Creative Music Technology

Develop the creative and technical abilities needed to thrive in the music and sound industries.

Create music and sound for exciting and diverse platforms and media using analogue and digital technologies. With a focus on music production, electronic music and interdisciplinary working, we’ll support you to develop the creative, technical and business abilities to thrive in the music and sound industries.

Guided by expert academics and industry professionals, you’ll master your craft utilising our professional studios. You’ll collaborate with musicians and students from other creative disciplines, building a portfolio of projects that prepares you for professional life.

You will:
Become an industry-ready artist with strong creative, technical and professional attributes
Gain practical and academic expertise within music production, electronic music composition and interdisciplinary working
Study in a vibrant performance centre with high-spec studio facilities and a wide range of industry standard hardware and software including PA systems, cameras and lights, and portable recording equipment
Collaborate with musicians, filmmakers, gaming artists, dancers, animators and designers
Gain business, marketing and entrepreneurial insight, boosting your employability
Develop transferable skills such as project management, problem-solving and communication skills

This music technology degree supports your professional journey by giving you the essential technical and industry knowledge, as well as the opportunity to experiment in an inspiring and supportive environment, so that you can accelerate your career after university.

You'll develop essential skills in composition, critical listening and collaborative practice, learning to apply these skills to music production, sound design and electronic music.

You'll become immersed in the wider context of music and sound contexts and culture, and learn how to communicate your understanding as an individual and as part of a team. You'll also become industry-ready through developing your knowledge of music business practices such as copyright, intellectual property and contracts, and through increasing your awareness of equality, diversity, inclusion, sustainability and healthy working practices.

Year one:
With technical and artistic guidance from staff and specialists, you will become equipped with foundational knowledge, skills and experience in music and sound theory, music production, sound design and electronic music.

You will receive small-group tuition to help you identify and work on your specialist creative practice, while gaining practical experience using industry-standard software and hardware tools and techniques. You will also develop your essay writing abilities through studying music and sound contexts and cultures.

Modules
Designing sound
Electronic Music
Expanding Musical Vocabularies
Specialist Music Practice 1
Music and Sound: Context and Cultures
Studio Craft

Year two:
In your second year, you will expand your subject knowledge, focusing on both practical and academic areas including music business, multimodal creation, composition, immersive technologies and experimental performance.

You will continue to experiment in cutting-edge areas, push your creative potential and create a wider variety of work through collaboration and open assessment briefs.

Modules
The Art of Production
The Business of Music & Sound
Specialist Music Practice 2
Music & Sound: Resonant Futures

Optional Modules
Immersive & Interactive Audio
Resounding: Situated Songwriting & Composition
Advanced & Experimental Performance
Voice and Listening: Life, People and Planet
Composing Music for Media
Session Musicianship
A/V Radical Artistry & New Media Aesthetics
Enterprise: Innovative Music Business Practice

Year three:
Your final year is geared towards solidifying your artistic and professional identity, knowledge, skills and networks in line with your chosen area of creative music technology specialism. You’ll develop your showcase portfolio, enhance your entrepreneurial practice skills and explore career options as you prepare to take your first steps into industry.

Modules
Music & Sound: Dissertation
Professional Development
Your Future
Showcase Portfolio

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.

There is a variety of assessment methods used on this course. These all have relevance to professional practice and include:
Portfolios of practical work.
Learning journals documenting your work using text, video, photos and audio recordings.
Written assignments such as project reports, essays and, in the final year, a dissertation.
Presentations
Studio-based assessment of practical work.