Music, Performance and Production - BA (Hons)

Students will be required to devise a short, original composition for a live performer with technology. A series of lectures will introduce students to various compositional models, contemporary compositional theories will be explored in relation to key works and scholarly texts and workshops will develop the students' technical skills. Work-in-progress will be performed during the module, and students will be encouraged to engage in peer evaluation and criticism. A final performance of all works will take place towards the end of the module.

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This module develops your facility and versatility as a performer in the context of small ensembles, band workshops and performances. It provides an opportunity to develop and nurture a comfortable working relationship with peers over an extended period. The focus is on building a solid understanding of key aspects of ensemble performance, including the importance of shaping passages as a group, communicating throughout a performance, maintaining a coherent approach to dynamics and tempo changes. You will consider how to recognise and appreciate the approach of other musicians, absorbing details and articulation that will differ from one performance to the next. You will also be introduced to practical techniques that will streamline your preparation and maximise use of rehearsal time. The practice and rehearsal diary functions as a reflective tool where students evaluate and further explore techniques introduced in the primarily practice-focused group sessions.

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The module investigates music for media in both theory and practice. The focus will be on music used in moving image media, including an exploration of musical languages and compositional techniques commonly deployed in relation to moving images. Students also study film music history, gaining insight into critical approaches that have informed the practice.

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The module takes a holistic approach to the theory and practice of community music. Students engage with the creation and facilitation of music-based experiences for groups and individuals in a variety of settings within the local community. The core aim is to provide a foundational training for budding or potential educators, therapists, facilitators and researchers. A variety of topics form the subject matter of the course, which is interdisciplinary in scope. The curriculum includes an introduction to the history, development and literature of music and community studies using selected key publications in community music, ethnomusicology, music education, and music, health and wellbeing/therapeutic music studies. Given the high number of publications in these fields the core texts will be chosen for their ability to provide (i) connections and synthesis and/or (ii) disciplinary distinction, especially when highlighting methodological differences. As noted the aim is to provide a relatively unified and holistic introduction to community music in theory and practice.

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A highly practical module which will introduce you to the complex formal conventions surrounding professional score presentation, instrumentation and orchestration, harmonising and reharmonising melodies, creating introductions, basslines or countermelodies, layering and textures. You have the opportunity to work across a wide range of styles and will also explore timbre in the context of original arrangements. Following a series of given briefs, you will work towards the production of a portfolio which will contain orchestration, arrangement and harmonisation assignments.

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This module will explore a variety of approaches to improvisation including Western idiomatic conventions, music(s) from other cultures, part-composed/part-improvised material, and contemporary and 'free' methodologies. Throughout the weekly workshops, students will improvise in an array of settings and will experiment with different exercises, both as soloists and as part of an ensemble. Students will perform with and/or direct groups of improvisatory musicians throughout, and will be presented with various assessed practical tasks, designed to develop the wide range of skills necessary to perform and improvise in the twenty-first century.

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This module focuses on specific skills and techniques essential for performers working as sessions musicians across a varied range of genres, as informed by contemporary music industry practice. The emphasis is on the development of a 'toolbox' of competencies relevant to different professional scenarios. These include the ability to sight-read chord charts and fully notated band parts, pre-prepare material at short notice, spontaneous musical contribution to previously unheard tracks, improvisation, click track accuracy and creativity under pressure. Students will be presented with multiple assessed practical tasks, designed to facilitate engagement in a process of collaboration with other musicians, developing performance skills specific to recording studio and/or live performing environments.

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In this module, students will be exposed to a variety of song-writing techniques and will develop and nurture the wide-ranging skill set necessary to succeed in the current music industry. Students will learn to carry out basic harmonic analyses of existing songs and apply theoretical approaches to produce original work, investigate different ways to structure songs, explore creative methods to write and develop lyrics, and learn how to enhance basic song templates with melodic accompaniments (e.g. strings, brass etc.).

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The module explores advanced audio design techniques and critical listening skills demonstrated and applied in specific music contexts. Students will develop the ability to discern and analyse sound characteristics, record and sculpt sonic events to create original sound design, and produce advanced creative work that explores the rich potential offered by sound processing and arranging techniques. Students will look into works of significant composers in the field, and will be taught through a series of interactive seminars, studying both the aesthetics and the technology of audio-based composition and sound design.

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Spatial sound is a powerful tool for immersion and is fast becoming a must-have knowledge for many different media and technologies including cinema, theatre, sound installations, exhibitions, live performance and game sound. This module will explore spatial sound, multi-loudspeaker and surround sound formats, including an outline of the developments of spatial sound music and the work of significant composers in this field. Students will study both the aesthetics and technology of multichannel music, including live diffusion techniques, large sound distribution systems and multichannel sound installations. Students will be led to produce creative work that explores the rich potential offered by sound spatialisation techniques, which will culminate in a live performance with the Music and Audio Arts Sound Theatre (MAAST) system.

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Spending a period as full-time student at an overseas university, students will follow teaching and tuition in their own subject areas as well as choosing from a range of available courses in the Humanities. The curriculum will vary according to the partner institutions. Additionally, students will usually be offered to take language classes and/or courses on the culture of the host country.

Find out more about HUMA5020

Music plays an important role in our daily lives and is woven into the fabric of society. We listen to music in a variety of contexts and via different media. The omnipresence of music raises several questions: why do we listen to, play and create music and how does it affect our lives, identity and political views? What is the relation between the society we live in and the role, meaning and value of music within that society? How is music influenced by and how does it influence social norms, the political economy, media industries and technological developments? The module concentrates on post WWII popular music live and mediated through its study in context (of a time and place) and as a multimedia/intertextual phenomenon (involving sound, image and the written word). Students will engage with the ways in which culture and ideology, politics and economy, and notions of race, gender and class continue to shape and influence the production and reception of popular music culture.

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The Music Industry contributes over £4.1 billion (ONS) to the U.K economy and supports over 120,000 full time employees, many of them freelance. The opportunities that are available are explored and career pathways are analysed in relation to prospects for long term employment. Partnerships, company start up, taxation, accountancy, VAT, bookkeeping, National Insurance, pensions, time management, cash flow management, investment and hourly charge out rates are all discussed with the view to giving the student a firm grounding in employment or self-employment for the future.

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In this module, students bring the expert knowledge they accumulated during their studies in one final project, which takes the form of an individual study in one practical area relating to music or music technology. The project can be (but is not restricted to) a large-scale composition, a songwriting project, sound design and foley, audio-visual work, sound installation, audio programming, sound spatialisation, or performance. Students will choose an area of study in conjunction with a tutor, who will oversee the development of their project. Expertise gained through the undergraduate course will be enhanced and strengthened in this final work.

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This highly practical module will build on skills and understanding developed in the prerequisite stage 1 module Individual and Group Performance, challenging you to develop your instrumental (including vocal) skills to an advanced level and employ additional techniques to further optimise practice sessions and hone professional presentation. Skills and understanding are promoted through individual instrumental or vocal lessons and weekly performance workshops. You will develop your musicianship by listening to others and by performing regularly, in solo and group contexts. You will also work across a range of musical styles, enabling you to develop the versatile skillset needed to tackle the demands of the current professional music industry.

Find out more about CMAT6010

This module focuses on the consolidation of advanced, professional level stagecraft skills (practical and artistic), supported by an understanding of psychological strategies which can streamline practice sessions and optimise performance. You will study the key elements of professionalism in performance, including artistic communication/audience relationship; pace, choreography & stage management; control of technology; adjustment to context/venues. Skills and understanding are promoted through individual instrumental lessons and through performance workshops which provide a weekly forum for discussion and feedback.

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The purpose of this module is to provide opportunity for self-directed group exploration in the creation of a collaboratively developed interdisciplinary practical research project, such as performance projects, audio-visual work and multi-media projects. Although each student will have to negotiate an individual and personal Learning Contract with a supervising tutor, the focus of this module remains interdisciplinary and collaborative. This will be achieved through a system of lectures, workshops, mentoring, negotiation and tutor supervision. Projects are undertaken and evaluated with tutor guidance.

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The module presents an opportunity to undertake research on a specific topic in music studies/music technology working largely alone, and to present in a structured form the results of that research. The research may be of an empirical or library based nature, or a combination of each. It will provide students with an opportunity to profit from pursuing studies outside of taught courses; to develop the student's interest in areas of and approaches to music studies, which may not be covered in taught courses if agreed by their tutor. Therein lies the opportunity to be assessed on the basis of skills different from those required for a traditional examination. This is also an opportunity to demonstrate organisational and planning skills together with initiative.

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The module takes a holistic approach to the study of music, arts and health. Firstly, it interprets health research broadly involving health sciences, psychology, wellbeing studies, therapeutic studies, environmental studies and sustainability. Music students will therefore work at the intersection of both the medical and environmental humanities. Secondly, it invites the involvement of dance or drama in its curriculum and project work. The module is concerned with people, place and planet and celebrates the contribution and impact that the arts as a whole make to society. As a wide range of research has shown, the arts help keep us well, aid our recovery and support longer lives better lived. The arts can help meet major challenges facing health and social care: ageing, long-term conditions, loneliness and mental health. The arts can help save money in the health service and social care. Artists and artisans have also engaged with issues of environmental degradation, regeneration and resilience (the health of the planet) and with the use of natural and sustainable natural resources.

Find out more about CMAT6130

The module explores advanced audio design techniques and critical listening skills demonstrated and applied in specific music contexts. Students will develop the ability to discern and analyse sound characteristics, record and sculpt sonic events to create original sound design, and produce advanced creative work that explores the rich potential offered by sound processing and arranging techniques. Students will look into works of significant composers in the field, and will be taught through a series of interactive seminars, studying both the aesthetics and the technology of audio-based composition and sound design.

Find out more about CMAT6180

Spatial sound is a powerful tool for immersion and is fast becoming a must-have knowledge for many different media and technologies including cinema, theatre, sound installations, exhibitions, live performance and game sound. This module will explore spatial sound, multi-loudspeaker and surround sound formats, including an outline of the developments of spatial sound music and the work of significant composers in this field. Students will study both the aesthetics and technology of multichannel music, including live diffusion techniques, large sound distribution systems and multichannel sound installations. Students will be led to produce creative work that explores the rich potential offered by sound spatialisation techniques, which will culminate in a live performance with the Music and Audio Arts Sound Theatre (MAAST) system.

Find out more about CMAT6190