Creative Music Technology BA(Hons)

Why study BA(Hons) Creative Music Technology at University College Falmouth?

Performance courses - additional information (994.71 KB)

Recording technology has been the vehicle for significant developments in Western musical history, ultimately changing the way that music is made and heard. Falmouth's BA(Hons) Creative Music Technology degree is specifically designed for composers, performers and those exploring sound art and sound design who want to develop their creative identities and gain the skills necessary for a growing range of professional careers.

Alongside the high-level training in studio production, live electronics and interactive audio systems, you'll develop a firm understanding of the music business, developing vital analytical expertise, problem-solving techniques, and project management and interpersonal skills essential for success in this exciting industry.

Studying at Falmouth means you'll not only learn all about studio recording, sound design for digital media, post-production, sonic art and game audio, but you'll also be at the heart of a thriving, innovative and creative hub with plenty of opportunities to collaborate with other students within Art & Performance and from the Schools of Design and Media.

Tell me more about the BA(Hons) Creative Music Technology course

This intensive course explores the creative potential of new and emerging audio technologies and techniques, underpinned by a backbone of theory and critical discourse on the aesthetic, technical and cultural history of music technology from a variety of perspectives. This will help you develop analytical techniques and problem-solving skills that can be applied in many areas of employment within today's music industry.

Our graduates develop into confident, independent, self-motivated practitioners and thinkers. Learning through both theory and practice, you'll assemble a portfolio of work that reflects your emerging musical identity and distinctive voice, as well as gaining an appreciation of the contextual considerations that shape informed professional practice. We encourage you to develop creative and innovative work - introducing you to key concepts and providing the support you'll need for increasingly autonomous practice and projects.

Using a wide range of hardware and software technologies combined with critical research, you'll develop the skills and know-how to fuel your creative approach to music technology. You'll also explore the sound studio as a creative space, interrogating notions of melody, harmony, and rhythm from a contemporary perspective and investigating the history of electronic, electro-acoustic and computer music.

You'll receive artistic guidance from resident staff and visiting specialists, as well as regular feedback on your technical work. You'll also develop an ability to critique your own work (as well as that of others), a sophisticated understanding of how to listen, advanced research skills and the ability to present and communicate your findings effectively. Alongside practical sessions in our brand-new studio complex, there'll be lectures, seminars and tutorials to support and challenge you in developing your sound and extending your portfolio.

Vocational and practical skills are at the fore of our Creative Music Technology degree, so you'll explore contexts for sound design including screen media, performance, installation and interactive and mobile media. On top of the practical and technical support, we'll teach you about self-promotion, networking, contract law and other vital aspects of the industry. What's more, your briefs will be based on real-world projects - from television advertising to sound installation, exhibition sound design to live performance.

From the outset, you'll engage with professional practice at a fundamental level, benefitting from Falmouth's excellent links with the music industry. You'll have opportunities to meet professionals from studios, record labels, promotion companies and venues, who'll be key to opening up possibilities for work placements both during and after the course. Evaluating your future career opportunities is also an important element of your final year, when you'll develop a detailed career strategy, set out a timeline of objectives and receive a valuable business consultancy session.

Facilities

From 2010, all performance courses will be based at our new £15 million Performance Centre at our Tremough Campus. This high-specification facility is purpose-built for students' specific needs with the very latest equipment and will encourage collaborations between the three Schools to create exciting new performance, installation and exhibition projects.

Specific facilities for Creative Music Technology students include a state-of-the-art recording and composition studio complex incorporating some of the best acoustic spaces, studio hardware, industry-standard software applications and collection of microphones to be found in a UK higher education institution.

Course outline

Information about the content of each unit can be found in the detailed course outline below.

Level 1

• Studiocraft
• Music in Society 1
• Music in Society 2
• Designing Sound
• Performance
• Audio Industries

Level 2

• Phonographies
• Designing Sound 2
• Contexts

Options

• Music Project 1
• Music Project 2
• Music Project 3

Level 3

Note: double units are worth 40 credits, single units are worth 20 credits

• The Musician in Place (double) or (single)
• Final Project (double) or (single)
• Dissertation (double) or (single)

Options

• Independent Project
• Professional Preparation

Detailed course outline

Level 1

• Studiocraft

This unit introduces general studio techniques following the journey of a recording from live event to final fixed media. There will be a brief introduction to acoustics and a survey of microphones and microphone preamps with discussion around their behaviour and usage. Students will be introduced to the recording and editing environments available to them. Tied to this theme would be a general introduction to digital audio and an introduction to the workings of an analogue studio. The unit will include an introduction to MIDI and the range of MIDI equipment available in the studios.

While this unit has a practical focus, discussion around the key themes and technologies introduced will always be routed in a critical, historical context and students will be actively encouraged to think creatively about the variety of possible modes of engagement they might have with studio technologies.

This unit will be delivered through a series of practical, hands-on workshops and seminars and will include group critiques of student works in progress. Critical listening sessions will be integrated into the teaching, offering exemplars of techniques discussed. Projects will be supported by tutorials with staff, in addition to seminars and specialist lectures.

• Music in Society 1
• Music in Society 2

These modules introduce all music students to the theoretical concepts surrounding music in our contemporary society from historical and cultural perspectives. They provide a broad framework within which current musical practices can be examined. Students are encouraged to engage in current debates and investigate the effects of cultural practices, technologies and enterprise that influence modes of musical discourse. In support of this, students will look at a range of political, technological or social conditions that have led to specific musical events or movements in history.

• Designing Sound

This is a studio-based unit focusing on sound design for various media. The history of sound design as a practice emerging from radio and cinema will be discussed and students will be introduced to the fundamental principles of designing sound for particular applications. Students will make use of existing sound libraries and record their own source material both in the studio and on location. The unit will expose students to techniques derived from classic radio and cinema as well as musique concrète and elektronisches musik.

Building on the studiocraft module, students will be introduced to a range of synthesis and digital signal processing techniques in tandem some classic foley techniques. A survey of contexts for sound design will be explored, including screen media, performance, installation, interactive and mobile media. Students will work towards a portfolio of designs responding to briefs given in class.

• Performance

The focus of this unit will be the use of music technology in live performance environments. The unit will combine an exploration of real-time performance technologies with the innovative presentation of pre-recorded elements. The unit will explore various paradigms of interface design using the MAX/msp and Ableton Live software environments, while also embracing ‘dirty electronics' approaches to performance using turntables, circuit bending and contact mic'ing etc.

Some discussion around conventional sound reinforcement will be covered and the theme of spatial audio will be introduced, although these themes will not constitute a primary focus for the unit. After an initial three weeks of skills training, the focus of the course will move towards the development of a live performance and students will be given the opportunity to collaborate with students from BA(Hons) Music and BA(Hons) Popular Music.

• Audio Industries

Building on the ‘Music in Society' unit, Audio Industries explores the creative opportunities available to Creative Music Technology graduates in a range of career paths. Students will be presented with a series of project briefs, taking the form of hypothetical commissions modelled on real-world projects from television advertising to sound installation, exhibition sound design to live performance. Students will elect to undertake one of these briefs and will be asked to make a presentation of their credentials and a proposal for the brief. Students will share their ongoing progress with staff and peers and will be assessed against their response to the brief. Accompanying practical and technical support, there will be seminars on self-promotion and networking, contract law and other pertinent aspects of the industry.

Level 2

• Phonographies

This unit traces a history of recording as an art practice in its own right. Borrowing theoretical and technical models from photography, film and radio, students will explore the creative potential of the microphone. We will explore key moments in the history of phonography, both from within the canon of recorded music and from pioneers who have worked outside this tradition in the development of sound walks, performative sound diffusion, sound installations and more recently the emergence of locative media as a key driver to the future of the practice. The unit will incorporate some studio practice but primary focus will be given to field recording where students experiment with a range of microphone technologies including m/s, double m/s, binaural and soundfield recording techniques as well as the use of shotgun mics, contact mics, parabolic reflectors and hydrophones.

• Designing Sound 2

Building on 'Designing Sound 1' and technical skills developed throughout the course, this unit will give students the opportunity to go into greater depth in themes already covered (recording source materials for sound design, the use of sound effects libraries, signal processing in sound design) while also concentrating more specifically on the differences between the various contexts for which students might be working (games, theatre, dance, screen media, mobile, installation etc). A carousel of media specific skills workshops might include some of the following: working with game engines, sound design for mobile media, working with expanded or asymmetrical surround sound, synchronizing to picture, interactive sound design etc. Students will elect to undertake a practical project for one specific media and will be assessed on a single, final outcome with critical documentation. Final projects might accompany the work of artists from other disciplines.

• Contexts

This unit allows all music students the opportunity to work on live performance, recording projects or site-based work. It projects the students into a semi-professional environment in preparation for their ‘off-campus' unit at Level 3. The project-based collaborations will utilize a range of sites and locations, taking the opportunity to extend student work outside the college environment. Students will be encouraged to use a range of promotional resources and devising techniques to create new work that will reach out to the public in a variety of ways, culminating in outcomes such as performances in regional venues to distributing new music via internet radio stations, web-based promotional sites, on record labels or through the medium of sound installations.

Options

• Music Project 1
• Music Project 2
• Music Project 3

The Music Projects in Level 2 offer a choice of topics in which students can negotiate their individual roles and contributions. Each project involves research into, and practical and contextual engagement with, a specific area of musical enquiry. Each will have a different focus, but all projects involve the examination of issues of location (historical and geographical) and context. Students will be required to complete at least one piece of research with a substantial written outcome (usually an essay) and to document material produced as part of the project. The relation of this to the written component of the assessment will vary, but will be discussed in each case with the project tutor.

Level 3

• The Musician in Place (double)

This unit explores the effects of the context in which the practitioner places their work: the effect of context on practice, and of practice on context. Each student individually negotiates this off-campus project in consultation with a supervisor. Key factors such as geographical location, the student's independence from College surroundings and the social context in which the project locates itself all play a significant part. The relationship between the personal and the musical is a key factor in the work of this module. The project is essentially investigative in character. Preparatory research and subsequent evaluation are important aspects of the process, as is the ongoing documentation of the work undertaken.

The 40 credit version of this unit allows not only for a potentially wider field of travel and engagement with more unfamiliar contexts, but demands more in-depth exploration of the emergent issues and anticipates some form of applied response to the student's findings.

• The Musician in Place (single)

As above. The 20 credit version of this unit is more appropriate where the field of travel is more restricted to the local area, therefore demanding less acclimatisation or radical cultural shifts. The student would also not be expected to demonstrate their contextual appreciation through any applied outcome during the period of study.

• Final Project (double)

In this 40 credit unit, students will devise a portfolio of work that reflects their emerging musical identity and distinctive voice. In keeping with the objectives of the course, students may wish to specialise in composition, performance or some form of installed or locative work. Students should anticipate investing 400 hours work into this project.

• Final Project (single)

As above. Students should anticipate investing 200 hours work into this project.

• Dissertation (double)

The dissertation is the culmination of the sequence of theoretical investigations beginning in Level 1. The preparation and completion of this written paper serves as a preparation both for postgraduate studies and/or for the worlds of work and professional practice, where a high value is placed on the ability to identify and carry through a coherent campaign of research, designed specifically to fit the purpose

This double module allows students time to explore a research topic in both breadth and depth and provides an opportunity to engage in musicological enquiry in detail and at a level that prepares them for the possibility of postgraduate study in Music. Students will research and write a 10-12,000 word dissertation on a Creative Music Technology topic with contemporary artistic/professional relevance.

• Dissertation (single)

As above. For the single unit version students are provided with an opportunity to engage in musicological enquiry and will research and write a 6-8,000 word dissertation on a Creative Music Technology topic with contemporary artistic/professional relevance.

Options

• Independent Project

This unit provides a framework for independent study activities. Areas of study would typically involve specific research/development lying outside the scope of work in existing units. The work is shaped around a student's initial written proposal, which outlines their rationale, expected learning outcomes and mode of delivery, and this forms the basis for further discussion, supervision and subsequent assessment.

• Professional Preparation

The final unit allows students to extend the skills and knowledge accumulated throughout the course in both practice and enterprise. Students will focus on their emerging skills as managers and promoters as well as creative producers in the field of creative music technology, building on practical experience gained during the ‘off campus' project.

The student will begin by making a critical evaluation of their achievements, abilities and skills so far developed and presenting this to the supervisor as a basis for discussion and future development.

The supervisor will assist the student in evolving from the evaluation a number of opportunities for future career development. The student will develop these ideas into more detailed plans that include an analysis of any additional skills or resources needed, critical actions and strategies together with a timeline of objectives. At an agreed point, the student will receive a business consultancy session to look at these plans and offer critique and redirection as appropriate

A final presentation and submission of a portfolio will provide both opportunities for the holding of the skills and an appropriate assessment.

Answers and advice about the course

If you have any queries about the course please visit our HelpMe Forum

HelpMe Forum

Career opportunities

• Composition
• Performance
• Sonic art
• Sound designer (for screen media, mobile media, gaming and installation)
• Broadcasting
• Sound engineering
• Sound editing
• Music production
• Music press and promotion
• Postgraduate study
• Teaching

Course entry requirements

A minimum of 220 UCAS points, mainly from the A2 level (including at least Grade C in Music/Music Technology) or equivalent Level 3 qualifications.

For entry, you'll be asked to send a CD demo before being invited for interview. Candidates without standard qualifications but with music industry experience will be considered. Please see our How to Apply page for more information.

For further information about BA(Hons) Creative Music Technology at University College Falmouth, please email admissions@dartington.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01803 861620.

Interview dates and selection process

Interviews will commence in December.

Selection days will involve improvisation and working in small groups.

Applicants will be expected to bring:

• PERFORMANCE: A recording of 5-10 minutes (CD/movie file/URL) of you performing, This can be any kind of performance on an instrument, with your voice or using technology in some way. Please identify who the work is by (if not you) and, if you are part of a band, tell us how to identify your contribution.
• COMPOSITION: A recording (audio CD) of at least one piece that you have composed (it can be on the same CD as your ‘performance'). Tell us why you wrote this composition and how it has been performed in the recording.
• TECHNOLOGY: An example of your use of technology (audio CD/video) if you have not already demonstrated this in one of the previous two tasks.
• WRITING: A copy of an essay about music in which you have used language to discuss specific popular musical concepts.

Location: Dartington Campus and London, Bristol and Birmingham

Related courses

• Music BA(Hons)
• Music: Composition BA(Hons)
• Music: Performance BA(Hons)
• Music Theatre BA(Hons)
• Popular Music BA(Hons)