BMus (Hons) or BSc (Hons) — 2025 entry Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister)

This module is one of six project-based modules within the Music degree programmes. Such modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice such as composing or performing; they are based on a professional model of project management to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications.  Your learning is supported by weekly lectures and/or seminars that present the key concepts, techniques and developments within the project topic. 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. Music projects are cross-year, cross-programme modules in which you can pursue your own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader and have the opportunity to work collaboratively to realise your ideas. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. The following projects are some that have run in the recent past and give an indication of the breadth of topics presented but may change in subsequent years due to staff changes and availability. Reworking Music - investigation and realisation of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres; The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; Medieval Music - exploring medieval music in its own time and ours; 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; Folk Music and Nostalgia - 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; Film Music -  uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative.   

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. 

The purpose of this module is for you to acquire knowledge of approaches to the research, discussion and writing about popular music at first-year undergraduate level. 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 in the second and final years of your programme. An indicative case study is Adele's output, studied from a range of perspectives such as music analysis, lyric analysis, music video analysis, the contemporary music industry, 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 you to acquire knowledge of approaches to research, discussion and writing about music of the Western classical tradition at first-year undergraduate level. 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 in later years of your degree programme. 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 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 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 modules within the Music degree programmes. Such modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice such as composing or performing; they are based on a professional model of project management to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications.  Your learning is supported by weekly lectures and/or seminars that present the key concepts, techniques and developments within the project topic. 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. Music projects are cross-year, cross-programme modules in which you can pursue your own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader and have the opportunity to work collaboratively to realise your ideas. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. The following projects are some that have run in the recent past and give an indication of the breadth of topics presented but may change in subsequent years due to staff changes and availability. Reworking Music - investigation and realisation of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres; The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; Medieval Music - exploring medieval music in its own time and ours; 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; Folk Music and Nostalgia - 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; Film Music -  uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative.   

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 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.   

This module is one of six project-based modules within the Music degree programmes. Such modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice such as composing or performing; they are based on a professional model of project management to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications.  Your learning is supported by weekly lectures and/or seminars that present the key concepts, techniques and developments within the project topic. 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. Music projects are cross-year, cross-programme modules in which you can pursue your own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader and have the opportunity to work collaboratively to realise your ideas. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. The following projects are some that have run in the recent past and give an indication of the breadth of topics presented but may change in subsequent years due to staff changes and availability. Reworking Music - investigation and realisation of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres; The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; Medieval Music - exploring medieval music in its own time and ours; 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; Folk Music and Nostalgia - 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; Film Music -  uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative.   

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). 

In this module, you will be introduced to the skills needed for professional music production across a variety of genres.   Over the two semesters of this course, through seminars and practical sessions given by a number of tutors, you will develop and test your abilities in score-based music, and less formal genres, culminating in creating a pair of edited and post-produced recordings given some raw material in two differing styles.   You will not only learn about the practical use of music stores in a number of styles (including from very early music through orchestral scores to modern lead sheets), but also the ways to manage recording budgets, time, sessions, post-production and the musicians themselves.

If you are interested in working in any part of media, broadcasting, streaming or TV production this module will introduce all the roles required to complete a live programme or broadcast.  From the planning and pre-production to the craft and transmission skills to broadcast the production.  The module is a practice based approach to learning many of the skills required in a studio production.  You will have the chance to design a new TV studio programme format and then selected formats will be made and broadcast live at the end of the module.  You will experience planning for the production and could work on the music and sound design, graphics, titles or animations, lighting, research on the production, script writing or even be the producer, if your programme pitch is chosen by the other students.  You will have the opportunity to learn about the roles and skills required during the live production from camerawork, graphics, video replay, vision mixing, lighting, sound mixing, vision engineering, floor managing or be the producer or directors’ assistant in the gallery.  While you will develop one particular role there will be many rehearsals that you can volunteer for other roles too.  With experience from this module many students have achieved freelance jobs at well known outside broadcasts and you may use these skills in your placement year and after you graduate  

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 modules within the Music degree programmes. Such modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice such as composing or performing; they are based on a professional model of project management to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications.  Your learning is supported by weekly lectures and/or seminars that present the key concepts, techniques and developments within the project topic. 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. Music projects are cross-year, cross-programme modules in which you can pursue your own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader and have the opportunity to work collaboratively to realise your ideas. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. The following projects are some that have run in the recent past and give an indication of the breadth of topics presented but may change in subsequent years due to staff changes and availability. Reworking Music - investigation and realisation of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres; The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; Medieval Music - exploring medieval music in its own time and ours; 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; Folk Music and Nostalgia - 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; Film Music -  uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative.   

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 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 modules within the Music degree programmes. Such modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice such as composing or performing; they are based on a professional model of project management to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications.  Your learning is supported by weekly lectures and/or seminars that present the key concepts, techniques and developments within the project topic. 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. Music projects are cross-year, cross-programme modules in which you can pursue your own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader and have the opportunity to work collaboratively to realise your ideas. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. The following projects are some that have run in the recent past and give an indication of the breadth of topics presented but may change in subsequent years due to staff changes and availability. Reworking Music - investigation and realisation of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres; The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; Medieval Music - exploring medieval music in its own time and ours; 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; Folk Music and Nostalgia - 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; Film Music -  uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative.   

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 explores the audio engineering topics that are at the forefront of innovation: spatial audio; and low bit-rate coding. Spatial audio is arguably the last major challenge in audio recording and reproduction – we are still unable to accurately recreate the spatial characteristics of an audio scene. The module takes a perceptually-motivated approach, investigating the psychoacoustic cues that humans use to make sense of the auditory world, and examining how these can be synthesised using loudspeakers or headphones. The assessment gives you an opportunity to apply the theory by experimenting with spatial audio, either via a perceptual experiment or a spatial audio production. Low bit-rate coding systems are still frequently used to reduce the data rate of audio. The limitations of our auditory perception are examined, and methods to exploit this using requantisation in the time or frequency domain are discussed.

The Audio Programming module comprehensively explores C++ programming and the JUCE framework within the context of audio applications. You will gain skill and expertise in fundamental programming concepts before delving into the challenges of audio programming, covering audio file processing and real-time audio and MIDI application design. A key focus of this module is utilising the JUCE framework for building cross-platform audio applications in the form of audio plugins, including graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and efficient handling of real-time audio data. Emphasis is placed on debugging, optimisation, documentation and code analysis practices. The module will equip you with entry-level industry skills essential for audio software development and plugin design, fostering a deep understanding of programming principles and their application in the digital audio industry.

This module is one of six project-based modules within the Music degree programmes. Such modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice such as composing or performing; they are based on a professional model of project management to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications.  Your learning is supported by weekly lectures and/or seminars that present the key concepts, techniques and developments within the project topic. 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. Music projects are cross-year, cross-programme modules in which you can pursue your own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader and have the opportunity to work collaboratively to realise your ideas. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. The following projects are some that have run in the recent past and give an indication of the breadth of topics presented but may change in subsequent years due to staff changes and availability. Reworking Music - investigation and realisation of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres; The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; Medieval Music - exploring medieval music in its own time and ours; 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; Folk Music and Nostalgia - 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; Film Music -  uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative.   

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. 

The purpose of this module is for you to acquire knowledge of approaches to the research, discussion and writing about popular music at first-year undergraduate level. 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 in the second and final years of your programme. An indicative case study is Adele's output, studied from a range of perspectives such as music analysis, lyric analysis, music video analysis, the contemporary music industry, 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 you to acquire knowledge of approaches to research, discussion and writing about music of the Western classical tradition at first-year undergraduate level. 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 in later years of your degree programme. 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 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 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 modules within the Music degree programmes. Such modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice such as composing or performing; they are based on a professional model of project management to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications.  Your learning is supported by weekly lectures and/or seminars that present the key concepts, techniques and developments within the project topic. 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. Music projects are cross-year, cross-programme modules in which you can pursue your own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader and have the opportunity to work collaboratively to realise your ideas. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. The following projects are some that have run in the recent past and give an indication of the breadth of topics presented but may change in subsequent years due to staff changes and availability. Reworking Music - investigation and realisation of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres; The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; Medieval Music - exploring medieval music in its own time and ours; 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; Folk Music and Nostalgia - 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; Film Music -  uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative.   

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 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.   

This module is one of six project-based modules within the Music degree programmes. Such modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice such as composing or performing; they are based on a professional model of project management to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications.  Your learning is supported by weekly lectures and/or seminars that present the key concepts, techniques and developments within the project topic. 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. Music projects are cross-year, cross-programme modules in which you can pursue your own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader and have the opportunity to work collaboratively to realise your ideas. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. The following projects are some that have run in the recent past and give an indication of the breadth of topics presented but may change in subsequent years due to staff changes and availability. Reworking Music - investigation and realisation of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres; The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; Medieval Music - exploring medieval music in its own time and ours; 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; Folk Music and Nostalgia - 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; Film Music -  uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative.   

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). 

In this module, you will be introduced to the skills needed for professional music production across a variety of genres.   Over the two semesters of this course, through seminars and practical sessions given by a number of tutors, you will develop and test your abilities in score-based music, and less formal genres, culminating in creating a pair of edited and post-produced recordings given some raw material in two differing styles.   You will not only learn about the practical use of music stores in a number of styles (including from very early music through orchestral scores to modern lead sheets), but also the ways to manage recording budgets, time, sessions, post-production and the musicians themselves.

If you are interested in working in any part of media, broadcasting, streaming or TV production this module will introduce all the roles required to complete a live programme or broadcast.  From the planning and pre-production to the craft and transmission skills to broadcast the production.  The module is a practice based approach to learning many of the skills required in a studio production.  You will have the chance to design a new TV studio programme format and then selected formats will be made and broadcast live at the end of the module.  You will experience planning for the production and could work on the music and sound design, graphics, titles or animations, lighting, research on the production, script writing or even be the producer, if your programme pitch is chosen by the other students.  You will have the opportunity to learn about the roles and skills required during the live production from camerawork, graphics, video replay, vision mixing, lighting, sound mixing, vision engineering, floor managing or be the producer or directors’ assistant in the gallery.  While you will develop one particular role there will be many rehearsals that you can volunteer for other roles too.  With experience from this module many students have achieved freelance jobs at well known outside broadcasts and you may use these skills in your placement year and after you graduate  

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 modules within the Music degree programmes. Such modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice such as composing or performing; they are based on a professional model of project management to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications.  Your learning is supported by weekly lectures and/or seminars that present the key concepts, techniques and developments within the project topic. 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. Music projects are cross-year, cross-programme modules in which you can pursue your own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader and have the opportunity to work collaboratively to realise your ideas. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. The following projects are some that have run in the recent past and give an indication of the breadth of topics presented but may change in subsequent years due to staff changes and availability. Reworking Music - investigation and realisation of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres; The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; Medieval Music - exploring medieval music in its own time and ours; 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; Folk Music and Nostalgia - 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; Film Music -  uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative.   

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 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 modules within the Music degree programmes. Such modules focus on learning in the context of musical practice such as composing or performing; they are based on a professional model of project management to realise concerts, compositions and arrangements, conference events, recordings and publications.  Your learning is supported by weekly lectures and/or seminars that present the key concepts, techniques and developments within the project topic. 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. Music projects are cross-year, cross-programme modules in which you can pursue your own specialism by agreement with the Module Leader and have the opportunity to work collaboratively to realise your ideas. Two project module themes will be available in each academic year. Each theme will only occur once for each student cohort. The following projects are some that have run in the recent past and give an indication of the breadth of topics presented but may change in subsequent years due to staff changes and availability. Reworking Music - investigation and realisation of the ways in which music has been recycled across a wide range of genres; The Musical - the study and realisation of musicals of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; Medieval Music - exploring medieval music in its own time and ours; 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; Folk Music and Nostalgia - 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; Film Music -  uncovering and learning to utilise techniques of combining music, image and narrative.   

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 explores the audio engineering topics that are at the forefront of innovation: spatial audio; and low bit-rate coding. Spatial audio is arguably the last major challenge in audio recording and reproduction – we are still unable to accurately recreate the spatial characteristics of an audio scene. The module takes a perceptually-motivated approach, investigating the psychoacoustic cues that humans use to make sense of the auditory world, and examining how these can be synthesised using loudspeakers or headphones. The assessment gives you an opportunity to apply the theory by experimenting with spatial audio, either via a perceptual experiment or a spatial audio production. Low bit-rate coding systems are still frequently used to reduce the data rate of audio. The limitations of our auditory perception are examined, and methods to exploit this using requantisation in the time or frequency domain are discussed.

The Audio Programming module comprehensively explores C++ programming and the JUCE framework within the context of audio applications. You will gain skill and expertise in fundamental programming concepts before delving into the challenges of audio programming, covering audio file processing and real-time audio and MIDI application design. A key focus of this module is utilising the JUCE framework for building cross-platform audio applications in the form of audio plugins, including graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and efficient handling of real-time audio data. Emphasis is placed on debugging, optimisation, documentation and code analysis practices. The module will equip you with entry-level industry skills essential for audio software development and plugin design, fostering a deep understanding of programming principles and their application in the digital audio industry.