Songwriting & Music Production

The BA (Hons) Songwriting & Music Production course is designed for songwriters, DIY producers, and creative performers who want to write, produce, and perform original music. Whether you're developing your sound as a solo artist, exploring storytelling, or experimenting with different creative approaches, this course helps you grow as a self-sufficient and forward-thinking music maker. You’ll explore songwriting across a range of styles and contexts, from introspective lyricism to commercial topline, and conceptual work to genre-fluid expression. Alongside this, you’ll build technical confidence in music production, learning how to record, arrange, and refine your work with creative control. This course will help you to shape your artistic identity, build a distinctive body of work, and prepare for a career as a versatile, original, and self-driven music artist.

Why you'll love this course

• Artistry at the core - Develop as a songwriting artist and performer through modules that explore lyrics, melody, harmony, structure, narrative, and engaging live delivery. Your creative identity is the focus, supported by space to experiment and grow.

• Learn to self-produce - Build the technical fluency to produce your own music with confidence. From demo creation to final mix, you’ll gain hands-on experience with professional tools and workflows that empower creative independence.

• Experience and collaboration - Work with producers, vocalists, musicians, composers, DJs, technologists, event managers, audio engineers and sound designers on projects that reflect real-world creative practice.

Year 1
In your first year, you’ll build a strong foundation in songwriting, music production, and creative performance. You’ll explore structure, melody, harmony, lyrics, and musical storytelling while developing essential skills in studio craft, mixing, and collaborative practice. One-to-one songwriting support and creative performance workshops help you shape your identity and develop confidence in your voice and ideas. This year is about developing fundamental songwriting skills, learning to self-produce, and finding new ways to bring your songs to life.

Year 2
In Year 2, you’ll deepen your songwriting practice, refine your production skills, and explore more advanced approaches to arrangement, narrative, and creative direction. You’ll continue to receive one-to-one support as you begin to define your artistic voice and build a more intentional body of work. You’ll also choose from a range of optional modules in areas such as commercial music creation, immersive audio, marketing, performance technologies, and scoring and arranging. You’ll also work more independently, with increased emphasis on collaboration, creative research, and real-world application to help you prepare for your final year projects.

Year 3
Your final year is all about realising your creative vision and preparing for professional life. You’ll complete two major self-directed projects: one focused on building an industry-ready portfolio that reflects your artistic identity, and another that explores an area of innovative practice through songwriting, production and/or performance. You’ll also have the opportunity to explore optional modules in areas such as education and wellbeing, music industry management, or collaborative creative practice. A research-led module in sound cultures encourages deeper reflection on the cultural, social, or political dimensions of your work and its place within the wider music landscape. This is your opportunity to develop a bold and original body of work, define your next steps, and graduate as a confident, multi-skilled music creator.

Year 1 - Core Modules

• Industry Foundations
• Music Production
• Songwriting Fundamentals
• Mixing
• Creative Performance Techniques
• Studio Craft for Musicians

Year 2 - Core Modules

• Industry Practice
• Songwriting: Concepts & Narrative
• Creative Research Practice
• Performance, Persona & Stagecraft

Year 2 - Option Modules

• Advanced Music Production
• Composition & Arrangement
• Hardware Production
• Integrative Performance Technologies
• Commercial Music Creation
• Marketing & Promotion
• Immersive Audio

Year 3 - Core Modules

• Innovation: Exploration
• Industry Portfolio Development
• Innovation: Realisation
• Industry Portfolio Delivery
• Sound Cultures

Year 3 - Option Modules

• Integrative Performance Technologies
• Commercial Music Creation
• Marketing & Promotion
• Immersive Audio
• Music Education & Wellbeing Practice
• Signature System Design
• Management & Leadership in the Music Industry
• Collaborative Creative Practice

Please note. Option modules are subject to availability and may change, depending on factors such as demand, staffing and timetabling. 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.

Learning is practical, collaborative, and artist-led. You’ll spend time in studios, rehearsal spaces, and production environments, developing your ideas through workshops, technical sessions, and one-to-one tutorials. Songwriting and performance development is embedded in your experience, supported by creative production training that helps you bring your songs to life. You’ll learn how to write, produce, and perform your work with intention, building confidence in your artistic identity.

Assessment Methods:

Assessments are 100% coursework.
Written assignments.
Presentations.
Portfolio development of creative, practical and/or technical work.