Music

Why study BMus Music at Goldsmiths

This creative degree reflects the diversity and excitement of music in the 21st century and gives you the opportunity to mix many kinds of performance, composition, research and professional studies. It is ideal for students with experience and/or interest in one or more of these areas: classical music, jazz, sound art, experimental music, traditional music or musical theatre.

• In the first year you’ll explore different musical styles and approaches to study through a range of compulsory practical and critical modules.

• Later, you'll be able to choose from our wide range of more specialised modules in performance, production, composition, songwriting, sonic art, music industries, global musics, popular music, music in film and media.

• You’ll have lots of opportunities to perform, including in professional and student-led ensembles and groups such as Vocal Ensemble, Jazz Workshop, Contemporary Music Ensemble, Laptop Ensemble, Chamber Choir and Steel Pan Group. PureGold, our annual music festival, celebrates the music created and performed at Goldsmiths.

• We're within easy reach of central London’s many venues, concert halls, opera houses and research libraries, providing a great international focus.

• You’ll be set up for the world of work. Employers look for initiative-driven graduates who can work well with others, lead their own projects, think creatively and adapt quickly to new ideas. This degree will help you develop these skills.

• We attract instrumental and vocal teachers of the highest quality, with many of our staff also performing internationally and teaching at the major music conservatoires.

• Performance modules include one-to-one tuition on your main instrument/voice, as well as ensemble coaching, performance lectures and masterclasses from top musicians and other industry professionals.

Course Modules

Year 1 (credit level 4)
All BMus Music students take the following modules:

• Discovering Music

• Performance

• Composition for Ensembles and Media

• Contemporary Creative Industries

• Critical Writing

Year 2 (credit level 5)
In your second year, you'll take the following compulsory modules:

• Collaborative Performance

• Creative Composition

• The Goldsmiths Elective

• The Goldsmiths Project

The Goldsmiths Elective and Goldsmiths Project are cross-school modules which aim to provide you with a broad academic context.

Optional modules
You will then take 2-4 (60 credits) optional modules, chosen from the following list:

• Developing Performance

• Electronic Music Studio Skills

• Pitching Creative Businesses

• Music Production

• Music and the Moving Image

• Global Musics

• Sonic Art: Contexts and Practices

• Songwriting (Elective)

• Japan, Music and Cultural Identity

Year 3 (credit level 6)
In your final year, you'll undertake the following compulsory module:

• Major Project

Optional modules
You will also take 3-6 (90 credits) optional modules from the following list:

• Writing to Brief

• Live Performance

• Music Teaching and Outreach

• Global Musics

• Sonic Art: Contexts and Practices

• Music and the Moving Image

• Music in Focus

• Psychological Approaches to Music

• You as Your Future: Developing Creative Careers

• Improvisation

• Creative Strategies in Music Production

• Performing South-East Asian Music

• Experimental Musics

Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.