Popular Music BA(Hons)

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

Performance courses - additional information (994.71 KB)

Falmouth's BA(Hons) Popular Music degree takes an innovative, imaginative and experimental approach to both the creative and vocational aspects of contemporary popular music. We combine music-making, academic study and enterprise - taking you into the professional world whilst developing your unique talent.

If you're an aspiring, motivated performer working in any contemporary popular music genre, who wants to develop your own creative identity within a well-connected and stimulating environment, this course is for you.

What will I get out of the course?

It's essential that you acquire the practical skills necessary to earn a living through music, as well as honing your performance, songwriting and musicianship skills. We'll help you to gain understanding of how the music business works and is changing - from publishing deals to marketing, distribution to web publishing, music law to production and sound engineering, internet radio stations to sound installations.

At the same time, you'll underpin your practical skills with a solid grasp of the historical, critical and theoretical debates around popular music, and develop the time/project management, communication and interpersonal skills essential to succeed in this exciting and challenging industry.  

Tell me more about the BA(Hons) Popular Music course

"The facilities and other musicians we had access to were incredible. The course helped me put together my own project and take it where I wanted to take it." Jonas Aaron, BA(Hons) Music graduate

By choosing to study for a degree in Popular Music at Falmouth you will:

• Work in a cutting-edge and environment, collaborating with students in digital media, fashion, dance, journalism, theatre and design.
• Be based at the new Performance Centre, a high-specification facility purpose-built for students' specific needs with the very latest equipment.
• Benefit from workshops, lectures and tutorials from our experienced and friendly resident staff and visiting professionals.
• Learn the practicalities of producing promotional material, how to make good quality demos, using graphics for posters and web publishing and producing press packs.
• Learn the basics of music law, negotiating deals and preparing contracts for professional work, registering new works, music publishing and how royalty collection agencies work, as well as examining the roles of the Musicians' Union, press and booking agents, managers and promoters.
• Meet professionals from studios, record labels, promotion companies and venues, who'll be key to opening up possibilities for everything from studio recordings to live gigs to digital distribution, both during and after the course.
• Have the opportunity to work alongside a team of other performers, managers and promoters to put on live events.

Projects

Our BA(Hons) Popular Music degree enjoys a close relationship with the legendary Sawmills Studios, made famous by the likes of Oasis, The Stone Roses, Robert Plant and Muse - amongst many others. Plans for the future include unique studio training courses.

www.sawmills.co.uk

Professorial lecture series

Falmouth's Professorial lecture series aims to produce an engaging and challenging public programme that stimulates the intellectual curiosity of our staff, students and alumni, our research collaborators, our industry partners, our local communities and other supporters. Recent lectures relevant to Music students include Robin Rimbaud (aka ‘Scanner')

Robin Rimbaud (aka Scanner)

How to make art from life (with the help of a few ghosts)

British sound artist who has received critical acclaim and won admiration from the likes of Bjork, Aphex Twin and Stockhausen. Scanner has worked with Bryan Ferry, Radiohead and Laurie Anderson, The Royal Ballet, Merce Cunningham and Random Dance companies, composers Michael Nyman and Luc Ferrari, and artists Mike Kelley, Derek Jarman, Carsten Nicolai and Douglas Gordon, and performed in many of the world's most prestigious spaces.

Facilities

Our new £15 million Performance Centre includes:

• High-specification performance studio designed for acoustic music
• High-spec studio designed for amplified music
• Recording studio complex
• Music practice rooms for bands and solo work
• The very best in studio hardware
• Industry-standard software applications
• Huge collection of microphones

Course outline

Level 1

• Popular Music Practice 1 & 2
• Music in Society 1 & 2
• Collaborations: Showcase
• Enterprise 1

Level 2

• Popular Music Practice 3
• Enterprise 2
• Music Project or Elective or Exchange
• Contexts

Level 3

• The Musician in Place
• Music Project
• Performance & Entrepreneurship
• Dissertation
• Professional Preparation

Answers and advice about the course

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

HelpMe Forum

For further information about BA(Hons) Popular Music at University College Falmouth, please email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 255944.

Career opportunities

Our graduates will be armed with the skills to work in a variety of contexts, including: 

• Solo or band performer
• Session musician
• Sound engineer
• Producer
• Promoter
• Running or working at a record label
• Press and promotion
• Manager
• Marketing
• Composer and/or song-writer
• Music publishing
• Music journalist
• Teaching
• Postgraduate study

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 and/or scores of your best work to date before being invited for interview. Candidates without standard qualifications but with music industry experience are strongly encouraged to apply.

Please see our How to Apply page for more information.

For further information about BA(Hons) Popular Music at University College Falmouth, please email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 255944.

Interview dates and selection process

Selection days 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, preferably on your main/first instrument that you intend having lessons on while at college. 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.
• Notation: To support your composition work, provide notation of the pieces you have provided. It can be written in western staff notation, TAB, chord charts or notational methods.
• Writing: A copy of an essay about music in which you have used language to discuss specific popular musical concepts.

Related courses

• Music BA(Hons)
• Music: Composition BA(Hons)
• Music: Performance BA(Hons)
• Music Theatre BA(Hons)
• Creative Music Technology BA(Hons)