Music BA Honours

This module aims to enable you to explore creative practice in Music; in performance/improvisation and composition/songwriting, and to develop proficient skills and techniques in these areas.

As the module progresses, you will select areas of creative practice as principal and secondary domains, to be reflected as major and minor components in the summative assessment.

In this way, you will be able to build on your exploration and development of creative practice as a solid foundation for more specialist creative work at levels 5 and 6, as they begin to identify and refine pathways for potential future careers and employment.

This module aims to develop an ability to think critically about music, and to introduce key ideas, concepts, and approaches in considering and exploring a range of intersecting perspectives and contexts that shape and are shaped by music.

These perspectives may include the social, the material, the historical, the political, the economic, the technological, and the aesthetic.

This module is designed to develop an understanding of, and technical facility with, current recording and production studio technologies for making, recording, and producing music using digital, electronic, and acoustic sound sources.

Continuous reference to different production approaches enables you to work from your own interests, as they make and shape their recordings.

The module provides essential skills for subsequent modules in recording, production, live-interactive sound, and synthesis.

This module aims to establish competence in music theory, the use and understanding of music notation, knowledge of harmony, and the development of analytical insight and skills.

This is aligned with the development of essential musicianship skills, including aural perception, melodic/harmonic transcription, sight-reading, and the practical realisation of notation conventions and symbols.

The focus of learning is mostly practical work supported by the study of a range of musical repertoire.

This module aims to develop competence in music production theories and practices.

You will learn to understand and confidently apply advanced techniques and procedures in digital and analogue recording and mixing environments and adapt these to achieve the desired creative results.

You will also explore the critical study of music production and establish insight into its artistic and historical contexts, drawing from this knowledge to inform and enhance your own practice.

This module aims to develop songwriting/compositional skills by using theoretical perspectives to encourage informed creative responses to specific briefs.

You will nurture the foundations of a personal distinctive voice through exploration of, and experimentation with, various writing techniques and approaches.

You will write in a range of styles and genres, whilst exhibiting critical analysis and developing practical and technical skills through aural and practical exercises.

This module aims to provide a place for students to analyse and explore a range of stylistic approaches in Music and to develop proficient skills and techniques in these styles, through performance or composition/pastiche work.

This module is designed to develop expertise in theoretical and practical approaches to expressive sonic manipulation in studio, installation, live, interactive and virtual environments.

You will learn to organise principles of synthesis, interactive sound, spatial audio, and visual programming, through the invention and development of sound worlds that can be applied to a range of listening situations.

The module is contextualised via a diverse range of case studies.

This module develops an understanding of the contemporary business of music.

You will learn about the large and small companies that operate in this field, as well as how to self-manage a music career.

In addition to developing a knowledge of working in music, you will gain a critical understanding of the issues that affect this sector.

This module aims to develop competence in music production theories and practices.

You will learn to understand and confidently apply advanced techniques and procedures in digital and analogue recording and mixing environments and adapt these to achieve the desired creative results.

You will also explore the critical study of music production and establish insight into its artistic and historical contexts, drawing from this knowledge to inform and enhance your own practice.

This module aims to enable you to explore creative practice in Music in performance and musicianship, and to develop proficient skills and techniques in these areas.

You will apply the theoretical knowledge and performance skills learned at Level 4 in a variety of performance contexts aligned to the further development of your musicianship skills.

You will also begin to work more autonomously towards developing your own voice, partly through a critical analysis of repertoire, as they progress towards being able to work as performers in a professional sphere.

Gangs and youth violence are a ‘hot’ topic in the media and a primary concern of government and police, and joint enterprise has emerged as a significant justice issue.

Drawing on a rich history of gang research and theory, this module explores debates over how these social problems should be understood and addressed.

It seeks to engage you in these debates, equipping them to critically analyse and evaluate representations of the issue and current policy and practice.

This module explores and critiques the globalisation of crime and the extent to which a ‘globalised’ response to transnational crime exists.

You will discuss, evaluate, engage and critically analyse various topics, including corruption (corporate and public), democracy, legitimacy, the drugs trade, arms trade, and smuggling and trafficking of humans and body parts.

The focus will be on the international policing and justice systems and various and rapidly changing responses to these crime types, allowing you to discuss, argue and evaluate their effectiveness.

This module uses the workplace as a site of learning and professional development.

It fosters the growth of essential employability skills and a critical understanding of workplace policies and practices.

A central theme of this module is reflective practice, and you are engaged in the process of action and reflection.

The module also supports the meaningful integration of theoretical knowledge and placement practice and a critical awareness of ethical and professional behaviours.

In summary, this module cultivates various skills and valuable knowledge useful for further studies and employment.

This module aims to enhance a command of songwriting/compositional styles and techniques by facilitating the development of a more individual and professional approach to composition/songwriting.

You are encouraged to explore, establish and maintain a distinctive music identity – a personal creative ‘voice’ – to inform your current and future practice.

You should be willing to experiment and expand the boundaries of your chosen musical genre(s).

This module is for those who, having acquired some fluency in composing, performing, and/or arranging/producing music, would like to explore the possibilities of developing their musical practice in collaboration with other live performance art forms and practices.

Specific opportunities for meeting and collaborating with peer groups in other disciplines (such as dance) are provided, although you need not be limited to these and may also develop your own collaborative projects in (for instance) operatic work/music(al) theatre.

The critical and contextual study will support practical work with relevant theory, repertoire, and case studies.

This module aims to develop the tools and competencies for making electronic and electroacoustic music for the screen and virtual realities.

This will be aligned to an understanding of, and sensitivity to, historically informed aesthetics of screen music, to provide context for this work.

The module also aims to incorporate appropriate training in contractual and negotiation issues to support in-house and freelance composer-producers.

This module prepares you for successful engagement with the music industry. You will gain a working knowledge of contracts, copyright, funding applications, and policy documents, as well as a sophisticated understanding of theories relating to decision-making and success, which can be applied to music-based projects.

This module facilitates the specialist study of musical works, composers, and approaches since the 1960s through the lens of contemporary classical music.

The relationship between music and its cultural, political, and philosophical contexts is examined through concepts such as the rise of postmodernism across the arts and its relationship with philosophy/political theory.

This module provides you with an advanced awareness of popular music studies through a range of critical approaches or critical perspectives including cultural theory, sociology, political economy, and musicology.

You will understand how theory can be used to explore popular music practice, and how popular music practice can be developed by using popular music theory.

This module will develop your knowledge, understanding and expertise in recording and producing music by allowing you to produce a self-developed project. You will be supported to achieve a highly effective and original musical output.

This module aims to enable you to demonstrate an advanced technical command of your instrument or voice, perform confidently in public, and utilise a range of specific advanced technical skills and tools appropriate to a chosen musical style and tradition.

You will develop knowledge and skills in forming programmes/sets for performance, develop interpretative insight, and begin to consider and project your own individual voice/identity as a performer.

How we'll teach you

The course has a practical teaching ethos, placing practice at the centre of student learning. Study is mainly via practical workshops in performance, production, composition and songwriting, with access to studio sessions and loan equipment. Interactive seminars are supported by regular tutorials and sessions with guest speakers from the music profession and industry.

You'll be taught by an experienced teaching team who have a wide range of expertise and professional experience.

The team includes academics, professional practitioners and technical staff. Graduate teaching assistants or trained postgraduate research students may also have input into your teaching under the supervision of the module leader.

You will learn by attending lectures, workshops, seminars, tutorials, instrumental lessons (according to music specialisation), opportunities for collaborative projects and concert performances.

Seminars and workshops are a great opportunity to discuss what you have learnt with your peers and tutors. Most seminar groups have about 25-30 students.

Your work will be divided into credits. Each credit is equal to 10 hours of study time. You will complete 120 credits per year of study, which are broken down into modules of typically 30 credits.

You will be studying at both our Hendon campus and our new West Stand facility at StoneX Stadium, Barnet.

If you choose to take a placement, you may spend your time with a research establishment, a not-for-profit voluntary organisation, a food or fitness company, or an NHS hospital.

Timetable

Whether you are studying full or part-time – your course timetable will balance your study commitments on campus with time for work, life commitments and independent study.

We aim to make timetables available to students at least 2 weeks before the start of term. Some weeks are different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on-campus sessions.

Independent learning

Outside of teaching hours, you’ll learn independently through self-study which will involve reading articles and books, working on projects, undertaking research, and preparing for assessments including coursework, presentations and exams.

Teaching vs independent learning

Here is an indication of how you will split your time:

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Coursework, exams and assessments

Practical work lies at the heart of assessment in this degree, either via performances or portfolios of creative work. Critical studies of music, together with contextual and reflective work, are assessed with coursework.

Your learning will be assessed regularly. The exact balance will depend on the modules you are taking. The table below is a good guide.

Assessments

We'll test your understanding and progress with informal and formal tests.

The informal tests usually take place at least once per module, from which you’ll receive feedback from your tutor. The grades from these tests don’t count towards your final marks.

There are formal assessments for each module, usually at the end, which will count towards your module and your final marks.

Assessments are reviewed annually and may be updated based on student feedback or feedback from an external examiner.

To help you achieve the best results, we will provide regular feedback.