Music Technology and Composition BMus(Hons)

Seminars and small group tutorials will help you explore the fundamentals of musical composition - melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre and texture - supported by performances and workshops by visiting artists and ensembles. Preliminary exercises will help you develop your creative skills towards an original portfolio of compositions for piano, voice, and strings.

This module will introduce you to relevant techniques and technologies for computer-based music production, including sequencing, sampling, arrangement, and a variety of other sound processing techniques. A range of practical work - both technical and creative - will develop your critical listening and production skills, and seminars will support you in applying these techniques to your own creative work.

You will learn how to be a successful and confident independent researcher, gaining the skills to investigate music and musicians across a range of styles and genres appropriate to your course. Lectures and seminars will explore the musical links between aesthetics, society, politics, and technology, and you will focus your coursework on repertoire and issues that matter to you.

This module will provide you with a grounding in the basic skills of musical analysis through the study of classical music of the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Both printed scores and recordings will be studied in order for you to develop the complementary skills of score-based analysis and of aural analysis and critical listening.

You will gain hands-on experience of a variety of key musical skills: improvisation; aural awareness; ensemble performance; and evaluating your own and others' performances. A wide range of styles and genres will be explored, and you will work with musicians relevant to your specialism as a pop, classical, or jazz performer.

Experimental Music will introduce you to new ideas and works from a range of radical and exciting musicians. No performing experience is required – just an open mind and willingness to experiment! Classes will include a variety of hands-on opportunities to make music, and you will be assessed through coursework tasks that include options for written work, presentations, compositions, and performances.

You will explore a variety of techniques, resources, and notational skills to enhance and extend your work as a composer, including guidance on writing creatively for voices, mixed ensembles, percussion, invented instruments and electronics. With support provided by classes, tutorials, and workshops in a range of musical styles, you will work towards the production of a unique coursework portfolio of compositions.

You will be introduced to the techniques and underlying concepts of audio programming languages/interactive environments such as MaxMSP, Supercollider, Csound and Chuck, allowing you to design complex interactive audio software. You will gain practical experience of working with at least one domain specific language or environment, learning new techniques that will also enhance your understanding of broader programming and audio concepts.

You will be introduced to advanced concepts, theory and practical use of a broad range of equipment used for recording, editing and mixing sound. You will gain practical experience of sound recording in analogue/digital recording studios, in a concert hall and on location. Your ability to edit multitrack audio using advanced post production techniques will be developed, as will the skills required to capture accurate stereo and multichannel recordings in a concert hall environment.

Working towards a coursework portfolio of your own creative work, you will learn about a range of a range of approaches to orchestration from the Baroque to the present day. Classes will explore the characteristics of individual instruments and strategies for combining them, including issues of balance, voicing, doubling, and effective control of orchestral textures.

This module will introduce you to a range of techniques for analysing both tonal and non-tonal music, including Schenkerian analysis and pitch-class set theory. Classes will explore the theories behind these approaches and give you plenty of practice in their practical application. The module is assessed through coursework analyses of two pieces of piano or chamber music.

This practical module will develop your key skills in screen composition, arrangement, and orchestration, including the art of creating quality mock-ups using sampled instruments. Classes will examine a range of approaches to composition for film, videogame, television, animation, and music video, and will work towards a portfolio of your own original compositions.

You will choose one practical option from an array of ensembles, bands, and approaches to performance. Options typically range from conducting, music theatre, and improvisation through to groups like orchestra, big band, brass band, classical and pop choirs, and a huge variety of pop, rock, soul, funk, and folk bands. Specialist performance tutors will coach you towards assessed performances that are open to the public.

You will choose two practical options from an array of ensembles, bands, and approaches to performance. Options typically range from conducting, music theatre, and improvisation through to groups like orchestra, big band, brass band, classical and pop choirs, and a huge variety of pop, rock, soul, funk, and folk bands. Specialist performance tutors will coach you towards assessed performances that are open to the public.

The optional one-year (48 weeks) work placement after the second year can be completed in the UK or abroad. It will give you the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience, insight into your chosen career and open up your graduate employment prospects.

With support provided by weekly one-to-one tutorials, you will work towards the production of a unique portfolio of compositions and an accompanying commentary. You will also attend regular masterclasses and workshops and have the opportunity to write for at least one visiting artist or ensemble of international importance, and to explore various in-house opportunities.

The diversity of music in the 21st century not only raises aesthetic challenges, but also debates about the role of music and musicians in society. You will explore the major issues and materials of current musical thought and practice as a stimulus for your own research and creative work. The module leads towards a final project that represents your personal engagement with these issues, with opportunities for performance, composition, installations, or the presentation of website, blog, podcast or curatorial work.

This module will introduce you to a range of techniques for analysing both tonal and non-tonal music, including Schenkerian analysis and pitch-class set theory. Classes will explore the theories behind these approaches and give you plenty of practice in their practical application. The module is assessed through coursework analyses of two pieces of piano or chamber music.

You will choose two practical options from an array of ensembles, bands, and approaches to performance. Options typically range from conducting, music theatre, and improvisation through to groups like orchestra, big band, brass band, classical and pop choirs, and a huge variety of pop, rock, soul, funk, and folk bands. Specialist performance tutors will coach you towards assessed performances that are open to the public.

You will gain experience of advanced techniques of signal processing and synthesis in an audio programming environment such as Max, Supercollider, Csound or Chuck, including concepts that are relevant to and transferable between a range of software environments. The significance and creative potential of real-time software for synthesis and audio processing will be explored, both in classes and in a range of supervised projects for you to work on.

Working towards a coursework portfolio of your own creative work, you will learn about a range of a range of approaches to orchestration from the Baroque to the present day. Classes will explore the characteristics of individual instruments and strategies for combining them, including issues of balance, voicing, doubling, and effective control of orchestral textures.

You will be introduced to the techniques and underlying concepts of audio programming languages/interactive environments such as MaxMSP, Supercollider, Csound and Chuck, allowing you to design complex interactive audio software. You will gain practical experience of working with at least one domain specific language or environment, learning new techniques that will also enhance your understanding of broader programming and audio concepts.

Guest lecturers from a range of music-related professions will introduce you to current issues and opportunities in their industries, supported by coursework where you will research your own career aspirations. You will also develop your own professional practice and employability skills in a practical assignment of your choice: completing a work placement, or developing a business plan or professional website.

This composition module equips you with the skills needed to write original scores for film, television, and videogames. Working towards portfolios of original compositions, you'll receive tuition in the technical practices of soundtrack composition: spotting cues, creating live soundtracks for film, arranging and orchestrating pre-existing music, and working with technology to create realistic instrumental sounds and effects.