BA (Hons) Music

Clearing is another opportunity for you to secure your place at the University of Plymouth this September.

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• Year 1

• In your first year, you’ll lay the foundations for an intelligent engagement with creative practice and the world of music through studies in developing musicianship, Western music tradition, the music of diverse cultures, composition and music technology. You will also be involved in group musical activities designed to develop your performance skills. 

  Core modules

  • Performance 1: Introduction to Performance (MUS4001)

    This module introduces learners to performance practices and the theory behind their instrumental and vocal practice. Students will develop musicianship skills and their practice as solo performers. The teaching will combine individual tuition with specialised tutors and a series of lectures and workshops.

  • Music Theory (MUS4002)

    This module solidifies students’ understanding of music theory concepts and explores its practical applications.

  • Exploring Ethnomusicology (MUS4003)

    This module introduces students to ethnomusicology and the study of music in culture. They will explore key theoretical concepts and be introduced to research methods. The module includes lectures, seminars and workshops that explore the topic from a theoretical and practical perspective.

  • Illustrating Music History (MUS4004)

    This semester-long twenty-credit module allows students to gain an overview of the history of Western music. The module provides a narrative of Western music from medieval times to the 20th century, while also discussing genres, forms and idioms. This module introduces students to musical analysis and how it intertwines with the historical study of music.

  • Composition (MUS4005)

    This module generates an overview of a variety of compositional forms and starting points for creating music. Through a combination of taught sessions, workshop sessions and autonomous student creative activity, these ideas are explored in a hands-on fashion, laying a foundational facility with some compositional strategies, devices and practices.

  • Audio Engineering (MUS4006)

    This module introduces students to the fundamental skills and techniques they need to become an effective audio engineer. Students will learn how to relate subjective and objective measures of sound to inform their practice. Taught sessions will explore topics such as psychoacoustics, small room acoustics, digital and analogue recording consoles, signal flow, microphone concepts and positioning, and advanced use of professional software platforms. This module will include 2, 2 hour talks that introduce our School and programme level employability related opportunities and support, including details of the optional placement year.

• Year 2

• Year two broadens your musical horizons; this prepares you to engage wholeheartedly toward your final year and embrace a specialism you enjoy (e.g. music as therapy).

  Core modules

  Twentieth Century Music (MUS5001)
  Students will develop an understanding of the key strands of twentieth century music history (Classical, electroacoustic, popular). The impact of contextual and historical factors on musical developments will be explored, and important styles, composers/artists, and musical features will be examined. Students will continue to develop their analytical skills.

  Stage 2 Placement Year Preparation (SSC500)
  This module is for students in the School of Society and Culture who are interested in undertaking an optional placement in the third year of their programme. It supports students in their search, application, and preparation for the placement, including developing interview techniques and effective application materials (e.g. CVs, portfolios, and cover letters).

  Songwriting (MUS5002)
  Students will explore songwriting from a contextual and practical perspective, equipping them with the skills to write songs in a variety of genres. Lectures and tutorials will encourage students’ understanding of songwriting through listening, writing and reflection.

  Independent Study (MUS5004)
  This module allows students to further develop their musical understanding in an area of their own choice. Students will be encouraged to negotiate a programme of study and assessment mode related to a musical topic of interest. There is scope in this module for students to put an emphasis on practical and/or theoretical engagement with the chosen topic.

  Performance 2: Ensemble Performance (MUS5005)
  This module continues to develop the students’ instrumental or vocal practice through specialised tuition. Students will gain an understanding for theoretical and practical issues pertaining to ensemble performance. They will explore the conventions and practices of ensemble performance in a variety of genres and contexts through lectures and workshops.

  Optional modules

  Psychology of Music (MUS5003MX)
  This module introduces students to concepts in psychoacoustics, psychology and music therapy within a musical context. Students will critically engage with related topics through a series of lectures and workshops, which place theory within musical and creative practice.

  Recording Sound and Music (MUS5006MX)
  Students will learn how to combine their technical recording abilities with their creative skills in music production. They will be introduced to a variety of recording contexts from a practical and theoretical perspective.

• Optional placement year

• Undertake an optional placement year where you can build a number of key employability skills. Put theory onto practice, get a taste for your chosen career and expand upon your professional network.

  Core modules

  • School of Society and Culture Placement Year (SSC600)

    Students have the opportunity to gain work experience that will set them apart in the job market when they graduate by undertaking a 48-week optional placement year. This year allows them to apply and hone the knowledge and skills acquired from the previous years of their programme in the real world.

• Final year

• In your final year you gain independence in your creative musical practice throughout a combination of taught sessions and tutor-led development. The programme offers specialist pathways leading to an exit award (i.e. performance, composition, ethnomusicology, technology or an inclusive combination). As such, you will be able to specialise in a music-related area of your choosing in negotiation with your dissertation supervisor. Intercalated medical students (or those interested in music therapy), can find significance in an area within music and medicine/healing. Those interested in teaching might pursue pedagogy. Film composers could creatively embrace a collaborative project; performers can perform. Similarly, students eager to excel in music technology can produce an inspiring project (which may even facilitate them onto our ResM in Computer Music following graduation). Some engage in community music projects or something more traditional. 

  Core modules

  Negotiated Dissertation Project (MUS6001)
  This module provides a structured learning environment in which to build on personal subject specific specialisms, culminating in either a practice-based portfolio with a substantial critical underpinning or a written dissertation.

  Optional modules

  Ethnomusicology (MUS6002)
  This module teaches ethnomusicology at an advanced level and considers music in its cultural and everyday context. It includes practical engagement with specialist practitioners as well as keynote lectures that expand on methodology/theories of selected pioneers in ethnomusicology. It will also investigate the how ethnomusicological research can be applied to musicianship and research.

  Electroacoustic and Electronic Music (MUS6004)
  This module will introduce students to the history and repertoire of electroacoustic and electronic music. They will acquire the compositional skills to create music in these genres through practical workshops. The module will encourage students to combine their critical and creative skills to produce pieces in their chosen genre.

  Performance 3: Performance Identity (MUS6005)
  This module aims to develop students into professional performers with a defined musical identity. Students will continue to receive specialised tuition. Lectures with invited speakers and workshops will encourage them to think holistically about their identity as a performer, and design their performance accordingly.

  Sound and Vision (MUS6006)
  This module explores the creation of sound and music for moving image. It investigates historical and contemporary theories and models of interaction between music, sound, action and image, drawing a range of media genres. Participants will explore their own responses to the challenges of creating music for images and live action through practical workshops and individual coursework.

  Festival Practices (PER6004)
  This module will support students’ entry into the wide field of the creative industries through the planning and development of a professional quality performance product, commensurate to professional practice. Working solo or in small companies, students will engage with mentoring and feedback processes and locate their practice within the context of the contemporary performance practice and Festival platforms.

  Music in the Community (MUS6003MX)
  This module will introduce students to practical applications of music to encourage and expand their understanding of the ‘real-life’ uses of musical skills. A series of lectures will cover the concepts and skills required to carry out music work, before students apply these in practical situations.

Every undergraduate taught course has a detailed programme specification document describing the course aims, the course structure, the teaching and learning methods, the learning outcomes and the rules of assessment.

The following programme specification represents the latest course structure and may be subject to change:

BA Music Programme Specification Sep22 7204

UCAS tariff

104