Validated by The University of West London.

Validated in June 2022, our new M.Mus Music & Sound programme offers a full 180 credit Masters Degree in music studied 100% online.

Specialise in either music performance or production.

Expand and develop your competitive edge in the music industry by working alongside our experienced tutors, who already work in the creative sector. Bespoke, weekly 1:1 tutor and mentoring sessions via video call supplement our superb virtual learning environment.

With no set timetable, and support sessions arranged for a time that suits you, this is an opportunity to study remotely on a fully accredited Masters Degree in music, from the comfort of your home, or the tour bus!

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Course

Specialise in either music performance or production which can be tailored to your interests.

Combine practical and academic study with extensive performance or production work including 1:1 individual tuition.

Our tutors are creative industry experts in their respective fields.

Gain academic recognition exploring theories and ideas at postgraduate level.

Accepting applications for September 2024

Core Modules & Optional Modules

Gain more insight into our Performance and Production Pathways and explore the modules available during your studies.

Performance Pathway Core Modules

This is a student-led, individually negotiated project. The module allows students an opportunity to devise and execute an ambitious and personal, self-managed project that expands and enhances the knowledge and many of the skills acquired during their course. It allows students to explore and research some of these ideas and techniques in a more focused and detailed way. The exact brief is up to the individual, but a named project supervisor will guide students.

This module is designed to help you develop an understanding of key critical, analytical and reflective approaches to the study of popular music through examination of key literature and the application of those approaches.

Through analysis, critical thinking, the study of creative and reflective practice, and reading and discussion of a number of enlightening texts, you will learn to develop your status as an informed practitioner, greatly expanding your awareness of your own work and the social, political, and musical contexts that which it inhabits.

The Music Direction Skills module focuses on the skills needed as an ensemble director and performer. Musical direction is a key focus, other areas considered include musician and repertoire selection, rehearsal preparation, planning and event management.

In this module, you will source an ensemble and rehearse repertoire with them as the musical director. Your job is to construct a repertoire and rehearse your ensemble in preparation for a performance.

This module aims to enhance technical, creative and innovative performance skills, as well as consolidating and heightening your evaluation of stylistic and technical issues. You will be expected to achieve and maintain a high level of advanced performance skills in order to fulfill your potential and develop practical skills to a professional level.

You are encouraged to challenge yourself through tackling musical styles and creative techniques which are not your home territory. Use your relationship with your specialist supervisor as an opportunity to explore new ground and broaden your instrumental skills.

The purpose of this module is to train you in research methods and critical methodology as preparation for undertaking research and is designed to support and advance the project work produced during the rest of your study through a developed investigation of research methods. You will define, articulate and critically reflect upon the research concerns of your own practice during this unit, thereby underpinning and enhancing your knowledge and understanding of the chosen field of study, as well as developing your ability to communicate this in a variety of ways.

This module will build on skills gained in the Music Direction Skills and Performance Portfolio-1 modules. The module aims to enhance technical, creative and innovative performance skills, as well as consolidating and heightening your evaluation of stylistic and technical issues. The focus of this module is to select a commercially viable repertoire.

In addition to your development as a performer, there will be a practical element aimed at developing your skills at organising and promoting yourself as an artist. The aim is to provide you with a real-world experience of putting on and promoting a performance.

Performance Pathway Optional Modules

The Songwriting module gives you the opportunity to engage in the development, management and execution of a high-quality song portfolio. Applying a myriad of songwriting techniques and conventions, you will create a song portfolio realised via basic recordings and lead sheets.

This module provides an excellent opportunity for students to test their potential as music educators. It is intended that the module gives students a flavour of working in education and also equips them with valuable skills that are transferable to their careers.

This module is about you ‘finding your voice’ as a recording artist, focusing on your principal instrument and/or voice in the context of a recording which features at least two other instruments. This means that you need to develop a method of recording your instrument and/or voice such that its individual timbre is captured, and show that your technical, sonic, performance and arrangement choices on your instrument/vocally are clearly represented.

Production Pathway Core Modules

This is a student-led, individually negotiated project. The module allows students an opportunity to devise and execute an ambitious and personal, self-managed project that expands and enhances the knowledge and many of the skills acquired during their course. It allows students to explore and research some of these ideas and techniques in a more focused and detailed way. The exact brief is up to the individual, but a named project supervisor will guide students.

This module is designed to help you develop an understanding of key critical, analytical and reflective approaches to the study of popular music through examination of key literature and the application of those approaches.

Through analysis, critical thinking, the study of creative and reflective practice, and reading and discussion of a number of enlightening texts, you will learn to develop your status as an informed practitioner, greatly expanding your awareness of your own work and the social, political, and musical contexts that which it inhabits.

This module takes as its starting point the idea that musical performance for a recorded output is very different from concert performance. The Record Producer and the Performer not only have to be aware of what those differences are but also of what is required in the studio and how to achieve it.

Alongside the technical issues of recording sound are all the psychological and interpersonal issues of creating the right atmosphere for the communal activity of creating recorded music to happen. How do these participants engage with one another? How are the critical evaluations arrived at? What kinds of methodologies and theoretical frameworks are available for studying these phenomena?

This module aims to enhance technical, creative and innovative production skills, as well as consolidating and heightening your evaluation of stylistic and technical issues. You will be expected to achieve and maintain a high level of advanced production skills in order to fulfil your potential and develop practical skills to a professional level.

You are encouraged to challenge yourself through tackling musical styles and creative techniques which are not your home territory. Use your relationship with your specialist supervisor as an opportunity to explore new ground and broaden your production skills.

The purpose of this module is to train you in research methods and critical methodology as preparation for undertaking research and is designed to support and advance the project work produced during the rest of your study through a developed investigation of research methods.

You will define, articulate and critically reflect upon the research concerns of your own practice during this unit, thereby underpinning and enhancing your knowledge and understanding of the chosen field of study, as well as developing your ability to communicate this in a variety of ways.

This module will build on skills gained in the Music Production Skills and Production Portfolio-1 modules. The module aims to enhance technical, creative and innovative production skills, as well as consolidating and heightening your evaluation of stylistic and technical issues. The focus of this module is to select a commercially viable repertoire.

In addition to your development as a producer, there will be a practical element aimed at developing your skills in organising and promoting yourself as a producer/artist. The aim is to provide you with a real-world experience of recording and producing music with commercial viability.

Production Pathway Optional Modules

The Songwriting module gives you the opportunity to engage in the development, management and execution of a high-quality song portfolio. Applying a myriad of songwriting techniques and conventions, you will create a song portfolio realised via basic recordings and lead sheets.

This module provides an excellent opportunity for students to test their potential as music educators. It is intended that the module gives students a flavour of working in education and also equips them with valuable skills that are transferable to their careers.

By engaging in parallel with analogue & digital, software & hardware, hybrid-production workflows (recording, sampling, synthesis, programming, mixing and mastering), this module offers opportunities for original application of advanced audio techniques, pushing the expressive boundaries of the sonic medium, and contextualising current practice through the lens of forward-thinking (auto)ethnographic analysis.

What happens next?

Studying at this level will broaden your horizons as a musician/audio specialist and scholar, to support you in a multi-faceted career. This Masters will enable you to explore areas of interest in greater depth, develop new skills and open new avenues of investigation both creatively,  academically and enable you for PhD progression.

Fees and Funding

Course fees £8495 per annum.

 

Subject to eligibility you can apply for a student loan to cover fees.

 

Please visit www.gov.uk/apply-online-for-student-finance for more information on student finance.

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FAQs

The course will last for 12 months.

This course is only being offered as a full-time option.

Extensive performance or production skills and experience are needed. As a recommendation, we require a 2:1 from a previous BA(hons) to be considered or an equivalent level if you are outside of the UK.

If you have any questions regarding entry we welcome you to contact a member of our team.

We love hearing from prospective students, it gives us an opportunity for us to know more about you and better yet, for you to learn what we have to offer and how we can assist.

You are welcome to contact us via email at [email protected] or call us on 03301 749696.

We have an extensive FAQ on our website, if you still cannot find the answer to your question you are welcome to get in contact with a member of our team

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