Music Performance, Production, Songwriting & Business

UCAS code: W325

Here's what Falmouth University says about its Music Performance, Production, Songwriting & Business course.

The CertHE Music Performance, Production, Songwriting & Business course at WaterBear is designed for independent, self-motivated musicians who are ready to take their music to the next level, but also want the freedom to study a focussed, one-year course without making the commitment to a full three-year degree.

This course is for musicians and artists who want to develop a broad skillset and gain valuable skills across a range of music specialisms. It brings together the essential elements of our performance, songwriting, production and music business level 4 BA(Hons) programmes into one, focussed year.

Throughout the course, you’ll receive personalised support to help you grow creatively, technically and professionally. Learning takes place in small groups (typically 8-12) led by active music industry professionals. You’ll also get free access to professional recording studios and rehearsal spaces for regular practice, experimentation, and collaboration.

You’ll grow confidence in creating, developing and performing your music, both live and in the studio. You’ll understand the workings of the music industry and build skills to effectively manage your own professional practice and projects. You’ll gain valuable experience working collaboratively, learning how to give and receive constructive feedback, which is an essential skill in any creative career. What’s more, when you achieve the CertHE qualification you’ll also have the option to progress onto the second year of one of our specialist BA (Hons) Professional Music degree courses.

All WaterBear degrees are approved and awarded validated by Falmouth University, one of the UK’s leading specialist universities for the creative industries. Whether your ambition is to become an independent artist, professional musician, entrepreneur, or to build a diverse portfolio career, the 1-year CertHE Music Performance, Production, Songwriting & Business* course provides a flexible, industry-focused foundation to help you move forward with confidence

The CertHE Music Performance, Production, Songwriting & Business is a one-year course consisting of two 15-week study blocks. Individual study modules cover a wide range of areas designed to develop your skills and confidence across performance, production, songwriting, and music business fundamentals. The module titles, along with their linked weekly classes, are as follows:

Modules: Your Live Performance Music comes alive when it’s shared. This module focuses on developing your identity as a live performer and how you communicate your music to an audience.

You’ll work across live performance, performance preparation, remixing, and DJ techniques, using these approaches as creative tools to shape how your music is presented and experienced. Through practical workshops, you’ll build confidence in preparing, rehearsing, and delivering performances with clarity, intention, and presence.

Your Music In The World This module deals with the music industry, past and present. Exciting case studies of artists that have made an important contribution to music. How did they do it? And how can you employ these insights into your own music projects, right now?

Your Songwriting Songwriting sits at the centre of this course. This module focuses on developing your ability to create original music that reflects who you are as an artist and where you want to go next.

You’ll work on songwriting, pre-production, production tools, and live performance as part of an integrated creative process. Through practical workshops, you’ll develop core skills in composition, arrangement, lyric writing, and musical decision-making, while learning how to shape ideas from first draft through to finished work.

Why Music Why does some music stay with us for years, while other tracks fade quickly? This module explores what gives music meaning and why it matters, to individuals, communities, and culture.

You’ll develop deeper listening skills and a clearer critical voice through guided listening, discussion, and reflection. By exploring music across genres, eras, and contexts, you’ll examine how music connects to identity, place, emotion, and social change, and how these ideas inform your own creative choices.

As part of our process of continuous improvement, we routinely review course content to ensure that all our students benefit from a high-quality and rewarding academic experience. As such, there may be some changes made to your course which are not immediately reflected in the content displayed on our website. Any students affected will be informed of any changes made directly.

Assessments can include:

Performances Case Studies Reflective Commentary