Music with Professional Placement

Become a multiskilled, professional musician on this industry-facing degree.

Whether you’re an aspiring performer, session musician, composer, music educator or sound artist, we’ll prepare you for a sustainable career in the modern music industry. Our expert tutors and guest lecturers will support you to hone your practice while experimenting with genres, styles and technologies.

Collaborating with other musicians, producers, sound engineers, stage techs and songwriters in professional facilities, you’ll have the opportunity to develop projects around ensembles, session bands and vocal groups as well as music for film, immersive experiences and experimental performance.

You will:
Learn to play in a range of musical styles and genres, in a variety of professional contexts
Develop an experimental, critical and creative approach to making your work
Play regularly in ensembles, including session bands, vocal groups, contemporary music groups and laptop orchestras
Benefit from guest speaker artists and ensembles. Visitors have included Adrian Utley (Portishead), Graham Fitkin (composer), Kenny Werner (pianist), Ed O’Brien (Radiohead) and Kevos (ensemble)
Have the chance to gain industry experience, from shadowing a professional composer or interning with a record label, to working with an orchestra
Have the opportunity to investigate study options with our prestigious international exchange partners, such as CalArts (USA), Griffith University (Australia), LASALLE (Singapore) and Nagoya University (Japan)

This degree will provide you with a range of experiences and enable you to develop a unique musical identity, a diverse set of musical and academic skills, strong critical awareness, and a good understanding of the contemporary musical world.

By the end of the Music course, you’ll have a varied portfolio of work and a keen sense of enterprise. You’ll be equipped to identify, create and respond to the many musical opportunities that exist in the professional world.

Year one
The first year of the Music degree is all about upskilling and getting immersed in AMATA (Academy of Music & Theatre Arts) and Falmouth. You’ll develop your core music making practice, learn key studio and audio skills, as well as begin to develop fundamental theoretical and contextual knowledge of contemporary music and sound practices.

Modules
Musicianship & Performance
Composition & Creativity
Expanding Musical Vocabularies
Specialist Music Practice 1
Music and Sound: Context and Cultures
Studiocraft

Year two
Your second year is focused on specialising: gaining a range of music-making experiences and starting the development of your entrepreneurial and brand thinking as you explore the world of professional music making. You’ll identify, acquire and apply new skills as part of the optional modules, and you will have the opportunity to work with students from across the University on interdisciplinary projects.

Modules
The Creative Professional
The Business of Music & Sound
Specialist Music Practice 2
Music & Sound: Resonant Futures

Optional modules
Enterprise: Innovative Music Business Practice
A/V Radical Artistry & New Media Aesthetics
Composing Music for Media
Session Musicianship
Immersive & Interactive Audio
Advanced & Experimental Performance
Resounding: Situated Songwriting & Composition
Voice and Listening: Life, People and Planet

Year three:
You’ll be responsible for finding your own placement, with support from the employability team. Choosing this option will enhance your industry experience and skills while studying.

How you’ll study during your professional placement
You’ll spend time working in a professional context, as part of a business or organisation. This can be in one role, or up to three, and must be for a minimum of 24 weeks.

You’ll develop in-demand workplace skills, deepen your insight into industry and grow your network of contacts, all of which could help you get ahead in your career after graduation.

Throughout this year, you’ll develop a portfolio of work that includes critical self-reflection on what has been learned from the experience. You’ll be required to evidence your experiences, the skills you’ve learned and your professional growth.

Year four
Your final year is geared towards solidifying your artistic and professional identity, knowledge, skills and networks in line with your chosen area of music specialism. You’ll develop your showcase portfolio, enhance your entrepreneurial practice skills and carry out career design work as you prepare to take your first steps into industry.

Modules
Music & Sound: Dissertation
Professional Development
Your Future
Showcase Portfolio

As part of our process of continuous improvement, we routinely review course content to ensure that all our students benefit from a high-quality and rewarding academic experience. As such, there may be some changes made to your course which are not immediately reflected in the content displayed on our website. Any students affected will be informed of any changes made directly.

Assessment is a combination of practical exams and coursework.

Modules vary in their assessment requirements, but all involve varying degrees of student choice, allowing you to design projects and tailor assessment tasks to benefit your development, and relate to your own aims and objectives.

The course assessments are a combination of coursework and practical assessments tasks, including:
Portfolios
Studio Practice sessions
Performances
Journals
Essays
Dissertations
Presentations
Case Studies
Reports
Viva (oral examinations)

You will receive feedback in a range of formats (e.g. written feedback sheets, feedback tutorials, feedback in live sessions) during each module.