst continuing to develop their performance skills - here, the initial compositional exercises that underpin the first half of the module provide accessible building blocks of compositional technique; 'performing' suits students who prefer to focus on performing through combining their one-to-one lessons with intensive practice time. In all pathways, students experience performing as part of large or small ensembles and become involved in the performing culture of the Department. The module further builds students’ confidence and resilience as musicians, preparing them for the more specialised performance and composition modules in years 2 and 3.
This module equips students with the skills and knowledge to develop their technical knowledge and practical skills in music technology and production. It will allow students to engage with digital technology in wider practice with relevant theoretical understanding, and with an appropriate professionalism and resourcefulness. Although tutorials and support in specific software platforms will be encountered, the emphasis will be on a broad awareness of the theories, functions, diverse cultures and affordances of music technology, providing students with transportable, adaptable and employable skills in their continuing musical practice.
Students must choose two optional modules in Semester 2, which include an optional foundational module in music technology and production supplying tuition in areas in which some students may be unfamiliar but which they may need to succeed in composition modules in later years.
Year 2 - BMus (Hons)
Semester 1
Compulsory
This module provides an opportunity for the in depth study of harmony within the context of Anglo-American popular music of the past century from the standard jazz repertoire to progressive pop, rock, fusion and contemporary jazz.
This module is one of six project-based learning modules within the Music degree programmes. Project-based modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice, based on a professional model of project implementation to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications. Project modules will develop a coordinated and managed group activity based on the project theme, such as a large-scale performance or musical outcome, a music creation project with associated conference/performance/material outcomes and documentation. This module is a cross-year, cross-programme group project in which students can pursue their own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader, in the context of a large, coordinated group enterprise. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. Themes have included and will be drawn from: Reworking Music – investigations and realisations of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres. The Music of Data - studying and experimenting with music based on all sorts of non-musical data from numbers, to patterns, to the natural world. In C – from Terry Riley's minimalist classic to explorations of the continued attraction of C major for composers. Film Music - uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative. The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth twenty-first centuries. Musical Games after John Zorn's 'Cobra' – starting from Zorn's directed improvisation and exploring a range of generative musical procedures. Medieval Music – exploring medieval music in its own time and ours. Meta-Music - music about, and made from, other music. Dido and Aeneas – contextual and analytical study of Purcell's opera, including performances and the creation of new works based on associated themes. Women in Music - female musicians through the ages in popular and classical music. Mahler and Musical Meaning - studying the music of Gustav Mahler, the ways it may be understood and what it can tell us about music's meaning-making potential. Folk Music and Nostaglia - exploring folk music, primarily in an Anglo-Irish context, and its relationship to nostalgia. Words and Music - investigating the many relationships between words and music in both texted and untexted genres in a range of musical traditions. Other project themes may be offered and the above is not an exhaustive list.
This module introduces you to a range of fundamental compositional techniques and concepts, applicable in many stylistic contexts.You will encounter and expand your knowledge of a diverse range of global and historical musical practice on the acoustic and electronic domains, as well as theoretical concepts that unite and delineate such broad approaches. In so doing, you will not only learn to emulate specific compositional practice, but also to forge an individual, informed and contemporary compositional voice.
The purpose of this module is to develop knowledge and understanding of the main methodologies in applied performance research, advance individual learning/preparation skills in the context of your instrument/voice, and develop performing experience. You will also develop practical skills in learning event management activities and basic skills in conducting. Writing skills enabling you to produce persuasive reviews will be developed. The module builds resilience, as you reflect on your work as performers, ensemble members and managers at Departmental concerts, identifying what went well and what could be improved. The creative skills you learn will also contribute to your learning in other modules and the reviewing skills will broaden your knowledge of repertoire. The module is delivered through a series of lectures and seminars (alongside individual instrumental or vocal lessons), in which all ranges of music will be represented, as well as different historical and research aspects of performance practices. Performance opportunities in seminars will help to develop confidence in performance. Some seminars may be given by invited speakers representing a range of sectors within the music industry. Writing reviews of professional concerts allows you to witness high level performance at first hand and judge its level of success.
The module provides an overview of the structures that support and shape the arts and creative industries in the UK and introduces current issues and debates in cultural provision. It introduces the arts funding system in the UK, government policies for the arts, and the support infrastructure for music in the UK. It also provides the opportunity for discussion of the issues that shape and influence the arts professions and impact upon arts workers and audiences.
The purpose of this module is to build on the knowledge and skills you have acquired in FHEQ Level 4 in research methods, discussion and writing about music of the Western classical tradition or popular repertories through the study of a single work or a small group of works or the study of a single album or group of tracks and its/their various contexts. The module provides further foundation for historically based study at FHEQ Level 6. This topic will change each year and indicative topics may include Popular Music and New Media, Popular Music and Culture, Musical Theatre, Opera Studies, Historical Performance Practice, Studying Music as Performance, and English Music from Elgar to Britten (this is not an exhaustive list).
This module enables students to build upon their knowledge of the history, aesthetics and style of a range of nineteenth-century music and associated repertories, combining discussions of identified composers and historical and cultural issues with exploration of specific set works. It draws on analytical skills acquired in previous modules and consolidates the students’ experience of nineteenth-century music encountered elsewhere on the programme, as well as complementing their studies of other areas of music history and culture.
This module is one of six project-based learning modules within the Music degree programmes. Project-based modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice, based on a professional model of project implementation to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications. Project modules will develop a coordinated and managed group activity based on the project theme, such as a large-scale performance or musical outcome, a music creation project with associated conference/performance/material outcomes and documentation. This module is a cross-year, cross-programme group project in which students can pursue their own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader, in the context of a large, coordinated group enterprise. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. Themes have included and will be drawn from: Reworking Music – investigations and realisations of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres. The Music of Data - studying and experimenting with music based on all sorts of non-musical data from numbers, to patterns, to the natural world. In C – from Terry Riley's minimalist classic to explorations of the continued attraction of C major for composers. Film Music - uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative. The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth twenty-first centuries. Musical Games after John Zorn's 'Cobra' – starting from Zorn's directed improvisation and exploring a range of generative musical procedures. Medieval Music – exploring medieval music in its own time and ours. Meta-Music - music about, and made from, other music. Dido and Aeneas – contextual and analytical study of Purcell's opera, including performances and the creation of new works based on associated themes. Women in Music - female musicians through the ages in popular and classical music. Mahler and Musical Meaning - studying the music of Gustav Mahler, the ways it may be understood and what it can tell us about music's meaning-making potential. Folk Music and Nostaglia - exploring folk music, primarily in an Anglo-Irish context, and its relationship to nostalgia. Words and Music - investigating the many relationships between words and music in both texted and untexted genres in a range of musical traditions. Other project themes may be offered and the above is not an exhaustive list.
This module develops your knowledge and practice of compositional techniques and concepts, and their application in a range of stylistic contexts. You will encounter and expand your knowledge of a diverse range of global and historical musical practice on the acoustic and electronic domains, as well as theoretical concepts that unite and delineate such broad approaches. In so doing, you will not only learn to emulate specific compositional practice, but also to forge an individual, informed and contemporary compositional voice.
The purpose of this module is to develop knowledge and understanding of the main methodologies in applied performance research, advance individual learning/preparation skills in the context of your instrument/voice, and develop performing experience. You will also develop practical skills in learning event management activities and basic skills in conducting. Writing skills enabling you to produce persuasive reviews will be developed. The module builds resilience, as you reflect on your work as performers, ensemble members and managers at Departmental concerts, identifying what went well and what could be improved. The creative skills you learn will also contribute to your learning in other modules and the reviewing skills will broaden your knowledge of repertoire. The module is delivered through a series of lectures and seminars (alongside individual instrumental or vocal lessons), in which all ranges of music will be represented, as well as different historical and research aspects of performance practices. Performance opportunities in seminars will help to develop confidence in performance. Some seminars may be given by invited speakers representing a range of sectors within the music industry. Writing reviews of professional concerts allows you to witness high level performance at first hand and judge its level of success.
The purpose of this module is to build on the knowledge and skills you have acquired in FHEQ Level 4 in research methods, discussion and writing about music of the Western classical tradition or popular repertories through the study of a single work or a small group of works or the study of a single album or group of tracks and its/their various contexts. The module provides further foundation for historically based study at FHEQ Level 6. This topic will change each year and indicative topics may include Popular Music and New Media, Popular Music and Culture, Musical Theatre, Opera Studies, Historical Performance Practice, Studying Music as Performance, and English Music from Elgar to Britten (this is not an exhaustive list).
Students must choose two optional modules in Semester 1 and two optional modules in Semester 2.
Year 3 - BMus (Hons)
Semester 1
Optional
This module is designed to provide students with the technical knowledge, musical/artistic sensibility and breadth of repertoire to enhance the quality of their music to the threshold of professional level. This is achieved by covering a limited number of topics in depth, each delivered by a different member of the Department's composition staff, allowing students to benefit from a breadth of knowledge, experience and expertise. Typically each topic is delivered over several weeks to allow sufficient time to explore it from diverse perspectives and thereby increase its potential as a compositional methodology for all students. Students are shown many ways in which they can engage with these topics: through live performance, arranging and manipulating recorded audio, working with live electronics, using improvisation and employing various types of notation. The module content draws on techniques and case studies from a wide range of practices including classical, popular and non-Western musics with topics changing frequently to match lecturers' own compositional projects and research. This close link between the module content and the lecturers' own practice as composers aligns the module with aspects of 'real world' musical practice; this is to the benefit of students because it helps to show how ideas and techniques from the module can be applied.
The purpose of this module is to develop knowledge and understanding of the main methodologies in applied performance research, advance individual learning/preparation skills in the context of your instrument/voice, and develop performing experience. You will also develop practical skills in co-ordination of performance/event management. Your writing skills will be expanded to include reflective writing that connects your reviews of performances put on by the Department with your own development as a musician. The module builds resilience, as you reflect on your work as performers, ensemble members and managers at Departmental concerts; identifying what went well and what could be improved. The creative skills you learn will also contribute to your learning in other modules and the reviewing skills will broaden your knowledge of repertoire. The module is delivered through a series of lectures and seminars, in which all ranges of music will be represented, as well as different historical and research aspects of performance practices. Performance opportunities in seminars and lunchtime recitals will help to develop confidence in performance. Seminars may include invited speakers representing a range of sectors within the music industry. The Department hosts concerts by students as well as, occasionally, by visiting artists; students learn to appreciate the qualities of public performance first hand by attending concerts and writing reviews.
This module is one of six project-based learning modules within the Music degree programmes. Project-based modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice, based on a professional model of project implementation to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications. Project modules will develop a coordinated and managed group activity based on the project theme, such as a large-scale performance or musical outcome, a music creation project with associated conference/performance/material outcomes and documentation. This module is a cross-year, cross-programme group project in which students can pursue their own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader, in the context of a large, coordinated group enterprise. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. Themes have included and will be drawn from: Reworking Music – investigations and realisations of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres. The Music of Data - studying and experimenting with music based on all sorts of non-musical data from numbers, to patterns, to the natural world. In C – from Terry Riley's minimalist classic to explorations of the continued attraction of C major for composers. Film Music - uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative. The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth twenty-first centuries. Musical Games after John Zorn's 'Cobra' – starting from Zorn's directed improvisation and exploring a range of generative musical procedures. Medieval Music – exploring medieval music in its own time and ours. Meta-Music - music about, and made from, other music. Dido and Aeneas – contextual and analytical study of Purcell's opera, including performances and the creation of new works based on associated themes. Women in Music - female musicians through the ages in popular and classical music. Mahler and Musical Meaning - studying the music of Gustav Mahler, the ways it may be understood and what it can tell us about music's meaning-making potential. Folk Music and Nostaglia - exploring folk music, primarily in an Anglo-Irish context, and its relationship to nostalgia. Words and Music - investigating the many relationships between words and music in both texted and untexted genres in a range of musical traditions. Other project themes may be offered and the above is not an exhaustive list.
The purpose of this module is to critically engage with and employ your knowledge of research, discussion and writing about music of the Western classical tradition or popular repertoires at HE Level 6. This is pursued through the study of a single work or a small group of works or the study of a single album or group of tracks and its/their various contexts. The module provides further foundation for historically based study. This topic will change each year and indicative topics may include Popular Music and New Media, Popular Music and Culture, Musical Theatre, Opera Studies, Historical Performance Practice, Studying Music as Performance, and English Music from Elgar to Britten (this is not an exhaustive list).
This module enables students to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the major currents of 20th- and 21st-century music in the Western classical tradition through the exploration of key composers and repertories as well as key documents in the critical reception of the repertoire. It draws on analytical skills acquired in previous modules such as Encounter Music History and Nineteenth-Century Music as well as Music Project and the Topic Study modules. It also consolidates students’ experience of 20th- and 21st -century music encountered elsewhere on the programme. Intersections with global cultural developments form a significant strand in developing an understanding of composers’ decision-making. The module facilitates further development of students’ writing skills, and their ability to assess the significance of scholarly work, including that in the digital domain.
This module is designed to provide students with the technical knowledge, musical/artistic sensibility and breadth of repertoire to enhance the quality of their music to the threshold of professional level. This is achieved by covering a limited number of topics in depth, each delivered by a different member of the Department's composition staff, allowing students to benefit from a breadth of knowledge, experience and expertise. Typically each topic is delivered over several weeks to allow sufficient time to explore it from diverse perspectives and thereby increase its potential as a compositional methodology for all students. Students are shown many ways in which they can engage with these topics: through live performance, arranging and manipulating recorded audio, working with live electronics, using improvisation and employing various types of notation. The module content draws on techniques and case studies from a wide range of practices including classical, popular and non-Western musics with topics changing frequently to match lecturers' own compositional projects and research. This close link between the module content and the lecturers' own practice as composers aligns the module with aspects of 'real world' musical practice; this is to the benefit of students because it helps to show how ideas and techniques from the module can be applied. Composition 3B is identical in design to Composition 3A but covering a different set of topics. Taken as a pair the modules allow final year students to specialise in composition, making the most of staff expertise and Departmental opportunities to drive their development as composers and preparing them well for postgraduate study in composition if they wish.
The purpose of this module is to develop knowledge and understanding of the main methodologies in applied performance research, advance individual learning/preparation skills in the context of your instrument/voice, and develop performing experience. You will also develop practical skills in co-ordination of performance/event management. Your writing skills will be expanded to include reflective writing that connects your reviews of performances put on by the Department with your own development as a musician. The module builds resilience, as you reflect on your work as performers, ensemble members and managers at Departmental concerts; identifying what went well and what could be improved. The creative skills you learn will also contribute to your learning in other modules and the reviewing skills will broaden your knowledge of repertoire. The module is delivered through a series of lectures and seminars, in which all ranges of music will be represented, as well as different historical and research aspects of performance practices. Performance opportunities in seminars and lunchtime recitals will help to develop confidence in performance. Seminars may include invited speakers representing a range of sectors within the music industry. The Department hosts concerts by students as well as, occasionally, by visiting artists; students learn to appreciate the qualities of public performance first hand by attending concerts and writing reviews.
This module is one of six project-based learning modules within the Music degree programmes. Project-based modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice, based on a professional model of project implementation to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications. Project modules will develop a coordinated and managed group activity based on the project theme, such as a large-scale performance or musical outcome, a music creation project with associated conference/performance/material outcomes and documentation. This module is a cross-year, cross-programme group project in which students can pursue their own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader, in the context of a large, coordinated group enterprise. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. Themes have included and will be drawn from: Reworking Music – investigations and realisations of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres. The Music of Data - studying and experimenting with music based on all sorts of non-musical data from numbers, to patterns, to the natural world. In C – from Terry Riley's minimalist classic to explorations of the continued attraction of C major for composers. Film Music - uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative. The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth twenty-first centuries. Musical Games after John Zorn's 'Cobra' – starting from Zorn's directed improvisation and exploring a range of generative musical procedures. Medieval Music – exploring medieval music in its own time and ours. Meta-Music - music about, and made from, other music. Dido and Aeneas – contextual and analytical study of Purcell's opera, including performances and the creation of new works based on associated themes. Women in Music - female musicians through the ages in popular and classical music. Mahler and Musical Meaning - studying the music of Gustav Mahler, the ways it may be understood and what it can tell us about music's meaning-making potential. Folk Music and Nostaglia - exploring folk music, primarily in an Anglo-Irish context, and its relationship to nostalgia. Words and Music - investigating the many relationships between words and music in both texted and untexted genres in a range of musical traditions. Other project themes may be offered and the above is not an exhaustive list.
The purpose of this module is to critically engage with and employ your knowledge of research, discussion and writing about music of the Western classical tradition or popular repertoires at HE Level 6. This is pursued through the study of a single work or a small group of works or the study of a single album or group of tracks and its/their various contexts. The module provides further foundation for historically based study. This topic will change each year and indicative topics may include Popular Music and New Media, Popular Music and Culture, Musical Theatre, Opera Studies, Historical Performance Practice, Studying Music as Performance, and English Music from Elgar to Britten (this is not an exhaustive list).
You will develop your understanding of the theory, aesthetics and technical considerations of digital performance. Topics will include the design and construction of electronic music systems and effective performance strategies and approaches. This will develop independence, resourcefulness, and resilience in the field; enhance digital skills, and provide a wider awareness of cultural practice, enhancing creative ideas, technical development and employability in future work.
The purpose of this module is to provide students with the opportunity to develop a further degree of independence in the conception, design, and completion of a musicological, compositional, or performance project, with guidance from a supervisor.
Students must choose three optional modules from semester 1 and one module from semester 2 OR two optional modules from semester 1 and two from semester 2
Year 1 - BMus (Hons) with placement
Semester 1
Compulsory
The purpose of this module is to enable an understanding of the basic principles of common-practice harmony.
This module is one of six project-based learning modules within the Music degree programmes. Project-based modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice, based on a professional model of project implementation to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications. Project modules will develop a coordinated and managed group activity based on the project theme, such as a large-scale performance or musical outcome, a music creation project with associated conference/performance/material outcomes and documentation. This module is a cross-year, cross-programme group project in which students can pursue their own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader, in the context of a large, coordinated group enterprise. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. Themes have included and will be drawn from: Reworking Music – investigations and realisations of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres. The Music of Data - studying and experimenting with music based on all sorts of non-musical data from numbers, to patterns, to the natural world. In C – from Terry Riley's minimalist classic to explorations of the continued attraction of C major for composers. Film Music - uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative. The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth twenty-first centuries. Musical Games after John Zorn's 'Cobra' – starting from Zorn's directed improvisation and exploring a range of generative musical procedures. Medieval Music – exploring medieval music in its own time and ours. Meta-Music - music about, and made from, other music. Dido and Aeneas – contextual and analytical study of Purcell's opera, including performances and the creation of new works based on associated themes. Women in Music - female musicians through the ages in popular and classical music. Mahler and Musical Meaning - studying the music of Gustav Mahler, the ways it may be understood and what it can tell us about music's meaning-making potential. Folk Music and Nostaglia - exploring folk music, primarily in an Anglo-Irish context, and its relationship to nostalgia. Words and Music - investigating the many relationships between words and music in both texted and untexted genres in a range of musical traditions. Other project themes may be offered and the above is not an exhaustive list.
The purpose of this module is to introduce students to aspects of the Western classical and popular music repertoires, increasing levels of cultural awareness, and to develop transferable skills. The module provides a foundation for Topic Studies 1A and B and historically based work at FHEQ 5 and 6.
This module equips all students with the knowledge and skills necessary to arrange pre-existing music, including the vital ability to work collaboratively, that is so useful in many avenues of work, not just the arts. All students learn about the Department’s culture and ‘infrastructure’ around performance, such as the ways in which our concerts are managed and the various ensembles available for students to play in. The module builds resilience, as students reflect on their work as arrangers, performers and assistants at Departmental concerts, identifying what went well and what could be improved, thereby laying the ground to develop further in future modules. All students learn from seminars given by invited speakers, in which a range of sectors within the music industry are represented, and from writing reviews of visiting artists to the Department where they can witness professional performance at first hand. The module has two pathways: ‘arranging’ suits students with a focus on composition, connecting to and applying knowledge acquired during Harmony 1 and building a foundation for the specifically compositional activities in Pathways in Musicianship B in semester 2; ‘arranging and performing’ suits students with all-round skills looking to develop their instrumental or vocal technique through one-to-one lessons with a specialist tutor. In both pathways, students experience performing as part of large or small ensembles and become involved in the performing culture of the Department. The module builds students’ confidence and resilience as musicians, preparing them for the more specialised performance and composition modules in years 2 and 3.
The purpose of this module is to acquire knowledge of approaches to the research, discussion and writing about popular music at FHEQ Level 4. This is pursued through the study of a single album or group of tracks and its/their various contexts. The module provides a foundation for the study of popular music at FHEQ Levels 5 and 6. An indicative case study is Adele¿s output, studied from a range of perspectives such as music analysis, lyric analysis, video analysis, the contemporary music business, cover versions, authenticity in popular music, the popular music canon, gender and sexuality, and popular music on film.
The purpose of this module is for students to acquire knowledge of approaches to research, discussion and writing about music of the Western classical tradition at FHEQ Level 4. This is pursued through the study of a single work or a small group of works and its/their various contexts. The module provides further foundation for historically-based study at FHEQ Levels 5 and 6. An indicative case-study is Beethoven¿s Ninth Symphony, studied in detail and contextualised within Beethoven¿s overall development as well as musical and historical developments more broadly. Perspectives include analysis, reception and historically-informed performance practice.
This module is one of six project-based learning modules within the Music degree programmes. Project-based modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice, based on a professional model of project implementation to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications. Project modules will develop a coordinated and managed group activity based on the project theme, such as a large-scale performance or musical outcome, a music creation project with associated conference/performance/material outcomes and documentation. This module is a cross-year, cross-programme group project in which students can pursue their own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader, in the context of a large, coordinated group enterprise. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. Themes have included and will be drawn from: Reworking Music – investigations and realisations of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres. The Music of Data - studying and experimenting with music based on all sorts of non-musical data from numbers, to patterns, to the natural world. In C – from Terry Riley's minimalist classic to explorations of the continued attraction of C major for composers. Film Music - uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative. The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth twenty-first centuries. Musical Games after John Zorn's 'Cobra' – starting from Zorn's directed improvisation and exploring a range of generative musical procedures. Medieval Music – exploring medieval music in its own time and ours. Meta-Music - music about, and made from, other music. Dido and Aeneas – contextual and analytical study of Purcell's opera, including performances and the creation of new works based on associated themes. Women in Music - female musicians through the ages in popular and classical music. Mahler and Musical Meaning - studying the music of Gustav Mahler, the ways it may be understood and what it can tell us about music's meaning-making potential. Folk Music and Nostaglia - exploring folk music, primarily in an Anglo-Irish context, and its relationship to nostalgia. Words and Music - investigating the many relationships between words and music in both texted and untexted genres in a range of musical traditions. Other project themes may be offered and the above is not an exhaustive list.
This module has a flexible, three-pathway, format that allows students to improve their musicianship in ways that reflect their musical interests and skills. The module also ensures there are opportunities for all students to acquire knowledge, skills and experience in key areas: collaboration (between composers and performers), group work (when performing in an ensemble or taking part in concert management activity), documentation and presentation skills (in compiling a record of performance activities during the semester). Students will continue to be exposed to the Department's culture and 'infrastructure' around performance, such as the role of concert management and the different types of ensembles available to participate in, but will be starting from a more familiar base than in semester 1 with the potential to contribute more visibly and impactfully to music making in the Department. The module continues to build resilience as students reflect on their work as ensemble performers and assistants at Departmental concerts, identifying what went well and what could be improved, thereby laying the ground to develop further in year 2 and 3 performance modules. All students continue to learn from seminars given by invited speakers, in which a range of sectors within the music industry are represented, and from attending concerts by visiting artists to the Department where they can witness professional performance at first hand. The module has three pathways: 'composing' suits students with some experience in composition, providing an opportunity not only to consolidate key techniques in developing musical ideas but to work in slightly larger musical forms according to broadly defined models; 'composing and performing' suits students looking to acquire experience or build confidence in composition whilst continuing to develop their performance skills - here, the initial compositional exercises that underpin the first half of the module provide accessible building blocks of compositional technique; 'performing' suits students who prefer to focus on performing through combining their one-to-one lessons with intensive practice time. In all pathways, students experience performing as part of large or small ensembles and become involved in the performing culture of the Department. The module further builds students’ confidence and resilience as musicians, preparing them for the more specialised performance and composition modules in years 2 and 3.
This module equips students with the skills and knowledge to develop their technical knowledge and practical skills in music technology and production. It will allow students to engage with digital technology in wider practice with relevant theoretical understanding, and with an appropriate professionalism and resourcefulness. Although tutorials and support in specific software platforms will be encountered, the emphasis will be on a broad awareness of the theories, functions, diverse cultures and affordances of music technology, providing students with transportable, adaptable and employable skills in their continuing musical practice.
Optional modules for Year 1 (with PTY) - FHEQ Level 4
Students must choose two optional modules in Semester 2.
Year 2 - BMus (Hons) with placement
Semester 1
Compulsory
The module provides an overview of the structures that support and shape the arts and creative industries in the UK and introduces current issues and debates in cultural provision. It introduces the arts funding system in the UK, government policies for the arts, and the support infrastructure for music in the UK. It also provides the opportunity for discussion of the issues that shape and influence the arts professions and impact upon arts workers and audiences.
This module provides an opportunity for the in depth study of harmony within the context of Anglo-American popular music of the past century from the standard jazz repertoire to progressive pop, rock, fusion and contemporary jazz.
This module introduces you to a range of fundamental compositional techniques and concepts, applicable in many stylistic contexts.You will encounter and expand your knowledge of a diverse range of global and historical musical practice on the acoustic and electronic domains, as well as theoretical concepts that unite and delineate such broad approaches. In so doing, you will not only learn to emulate specific compositional practice, but also to forge an individual, informed and contemporary compositional voice.
The purpose of this module is to develop knowledge and understanding of the main methodologies in applied performance research, advance individual learning/preparation skills in the context of your instrument/voice, and develop performing experience. You will also develop practical skills in learning event management activities and basic skills in conducting. Writing skills enabling you to produce persuasive reviews will be developed. The module builds resilience, as you reflect on your work as performers, ensemble members and managers at Departmental concerts, identifying what went well and what could be improved. The creative skills you learn will also contribute to your learning in other modules and the reviewing skills will broaden your knowledge of repertoire. The module is delivered through a series of lectures and seminars (alongside individual instrumental or vocal lessons), in which all ranges of music will be represented, as well as different historical and research aspects of performance practices. Performance opportunities in seminars will help to develop confidence in performance. Some seminars may be given by invited speakers representing a range of sectors within the music industry. Writing reviews of professional concerts allows you to witness high level performance at first hand and judge its level of success.
This module is one of six project-based learning modules within the Music degree programmes. Project-based modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice, based on a professional model of project implementation to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications. Project modules will develop a coordinated and managed group activity based on the project theme, such as a large-scale performance or musical outcome, a music creation project with associated conference/performance/material outcomes and documentation. This module is a cross-year, cross-programme group project in which students can pursue their own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader, in the context of a large, coordinated group enterprise. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. Themes have included and will be drawn from: Reworking Music – investigations and realisations of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres. The Music of Data - studying and experimenting with music based on all sorts of non-musical data from numbers, to patterns, to the natural world. In C – from Terry Riley's minimalist classic to explorations of the continued attraction of C major for composers. Film Music - uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative. The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth twenty-first centuries. Musical Games after John Zorn's 'Cobra' – starting from Zorn's directed improvisation and exploring a range of generative musical procedures. Medieval Music – exploring medieval music in its own time and ours. Meta-Music - music about, and made from, other music. Dido and Aeneas – contextual and analytical study of Purcell's opera, including performances and the creation of new works based on associated themes. Women in Music - female musicians through the ages in popular and classical music. Mahler and Musical Meaning - studying the music of Gustav Mahler, the ways it may be understood and what it can tell us about music's meaning-making potential. Folk Music and Nostaglia - exploring folk music, primarily in an Anglo-Irish context, and its relationship to nostalgia. Words and Music - investigating the many relationships between words and music in both texted and untexted genres in a range of musical traditions. Other project themes may be offered and the above is not an exhaustive list.
The purpose of this module is to build on the knowledge and skills you have acquired in FHEQ Level 4 in research methods, discussion and writing about music of the Western classical tradition or popular repertories through the study of a single work or a small group of works or the study of a single album or group of tracks and its/their various contexts. The module provides further foundation for historically based study at FHEQ Level 6. This topic will change each year and indicative topics may include Popular Music and New Media, Popular Music and Culture, Musical Theatre, Opera Studies, Historical Performance Practice, Studying Music as Performance, and English Music from Elgar to Britten (this is not an exhaustive list).
This module enables students to build upon their knowledge of the history, aesthetics and style of a range of nineteenth-century music and associated repertories, combining discussions of identified composers and historical and cultural issues with exploration of specific set works. It draws on analytical skills acquired in previous modules and consolidates the students’ experience of nineteenth-century music encountered elsewhere on the programme, as well as complementing their studies of other areas of music history and culture.
This module is one of six project-based learning modules within the Music degree programmes. Project-based modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice, based on a professional model of project implementation to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications. Project modules will develop a coordinated and managed group activity based on the project theme, such as a large-scale performance or musical outcome, a music creation project with associated conference/performance/material outcomes and documentation. This module is a cross-year, cross-programme group project in which students can pursue their own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader, in the context of a large, coordinated group enterprise. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. Themes have included and will be drawn from: Reworking Music – investigations and realisations of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres. The Music of Data - studying and experimenting with music based on all sorts of non-musical data from numbers, to patterns, to the natural world. In C – from Terry Riley's minimalist classic to explorations of the continued attraction of C major for composers. Film Music - uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative. The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth twenty-first centuries. Musical Games after John Zorn's 'Cobra' – starting from Zorn's directed improvisation and exploring a range of generative musical procedures. Medieval Music – exploring medieval music in its own time and ours. Meta-Music - music about, and made from, other music. Dido and Aeneas – contextual and analytical study of Purcell's opera, including performances and the creation of new works based on associated themes. Women in Music - female musicians through the ages in popular and classical music. Mahler and Musical Meaning - studying the music of Gustav Mahler, the ways it may be understood and what it can tell us about music's meaning-making potential. Folk Music and Nostaglia - exploring folk music, primarily in an Anglo-Irish context, and its relationship to nostalgia. Words and Music - investigating the many relationships between words and music in both texted and untexted genres in a range of musical traditions. Other project themes may be offered and the above is not an exhaustive list.
This module develops your knowledge and practice of compositional techniques and concepts, and their application in a range of stylistic contexts. You will encounter and expand your knowledge of a diverse range of global and historical musical practice on the acoustic and electronic domains, as well as theoretical concepts that unite and delineate such broad approaches. In so doing, you will not only learn to emulate specific compositional practice, but also to forge an individual, informed and contemporary compositional voice.
The purpose of this module is to develop knowledge and understanding of the main methodologies in applied performance research, advance individual learning/preparation skills in the context of your instrument/voice, and develop performing experience. You will also develop practical skills in learning event management activities and basic skills in conducting. Writing skills enabling you to produce persuasive reviews will be developed. The module builds resilience, as you reflect on your work as performers, ensemble members and managers at Departmental concerts, identifying what went well and what could be improved. The creative skills you learn will also contribute to your learning in other modules and the reviewing skills will broaden your knowledge of repertoire. The module is delivered through a series of lectures and seminars (alongside individual instrumental or vocal lessons), in which all ranges of music will be represented, as well as different historical and research aspects of performance practices. Performance opportunities in seminars will help to develop confidence in performance. Some seminars may be given by invited speakers representing a range of sectors within the music industry. Writing reviews of professional concerts allows you to witness high level performance at first hand and judge its level of success.
The purpose of this module is to build on the knowledge and skills you have acquired in FHEQ Level 4 in research methods, discussion and writing about music of the Western classical tradition or popular repertories through the study of a single work or a small group of works or the study of a single album or group of tracks and its/their various contexts. The module provides further foundation for historically based study at FHEQ Level 6. This topic will change each year and indicative topics may include Popular Music and New Media, Popular Music and Culture, Musical Theatre, Opera Studies, Historical Performance Practice, Studying Music as Performance, and English Music from Elgar to Britten (this is not an exhaustive list).
Optional modules for Year 2 (with PTY) - FHEQ Level 5
Students must choose two optional modules in Semester 1 and two optional modules in Semester 2.
Year 3 - BMus (Hons) with placement
Semester 1
Optional
This module is designed to provide students with the technical knowledge, musical/artistic sensibility and breadth of repertoire to enhance the quality of their music to the threshold of professional level. This is achieved by covering a limited number of topics in depth, each delivered by a different member of the Department's composition staff, allowing students to benefit from a breadth of knowledge, experience and expertise. Typically each topic is delivered over several weeks to allow sufficient time to explore it from diverse perspectives and thereby increase its potential as a compositional methodology for all students. Students are shown many ways in which they can engage with these topics: through live performance, arranging and manipulating recorded audio, working with live electronics, using improvisation and employing various types of notation. The module content draws on techniques and case studies from a wide range of practices including classical, popular and non-Western musics with topics changing frequently to match lecturers' own compositional projects and research. This close link between the module content and the lecturers' own practice as composers aligns the module with aspects of 'real world' musical practice; this is to the benefit of students because it helps to show how ideas and techniques from the module can be applied.
The purpose of this module is to develop knowledge and understanding of the main methodologies in applied performance research, advance individual learning/preparation skills in the context of your instrument/voice, and develop performing experience. You will also develop practical skills in co-ordination of performance/event management. Your writing skills will be expanded to include reflective writing that connects your reviews of performances put on by the Department with your own development as a musician. The module builds resilience, as you reflect on your work as performers, ensemble members and managers at Departmental concerts; identifying what went well and what could be improved. The creative skills you learn will also contribute to your learning in other modules and the reviewing skills will broaden your knowledge of repertoire. The module is delivered through a series of lectures and seminars, in which all ranges of music will be represented, as well as different historical and research aspects of performance practices. Performance opportunities in seminars and lunchtime recitals will help to develop confidence in performance. Seminars may include invited speakers representing a range of sectors within the music industry. The Department hosts concerts by students as well as, occasionally, by visiting artists; students learn to appreciate the qualities of public performance first hand by attending concerts and writing reviews.
This module is one of six project-based learning modules within the Music degree programmes. Project-based modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice, based on a professional model of project implementation to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications. Project modules will develop a coordinated and managed group activity based on the project theme, such as a large-scale performance or musical outcome, a music creation project with associated conference/performance/material outcomes and documentation. This module is a cross-year, cross-programme group project in which students can pursue their own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader, in the context of a large, coordinated group enterprise. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. Themes have included and will be drawn from: Reworking Music – investigations and realisations of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres. The Music of Data - studying and experimenting with music based on all sorts of non-musical data from numbers, to patterns, to the natural world. In C – from Terry Riley's minimalist classic to explorations of the continued attraction of C major for composers. Film Music - uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative. The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth twenty-first centuries. Musical Games after John Zorn's 'Cobra' – starting from Zorn's directed improvisation and exploring a range of generative musical procedures. Medieval Music – exploring medieval music in its own time and ours. Meta-Music - music about, and made from, other music. Dido and Aeneas – contextual and analytical study of Purcell's opera, including performances and the creation of new works based on associated themes. Women in Music - female musicians through the ages in popular and classical music. Mahler and Musical Meaning - studying the music of Gustav Mahler, the ways it may be understood and what it can tell us about music's meaning-making potential. Folk Music and Nostaglia - exploring folk music, primarily in an Anglo-Irish context, and its relationship to nostalgia. Words and Music - investigating the many relationships between words and music in both texted and untexted genres in a range of musical traditions. Other project themes may be offered and the above is not an exhaustive list.
The purpose of this module is to critically engage with and employ your knowledge of research, discussion and writing about music of the Western classical tradition or popular repertoires at HE Level 6. This is pursued through the study of a single work or a small group of works or the study of a single album or group of tracks and its/their various contexts. The module provides further foundation for historically based study. This topic will change each year and indicative topics may include Popular Music and New Media, Popular Music and Culture, Musical Theatre, Opera Studies, Historical Performance Practice, Studying Music as Performance, and English Music from Elgar to Britten (this is not an exhaustive list).
This module enables students to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the major currents of 20th- and 21st-century music in the Western classical tradition through the exploration of key composers and repertories as well as key documents in the critical reception of the repertoire. It draws on analytical skills acquired in previous modules such as Encounter Music History and Nineteenth-Century Music as well as Music Project and the Topic Study modules. It also consolidates students’ experience of 20th- and 21st -century music encountered elsewhere on the programme. Intersections with global cultural developments form a significant strand in developing an understanding of composers’ decision-making. The module facilitates further development of students’ writing skills, and their ability to assess the significance of scholarly work, including that in the digital domain.
This module is designed to provide students with the technical knowledge, musical/artistic sensibility and breadth of repertoire to enhance the quality of their music to the threshold of professional level. This is achieved by covering a limited number of topics in depth, each delivered by a different member of the Department's composition staff, allowing students to benefit from a breadth of knowledge, experience and expertise. Typically each topic is delivered over several weeks to allow sufficient time to explore it from diverse perspectives and thereby increase its potential as a compositional methodology for all students. Students are shown many ways in which they can engage with these topics: through live performance, arranging and manipulating recorded audio, working with live electronics, using improvisation and employing various types of notation. The module content draws on techniques and case studies from a wide range of practices including classical, popular and non-Western musics with topics changing frequently to match lecturers' own compositional projects and research. This close link between the module content and the lecturers' own practice as composers aligns the module with aspects of 'real world' musical practice; this is to the benefit of students because it helps to show how ideas and techniques from the module can be applied. Composition 3B is identical in design to Composition 3A but covering a different set of topics. Taken as a pair the modules allow final year students to specialise in composition, making the most of staff expertise and Departmental opportunities to drive their development as composers and preparing them well for postgraduate study in composition if they wish.
The purpose of this module is to develop knowledge and understanding of the main methodologies in applied performance research, advance individual learning/preparation skills in the context of your instrument/voice, and develop performing experience. You will also develop practical skills in co-ordination of performance/event management. Your writing skills will be expanded to include reflective writing that connects your reviews of performances put on by the Department with your own development as a musician. The module builds resilience, as you reflect on your work as performers, ensemble members and managers at Departmental concerts; identifying what went well and what could be improved. The creative skills you learn will also contribute to your learning in other modules and the reviewing skills will broaden your knowledge of repertoire. The module is delivered through a series of lectures and seminars, in which all ranges of music will be represented, as well as different historical and research aspects of performance practices. Performance opportunities in seminars and lunchtime recitals will help to develop confidence in performance. Seminars may include invited speakers representing a range of sectors within the music industry. The Department hosts concerts by students as well as, occasionally, by visiting artists; students learn to appreciate the qualities of public performance first hand by attending concerts and writing reviews.
This module is one of six project-based learning modules within the Music degree programmes. Project-based modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice, based on a professional model of project implementation to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications. Project modules will develop a coordinated and managed group activity based on the project theme, such as a large-scale performance or musical outcome, a music creation project with associated conference/performance/material outcomes and documentation. This module is a cross-year, cross-programme group project in which students can pursue their own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader, in the context of a large, coordinated group enterprise. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. Themes have included and will be drawn from: Reworking Music – investigations and realisations of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres. The Music of Data - studying and experimenting with music based on all sorts of non-musical data from numbers, to patterns, to the natural world. In C – from Terry Riley's minimalist classic to explorations of the continued attraction of C major for composers. Film Music - uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative. The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth twenty-first centuries. Musical Games after John Zorn's 'Cobra' – starting from Zorn's directed improvisation and exploring a range of generative musical procedures. Medieval Music – exploring medieval music in its own time and ours. Meta-Music - music about, and made from, other music. Dido and Aeneas – contextual and analytical study of Purcell's opera, including performances and the creation of new works based on associated themes. Women in Music - female musicians through the ages in popular and classical music. Mahler and Musical Meaning - studying the music of Gustav Mahler, the ways it may be understood and what it can tell us about music's meaning-making potential. Folk Music and Nostaglia - exploring folk music, primarily in an Anglo-Irish context, and its relationship to nostalgia. Words and Music - investigating the many relationships between words and music in both texted and untexted genres in a range of musical traditions. Other project themes may be offered and the above is not an exhaustive list.
The purpose of this module is to critically engage with and employ your knowledge of research, discussion and writing about music of the Western classical tradition or popular repertoires at HE Level 6. This is pursued through the study of a single work or a small group of works or the study of a single album or group of tracks and its/their various contexts. The module provides further foundation for historically based study. This topic will change each year and indicative topics may include Popular Music and New Media, Popular Music and Culture, Musical Theatre, Opera Studies, Historical Performance Practice, Studying Music as Performance, and English Music from Elgar to Britten (this is not an exhaustive list).
The purpose of this module is to provide students with the opportunity to develop a further degree of independence in the conception, design, and completion of a musicological, compositional, or performance project, with guidance from a supervisor.
You will develop your understanding of the theory, aesthetics and technical considerations of digital performance. Topics will include the design and construction of electronic music systems and effective performance strategies and approaches. This will develop independence, resourcefulness, and resilience in the field; enhance digital skills, and provide a wider awareness of cultural practice, enhancing creative ideas, technical development and employability in future work.
The module provides you with the opportunity to undertake an independent, in-depth research project into an area of professional practice. Using appropriate research methodologies, you will investigate a topic (for instance, related to your Professional Training placement) and present a written report on your area of interest.
Optional modules for Year 3 (with PTY) - FHEQ Level 6
Students must choose three optional modules from semester 1 and two from semester 2
Professional Training Year (PTY)
Semester 1 & 2
Core
This module supports students’ development of personal and professional attitudes and abilities appropriate to a Professional Training placement. It supports and facilitates self-reflection and transfer of learning from their Professional Training placement experiences to their final year of study and their future employment. The PTY module is concerned with Personal and Professional Development towards holistic academic and non-academic learning, and is a process that involves self-reflection, documented via the creation of a personal record, planning and monitoring progress towards the achievement of personal objectives. Development and learning may occur before and during the placement, and this is reflected in the assessment model as a progressive process. However, the graded assessment takes place primarily towards the end of the placement. Additionally, the module aims to enable students to evidence and evaluate their placement experiences and transfer that learning to other situations through written and presentation skills.
This module supports students¿ development of personal and professional attitudes and abilities appropriate to a Professional Training placement. It supports and facilitates self-reflection and transfer of learning from their Professional Training placement experiences to their final year of study and their future employment. The PTY module is concerned with Personal and Professional Development towards holistic academic and non-academic learning and is a process that involves self-reflection. Development and learning may occur before and during the placement, and this is reflected in the assessment model as a progressive process. However, the graded assessment takes place primarily towards the end of the placement. Additionally, the module aims to enable students to evidence and evaluate their placement experiences and transfer that learning to other situations through written skills.
Optional modules for Professional Training Year (PTY) -
Students must choose one of the two modules.
Teaching and learning
On this course, you’ll be taught through a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials. You will regularly work in groups with other students on practical assignments.
We’ll provide you with access to a range of specialised online music archives and materials.
You’ll be encouraged to participate in the many performance opportunities on offer. These include:
Choirs
Orchestras
Student-run ensembles
Weekly lunchtime recitals
Concerts of student compositions
Masterclasses and recording sessions.
Many of our students start their own chamber ensembles and rock/pop groups.
You will have the opportunity to work with leading performers and composers visiting as part of our artists in residence scheme. Previous visitors include: Harry Gregson Williams, Mark Anthony Turnage, Asaf Sirkis, Primrose Piano Quartet, Trifarious and Plus-Minus.
Lectures
Seminars
Workshops
Tutorials
Independent study
Group work
Rehearsals and performances
Practical sessions
Project work
Assessment
We assess modules individually and award credits for the successful completion of each one. Assessment takes place through a combination of examination and/or coursework, practical examinations and reports.
General course information
Contact hours
Contact hours can vary across our modules. Full details of the contact hours for each module are available from the University of Surrey's module catalogue. See the modules section for more information.
Timetable
New students will receive their personalised timetable in Welcome Week. In later semesters, two weeks before the start of semester.
Scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week (Monday – Friday), with part-time classes normally scheduled on one or two days. Wednesday afternoons tend to be for sports and cultural activities.
This course is based at Stag Hill campus. Stag Hill is the University's main campus and where the majority of our courses are taught.
We offer careers information, advice and guidance to all students whilst studying with us, which is extended to our alumni for three years after leaving the University.
In the survey, Graduate Outcomes 2024, HESA, results show that 91 per cent of undergraduates from Music and Media go on to employment or further study.
Our graduates over the last few years have entered employment in roles such as:
Assistant Producer, Perfect Pitch
Activities and Development Officer, Haringey Music Service
Marketing Officer, English Folk Dance and Song Society
Studio Manager, Spitfire Audio
Concerts and Projects Manager, London Sinfonietta
Commercial Rights Administrator, Faber Music
Assistant Studio Runner, The Crypt Studio
Music Supervisor, PH Media
Digital Marketing Manager, Philharmonia Orchestra
Freelance Composer for TV and Film
Creative Sync and Licensing Manager, Warner Music UK.
Excellent facilities are available for students to use, including performance spaces, practice rooms, edit studios, a self-access computer room and a multichannel synth studio’. This space houses the Moog Sound Lab (UK), containing the unique Moog System 55 modular synthesiser as well as premier synthesisers from other major manufacturers.
Music and Media houses two Steinway concert grand pianos and a collection of instruments, some of which may be loaned to students. Synthesisers and related equipment are also available for loan.
You’ll have access to a well-stocked audio-visual room, with digital and online listening resources, plus an extensive archive collection of scores, LPs and CDs located in the Library.
Learn more about the qualifications we typically accept to study this course at Surrey.
Typical offer
Overall: BBB.
Required subjects: Music or Music Technology at grade B. Additionally, ABRSM Grade 5 Theory or equivalent is encouraged.
Please note: A-level General Studies and A-level Critical Thinking are not accepted. Applicants taking an A-level science subject with the Science Practical Endorsement are expected to pass the practical element.
GCSE or equivalent: English Language at Grade 4 (C) and Mathematics at Grade 4 (C).
Overall: DDM.
Required subjects: Please contact us to discuss suitability.
GCSE or equivalent: English Language at Grade 4 (C) and Mathematics at Grade 4 (C).
Overall: 32
Required subjects: Music HL5/SL6. If Music not taken in IB, please contact us to discuss suitability. Additionally, ABRSM Grade 5 Theory or equivalent is encouraged.
GCSE or equivalent: English A HL4/SL4 or English B HL5/SL6 and Maths (either course) HL/SL4.
Overall: 75%.
Required subjects: Music with at least 7.5. If Music not taken in EB, please contact us to discuss suitability. Additionally, ABRSM Grade 5 Theory or equivalent is encouraged.
GCSE or equivalent: Maths 6 and either English Language (1/2) 6 or English Language (3)7.
Overall: QAA-recognised Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 level 3 credits overall including 27 credits at Distinction and 18 at Merit. (Please contact us to discuss subject suitability).
Required subjects: Please contact us to discuss suitability.
GCSE or equivalent: English Language and Mathematics at Grade 4 (C).
Overall: ABBBB.
Required subjects: Music or Music Technology at grade B. Additionally, ABRSM Grade 5 Theory or equivalent is encouraged.
GCSE or equivalent: English Language: Scottish National 5 - C Maths - Scottish National 5 - C.
Overall: BBB from a combination of the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales and two A-levels.
Required subjects: A-level Music or Music Technology. Additionally, ABRSM Grade 5 Theory or equivalent is encouraged.
Please note: A-level General Studies and A-level Critical Thinking are not accepted. Applicants taking an A-level science subject with the Science Practical Endorsement are expected to pass the practical element.
GCSE or equivalent: Please check the A-level dropdown for the required GCSE levels.
Applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) will receive our standard A-level offer for this programme, plus an alternate offer of one A-level grade lower, subject to achieving an A grade in the EPQ. The one grade reduction will not apply to any required subjects.
Applicants can only receive one grade reduction from the published grades, an EPQ grade reduction can’t be applied in addition to other grade reductions made through other schemes such as Contextual Admissions or In2Surrey.
If you do not currently meet the level required for your programme, we offer intensive pre-sessional English language courses, designed to take you to the level of English ability and skill required for your studies here.
International Foundation Year
If you are an international student and you don’t meet the entry requirements for this degree, we offer the International Foundation Year at the Surrey International Study Centre. Upon successful completion, you can progress to this degree course.
Applicants may be invited to participate in an interview either on campus as part of an offer-holder day or via Teams. During your visit to the University you can find out more about the course and meet staff and students. Offers are normally made in terms of grades following a successful interview. Depending on qualifications and interview, Grade 5 theory may be included as a condition of the offer.
Recognition of prior learning
We recognise that many students enter their higher education course with valuable knowledge and skills developed through a range of professional, vocational and community contexts.
If this applies to you, the recognition of prior learning (RPL) process may allow you to join a course without the formal entry requirements or enter your course at a point appropriate to your previous learning and experience.
Explore UKCISA’s website for more information if you are unsure whether you are a UK or overseas student. View the list of fees for all undergraduate courses.
The annual tuition fees for courses starting in September 2026
Students with Tuition Fee Loan: the Student Loans Company pay fees in line with their schedule.
Students without a Tuition Fee Loan: pay their fees either in full at the beginning of the programme or in two instalments as follows:
50% payable 10 days after the invoice date (expected to be early October of each academic year)
50% in January of the same academic year.
The exact date(s) will be on invoices. Students on part-time programmes where fees are paid on a modular basis, cannot pay fees by instalment.
Sponsored students: must provide us with valid sponsorship information that covers the period of study.
Professional training placement fees
Professional Training placement year fees are approximately 20% of the full-time fee for the academic year in which you undertake your placement.
Additional costs
It may sometimes be necessary for students taking instrumental or vocal lessons with tutors in the Department (as part of their performance modules) to incur some small travelling expenses to tutors’ homes. This is only the case with tutors for whom it is advantageous for their students and themselves to teach at home, for example in the case of drum kit and bass guitar tutors.
These additional costs are accurate as of September 2024 and apply to the 2025 year of entry. Costs for 2026 entry will be published in September 2025.
We have thousands of placement providers to choose from, most of which offer pay. So, become one of our many students who have had their lives and career choices transformed.
Music placements
The third year of our four-year music course is spent away from the University, working in a professional role for major arts and music organisations. Your designated senior Professional Training placement tutor will prepare you for the placement period and help you choose and organise an appropriate placement and host organisation.
Types of placement are varied and can take place anywhere in the country, although many are London-based. Recent students have worked in areas such as:
Music management and administration
Concert management
Music education
Marketing
Social media and communications
Music publishing
Venue management
Online and offline record labels
Music retail.
Organisations and companies that have participated in the scheme include:
Eagle Radio
English National Opera
Faber Music Publishers
London Sinfonietta
London Symphony Orchestra
Manners McDade
Music Nation, Hong Kong
Signum Records
The Control Room Ltd.
Applying for placements
Students are generally not placed by the University. But we offer support and guidance throughout the process, with access to a vacancy site of placement opportunities.
Hear from Ben who did his placement year at the London Symphony Orchestra.
Student
"For my professional training placement, I went to London to work with the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) and am now with Guildford Jazz working as a student ambassador."
Studying at Surrey opens a world of opportunity. Take advantage of our study and work abroad partnerships, explore the world, and expand your skills for the graduate job market.
The opportunities abroad vary depending on the course, but options include study exchanges, work/research placements, summer programmes, and recent graduate internships. Financial support is available through various grants and bursaries, as well as Student Finance.
Perhaps you would like to volunteer in India or learn about Brazilian business and culture in São Paulo during your summer holidays? With 140+ opportunities in 36+ different countries worldwide, there is something for everyone. Explore your options via our search tool and find out more about our current partner universities and organisations.
Apply for your chosen course online through UCAS, with the following course and institution codes.
We provide these terms and conditions in two stages:
First when we make an offer.
Second when students accept their offer and register to study with us (registration terms and conditions will vary depending on your course and academic year).
This online prospectus has been published in advance of the academic year to which it applies.
Whilst we have done everything possible to ensure this information is accurate, some changes may happen between publishing and the start of the course.
It is important to check this website for any updates before you apply for a course with us. Read our full disclaimer.
