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Music Production

Level 5

If you’ve got a Level 3 qualification and want to explore the exciting challenges and opportunities of Higher Education without commiting to the full course right away, a Foundation Degree can be a great option to get you on the right track.

Entry Requirements

A Levels (DDE) or BTEC Extended Diploma

Duration

Two Years – 3 Days a Week

Qualification

FdA in Music Production

Learning on industry-standard kit, you’ll explore music creation from a technical and creative standpoint and discover and nurture your own creative path. You’ll learn practical music theory and apply it to your own compositions, whether that’s individually or collaboratively in your work in employable fields such as media composition or songwriting.

You’ll understand and work within commercial parameters to ensure you graduate with the best chance of working within music.

You’ll also be encouraged to explore the more experimental ends of recording, production and composition to truly find your own identity. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to put your learning into practice through live projects, masterclasses and guest lectures.

You will learn to create, record, mix, programme and market your music, whilst also gaining skills as a critical thinker and academic.

Through a mixture of lectures, workshops, seminars, academic tutorials and supervision, you will gain a firm grasp of the hard and soft skills needed to work with clients, industry figures and other artists. In these classes you’ll explore the core aspects of the module subject areas whilst also reporting back on your individual progress and research findings. The emphasis is on you to carry out significant amounts of sustained research throughout the programme of study.

A summary of course delivery consists of:

IT Lab sessions

Technical workshops

Independent project work

Presentations

Studio sessions

Academic tutorials

Independent Research

Guest Speakers

Off Site visits/experiences

Modules

You will begin your journey into the studio environment by developing your understanding of the fundamentals of recording. You will learn about large format consoles, signal flow, connections, microphone types, and DAWs to record audio.

You’ll be able to apply these skills whether you’re in a traditional studio or have a small home set up.

In this module, you’ll discover the magic of recording various artists using different styles of recording such as multitracking and overdubbing, in session and in your own time, to form a portfolio of studio work.

In the professional audio world Pro Tools is the DAW of choice. In this module, you’ll learn how to use this powerful application by covering Pro Tools navigation and operation, setting you up for the rest of your course and career in audio, and paves the way for Pro Tools accreditation.

In this module, you will explore the creative potential of various music technologies. You will exercise your creativity through music production, and learn a variety of techniques and technologies, such as sampling, synthesis, improvisation and composition in the DAW, hardware controllers, sound design, and remixing.

You will also gain a deeper contextual understanding of electronic music, through a global and ethical lens.

Composing music is like painting on a blank canvas, and depending on the genre there are certain rules to be aware of. This module will provide you with the guidelines that will form the foundation for your music to be functional with these forms, as well as allowing you to build in your own creativity and originality.

This module will teach you the fundamentals of music theory such as harmony, melody, accompaniment and arranging, enabling you to communicate emotions and feelings through your compositions. You’ll demonstrate your understanding through portfolio tasks and explore a genre of interest and compose a representative piece as well as research the genre’s context in a short negotiated practical research submission.

You will explore contexts of working in the international world of sound and music and how you might establish a career by exploring the flow of money through the industry and relevant current and emerging trends. You’ll assess your current skill set and discover what you need to do to improve your chances of success on your employable journey.

You’ll choose work like briefs lasting at least 80 hours to enable you to experience working opportunities in a field of interest, then reflect on your learning to set you up for the rest of your course in an employable mind set. Your future starts now!

You will explore digital, analogue, and hybrid studio technologies, developing recording and processing techniques to take on a variety of productions over the module: this could be using  traditional studio environments (on-site or external) or your own DIY production setups.

You will collaborate with performers, artists, and other students to work on a wide base of genres, selecting a range of your productions for a portfolio that should be approaching commercial standards.

In this module, you’ll work on client supplied briefs as well as your own self sourced material, engaging in technical and creative post production and mixing processes to create a portfolio of work. You’ll critically compare your mixes with industry outputs from around the world and learn approaches to help you meet commercial benchmarks.

You’ll cover techniques with compression, effects and automation with additional production skills such as vocal editing and production, drum production and other genre specific approaches of additional production through a range of projects.

The history of music technology has informed where we are and where we might go next. In this module, you will be exposed to decades of key recordings, technologies, events, artists and the movers and shakers involved in shaping modern popular music as we know it.

You will choose your own specific area of interest in music technology and production and explore how it’s impacted creativity and the development of the wider world of music within an essay, accompanied by practical assets to illustrate your understanding.

In this module, you will learn how to compose music for a wide range of purposes, including songwriting and music for media with both solo and collaborative approaches.

You will develop an understanding of the wider global, historical and ethical contexts whilst building on your existing technical and artistic skills . You will continue to develop your ability to express yourself artistically, while also understanding the needs of a demanding and ever-changing industry.

By the end of the module you will have deployed your artistic, technical and commercial skills in the creation of a range of finished pieces to form a varied portfolio.

During this module you will source and execute appropriate self-directed projects, working individually and collaboratively on creative work, allowing you to directly apply the research, knowledge and skills learnt throughout the programme in the context of the workplace. This module aims to develop your overall professionalism and provide you with the knowledge and resources to begin a career in the creative industries. The nature of creative industries is increasingly defined by freelance and self-employed models of work.

Consequently, individuals seeking work in industry need to appreciate the pressures of working on multiple projects to strict deadlines and the subsequent demands they place on time and resources. Similarly, an understanding of professional practice and the legal and economic imperatives in industry is important, as is effective communication, self-efficacy and autonomy.

This module aims to develop these skills and knowledge by challenging you to develop a range of self-directed projects along with analysis of the processes involved along the way.

Entry Requirements

You will need one of the following options:

A-levels – DDE; or

BTEC Extended Diploma – MPP; or

64 UCAS Tariff points from three A-levels or equivalent qualifications; and

GCSEs – two at grade C, including English and Maths or Science.

You will also have at least one of the following music qualifications:

A level or other level 3 qualification in related subject such as BTEC Extended Diploma in Music Technology or Production(or similar, e.g. RSL Awards)

We welcome suitable applicants without standard entry requirements but you will need to evidence your relevant experience and interest in using Music Technology in this straightforward way:

Either a short 2 – 3 minute video where you talk through a production you have been involved in on a DAW or where you have recorded live instrumentation.

Careers and Progression

Upgrade your Foundation Degree to a full Degree via Nottingham Trent University and go onto postgraduate qualifications such as Masters. Employability is a key focus of this course, with modules including initiatives, such as live projects and the opportunity to exhibit your work, to help enhance your future career.

This course will prepare you to work in creative industries in specialist technical roles, in areas such as:

Recording engineer

Mixing engineer

Audio post production

Music composition

Sound design

Acoustics

Apply

Apply for the Music Performance FdA degree course below.

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