FdA Popular Music

2 years full time

Venue

University Campus


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Why choose this course

This course will equip you with the necessary skills to enter the diverse and exciting field of popular music. The course is ideal for you if you wish to work as a session musician; become a freelance player/producer of your own music or promote your own band.

You will study with experts in the field, undergoing rigorous training in a broad range of performance styles. You will have frequent opportunities to play with accomplished industry professionals and create working musical relationships with your peers.

As well as individual and group lessons, regularly visiting artists
deliver specialist workshops. An emphasis upon performance
is supported through detailed coverage of music theory in popular song, improvisation and the arrangement of music for strings and brass. Student concerts and recordings take place in the specifically designed Performance Space at the College on a weekly basis, as well as events and festivals in venues in and around Bristol.

Plenty of studio opportunities and training in engineering, mixing
and production techniques from industry professionals will give you
the skills you need to make top quality recordings of your music. You will construct a promotional package based around a demo, and learn how to establish a meaningful presence within the music industry through the study and application of marketing techniques and the analysis of commercial musical trends. The development of promotional skills will be put into practice through the staging of a series of live concerts.

You will also investigate popular music and its cultural contexts. How is popular music put together? Why is popular music so important to young people?

Course structure and content

The course provides first-rate tuition and guidance in three areas:

  • Performing
  • Producing
  • Promoting.

Modules include:

  • Performing
  • Studio production
  • Understanding and composing popular music
  • Performing, composing and arranging
  • Live sound and events management
  • Producing and marketing your music.

In partnerhip with

Bath Spa logo

About the venue

You’ll work within spacious industry-standard, purpose-built recording studios, performance spaces and computer suites.

Travel Opportunities

 

Entry Requirements

 

You will need a UCAS tariff of 200 UCAS points with at least 160 coming from a Level 3 Qualification (for example A Levels or BTEC National / Extended Diploma). Preferably 80 points should come from a related subject.

An interview / audition will be required for entry to this programme.

 

Progression

  • You will have the opportunity to apply to progress to the Top-up year of the Honours Degree in Popular Music (subject to approval) and/ or related courses at Bath Spa on successful completion of this course
  • Progress to a Top-up year at another university
  • Enter employment in the field of performance, events management or teaching profession
  • Enter live sound music industry
  • Become a freelance Performer-Producer.

 

Additional Info

Interview Required
Audition Required

How to apply

Full-time courses

Full-time course: complete a UCAS online application form and submit it electronically (ucas.com). The UCAS website provides detailed information about making your application, so if you need any further details please visit their site.

  1. Fill in a University and College Admissions Service (UCAS) application form online following UCAS guidelines and submit it through the website, ucas.com. The UCAS website gives lots of information about making your application, so you can find more details there.
  2. We will get your application through UCAS and may invite you to an interview or audition with a course tutor.
  3. We will let UCAS know what we decide about your application as soon as possible after your interview.
  4. UCAS will let you know what we decide via UCAS track so login regularly. Remember to apply for your funding at direct.gov.uk/studentfinance. More information about the tariff can be found at ucas.ac.uk/students/ucas_tariff.

UCAS Codes

Institution Code: B20

Course Code: W340

Campus Code: C