Creative Music Technology (Top-Up)

Do you have an HND or Foundation degree in music technology, music production or similar? Would you like to top it up to a full Bachelor's degree?

On this creative music technology top-up degree, you'll develop your creative and technical skills to degree level using new music technologies. You’ll get experience with sound software and hardware used by industry professionals, and get the chance to achieve additional certifications in the use of leading music technologies.

At the end of the course, you’ll be ready to begin your career in various areas of music technology areas such as games and animation, music recording and production, and television and film.

What you'll experience
On this creative music technology top-up degree course you'll:

• Turn your Higher National Diploma (HND), Foundation degree or equivalent qualification into a full Bachelor's degree

• Develop your personal creative practice with emerging sound technologies

• Choose optional modules that allow you to match what you study to your interests and career goals

• Be able to apply for an optional Avid Protools accredited training certificate in Pro Tools Software

• Get the chance to apply for Audiokinetic Wwise certification (we are one of only 2 universities in the UK to offer this)

• Be taught by staff members with industry experience in composition, sound design and music production

You'll use:

• Recording studios to engineer and produce music and sound design for games, film and TV

• Sensors and alternative controllers to create sound installations or perform live

• Hardware and software synths and plugins to create electronic music

• Digital audio workstations to create and mix music

• You’ll get your hands on some exciting gear in our studio suite, including:

A valve 32 channel TL audio mixing desk
An SSL Matrix 2 console with 10 Neve 1074 preamps and 16 channels of Neve and SSL dynamics and EQ
A 7.1 surround studio (Genelec) including a Slate Raven multi-touch console for multichannel work and spatial audio projects
A Buchla System 7 synthesizer (1 of only 2 in the UK and the only one in a European university)
4 Oakley Modular synthesizers
iMac Dual i7 computers running Logic Pro X, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Max/MSP (including Max for Live), Native Instruments (including Reaktor), Pure Data and Game engine software

Careers and opportunities
Music technology is a continually developing field that's key to the creative industries, so there will be lots of opportunities open to you after the course.

What can you do with a creative music technology degree?
Previous music technology graduates have gone on to work in areas such as:

• studio recording

• composition

• music production

• acoustics

• sound design for television and film, animation and computer games

• digital media

• education

• What jobs can you do with a creative music technology degree?

When you finish the course, our Careers and Employability service can help you find a job that puts your skills to work in the industry. You can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years after you leave the University as you advance in your career.

Year 1
Core modules in this year include:

• Final Year Project (40 credits)
• Collaborative Sound Project (20 credits)

Optional modules in this year currently include:

• Composition for Visual Media (20 credits)
• Flexible Client Project (20 credits)
• Free Composition (20 credits)
• Implementing Game Audio (20 credits)
• Music and Sound Synthesis (20 credits)
• Professional Studio Practice (20 credits)
• Spatial Audio (20 credits)

We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

The formal assessments you take on this music technology top-up vary according to the modules you choose. They include:

a portfolio of original compositional works
design and development of an audio/software project
oral assessments and presentations
written assignments including essays
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.