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Music Performance

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

3 GCSEs at grade C, or grade 4, or above.

UCAS Tariff

96

from minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent), preferably to include Music, Music Technology or a related subject.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Performing arts

**Become a versatile performer in your preferred musical style and broaden your abilities by trying out new styles, with our Music Performance degree in Cambridge.**

Our BA (Hons) Music Performance will challenge your creativity. You’ll learn to analyse and deconstruct existing modes of performance, songwriting and composition before finding your own way to create new performances or rework the music of others.

As the course develops, you’ll examine increasingly complex performance scenarios, using them to inform aspects of your own live work. Weekly performance workshops in Year 2 will help you hone your stagecraft in particular styles of performance, while analysis seminars will allow you to explore vocal and instrument techniques by genre.

As a Music Performance student at ARU, you'll create a diverse portfolio of work and learn up-to-date techniques that will prepare you for the modern collaborative creative industries, whether you want to perform and release your own music, create soundtracks for films and games, or play in a band or orchestra.

Many of your modules will be shared with our other music courses, giving you the chance to collaborate with different students and develop all-important skills for your professional life, such as teamworking and time management. You’ll also have opportunities to work with students on our film and computer game degrees, creating soundtracks for their projects.

In Year 2, you’ll broaden your understanding of the modern music industry by seeking and completing a work placement in an area of your own interest. This will also help you learn to self-evaluate your transferable and employability skills and develop them further.

Our optional modules allow you to shape the course for your chosen career. For example, Music in Therapy will introduce you to the theory and practice of music therapy, as practised by registered professionals in the UK, giving you the perfect preparation to continue onto our MA Music Therapy. Composition and Orchestration will allow you to produce a portfolio comprising original compositions of your own, and arrangements of existing works, for orchestra. Audio for Film or Audio for Games will develop your competence in creating soundtracks and sound effect creation, alongside specialist skills like automated dialogue replacement or production of non-linear interactive experiences.

You can even opt for a placement year between years 2 and 3 to get ahead in the creative industries.

**Professional facilities**

All our music students have access to:
- Five climate-controlled recording studios featuring analogue-digital hybrid studio set ups and two mixing suites, all equipped with Pro Tools, Logic and outboard hardware recording equipment (Neve, Universal Audio, Audient, SSL); and an audio-visual studio

- A spacious recital hall, band rooms and practice rooms

- Electronic and orchestral instruments; five grand pianos, including a Steinway Model D; synthesisers; traditional instruments from India, China and Africa; a Balinese Gamelan

- An impressive inventory of professionally rated microphones and recording equipment

- podcast and video capture system

You'll also have access to all our other creative facilities and equipment.

**Careers**
Throughout our BA (Hons) Music Performance, you’ll not only develop the latest skills and knowledge for a career in music performance, but also get the support you need to grow into a confident and creative graduate with a willingness for lifelong learning, and the desire to seek continuing personal and professional development in all aspects of your career.

By the time you graduate, you’ll have built up a professional portfolio of your music performance projects, which will act as an enhanced CV for you to present to future employers and clients. This might consist of video showreels, commercial music releases, or other demonstrations of your technical expertise, as well as a fully-developed online profile.

Modules

Year 1 core modules: Music in Context 1; Dots, Lines and Waves - Songwriting 1; Studio Techniques; Music Performance 1. Year 2 core modules: Chords, Contours and Grooves - Songwriting 2; Ruskin Module. Year 2 optional modules: Audio for Film; Audio for Games; Composition and Orchestration; Principles of Music Therapy; Music Performance 2; Music Business; Music Industry. Year 3 core modules: Final Project; Collaborative Project; Portfolio. Modules are subject to change and availability.

Assessment methods

Our open assessment tasks will challenge you to come up with your own creative responses, giving you space for active and creative rehearsals, collaborative experimentation and the development of your own independent work.

You’ll also be assessed using different methods and strategies that reflect the wide variety of activities involved in music-making. As well as creative projects, these might include presentations/performance; essays; analytical work; portfolio development; and written and practical exams.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Cambridge Campus

Department:

Cambridge School of Creative Industries

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What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

74%
Performing arts

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Performing arts (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

88%
Staff make the subject interesting
77%
Staff are good at explaining things
78%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
80%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

72%
Library resources
76%
IT resources
81%
Course specific equipment and facilities
64%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

77%
UK students
23%
International students
25%
Male students
75%
Female students
98%
2:1 or above
13%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
B

After graduation


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Post-six month graduation stats:

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While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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