Bachelor of Art (Hons) in Music

at Falmouth University - Penryn Campus United Kingdom

Working with academics from the Academy of Music & Theatre Arts and the School of Entrepreneurship, you’ll explore new music business models and future-facing practice.

Based in our purpose-built facilities – which include space for gigs, recording, rehearsals and business – you’ll be immersed in a hub of creativity and collaboration. You’ll have the opportunity to develop projects with video makers, photographers, fashion designers, graphic designs, dancers and choreographers from across the University. 

You will:

• Gain skills in marketing, publishing, contracts and project management 
• Be able to undertake industry-accredited short courses 
• Learn from lecturers with a wealth of industry experience covering everything from merchandising, music video production and managing micro-labels to international touring and major festivals 
• Develop critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills and apply this to live music business projects  
• Have the opportunity to interact with relevant music businesses, festivals, distributors and labels 
• Have access to the University’s wide range of professional facilities, equipment and creative spaces 

Taught by a dedicated team of artists, you’ll expand your understanding of contemporary art and explore the full spectrum of practice, from painting, drawing, sculpture, textiles, casting and printmaking, right though to new media, performance and 3D printing.

You will:

• Work in a Fine Art studio space from day one
• Collaborate with industry partners like Newlyn Art Gallery and the Tate St Ives
• Evolve your practice through opportunities such as field recordings, voice laboratories, self-publishing projects, specialist workshops, guest lectures and performances
• Access excellent studios, as well as 3D printmaking and time-based media workshops
• Have the opportunity to study abroad and to exhibit your work in major cities around the world 

You'll benefit from the collaborative environment at AMATA, where you'll have the opportunity to work with students from multiple disciplines and gain access to world-class dance studios, as well as practice and performance spaces.

You will:

• Develop your physical and technical skills, as well as performance and choreographic capabilities, while engaging with dance histories, theories and contexts
• Build industry links through workshops, guest lectures and visits from celebrated international practitioners such as Company Chameleon, Ballet Lorent and Siobhan Davies
• Benefit from AMATA's year-round performance programme, which attracts top artists and performers from all over the world
• Learn to utilise our extensive range of technical sound, lighting and recording equipment, to enable and realise your production ideas and visions

Through this fashion marketing degree, you'll learn to fuse skills in business, design and communication. You’ll gain an understanding of the need for a considered, conscious and sustainable approach in a fast-paced marketplace. And you’ll be part of a creative community preparing for an exciting career.

You will:

• Work on live projects with brands such as Fred Perry and John Lewis.
• Collaborate with photographers, designers and creators.
• Gain valuable experience through an optional placement year in industry (during the four-year course).
• Graduate from a course accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

As an independent performer, songwriter and self-producer, you’ll learn how to promote and release your own work, creating innovative portfolios based on experimentation, musicianship and a confident understanding of the industry. You'll study the audio-visual elements of pop and develop ways of critically conceiving and creating 'real' and 'virtual' presences. As someone invested in how pop makes meaning, you'll define a practice that's stylistically sophisticated and future facing.

You will:

• Develop songwriting techniques and performance and production skills.
• Establish innovative approaches to music making, the music business and technology.
• Perform and record in our high-spec AMATA studios.
• Forge industry links with studios, record labels, promotion companies and venues.
• Benefit from visiting lecturers like Bellatrix, Darcus Beese (Island Records), David Toop, Ed O'Brien (Radiohead), Mary Hampton, Jo Hamilton, Martha Tilston, Laura Snapes, Glen Roberts and Jerry Dammers (The Specials)

During this unique business degree you'll get the chance to collaborate with creatives from across the University, including students from our Launchpad business incubation programme, to proactively build your network.

You'll be able to immerse yourself in new ideas while learning theory and applying it to your own practice. You'll explore the social and environmental contexts of business, learn the art and science of building brands and collaborate with peers and professionals. You will be supported to take micro placements, engage with student-run businesses and potentially start your own enterprise.

You will:

• Be encouraged to hone your entrepreneurial skills in a live project environment
• Respond to business challenges informed by the 4th industrial revolution
• Build your business network through collaborative work with other students and external organisations

If you're stylistically eclectic and keen to experiment, this is the course for you. Whether you aspire to be a performer, composer, session musician, music educator, sound artist or to work in a mixture of these disciplines, we'll offer an insight into the modern music industries.

You will:

• Learn to play in a range of musical styles and genres, in a variety of professional contexts.
• Play regularly in ensembles, including session bands, vocal groups, contemporary music groups and laptop orchestras
• Benefit from guest speaker artists and ensembles. Recent visitors include Adrian Utley (Portishead), Graham Fitkin (composer), Kenny Werner (pianist), Ed O'Brien (Radiohead) and Kevos (ensemble).
• Have the chance to gain industry experience through a three-month placement or internship, from shadowing a professional composer or interning with a record label, to working with a professional orchestra.
•     Have the opportunity to take advantage of our prestigious international exchange partners, including CalArts (USA), Griffith University (Australia), LASALLE (Singapore) and Nagoya University (Japan).

You will:

• Get networked, learning from our award-winning staff, together with visiting professionals taking part in masterclasses. In the last year, this has included Carol Morley, Jonathan Glazer, Rubi Shah, Dan Perri, Emily Morgan, Joel Collins and Kim Longinotto.
• Develop gradually by learning through doing, engaging in reflective and imaginative thinking and using professional filmmaking production workflows on a course that's endorsed by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the creative industries.
• Get the chance to work on our in-house micro-budget short and feature films through the Sound/ Image Cinema Lab – including Bait (Mark Jenkin, 2019), Make Up (Claire Oakley, 2020), Long Way Back (Brett Harvey, 2020), The Tape (Martha Tilston, 2020), and the forthcoming FilmFour production Enys Men (Mark Jenkin, 2021).

You'll collaborate with other students in the Games Academy – from animators through to sound designers – to develop a multi-disciplinary approach with creativity at its heart. By the time you graduate, you'll be confident in pursuing a career in software development, in the games industry and beyond.

You will:

• Get under the hood of video game engines like Unity and Unreal while learning a range of programming languages like C#, Python, and C++
• Engage with the latest technologies, including procedural content generation, cloud systems and mixed reality to develop broadly transferable skills
• Blend art and science while developing teamwork and communication skills that are highly desired in the industry
• Develop an 'optimisation mindset' by learning to work within platform constraints
• Make games collaboratively with artists, animators, composers, designers, writers and other programmers