BMus(Hons)
Full-time with integrated PGCE: 5 years
CUKAS Course Code: 300F
Designed to develop expertise, knowledge, creativity and versatility, our BMus (Hons) provides a challenging programme of practical study supported by academic work. The course concentrates on your development as a ‘performer-teacher’, that is, a professional performer or
composer who also has the appropriate skills to impart their expert knowledge to the next generation of musicians.
5-year route with integrated PGCE
The recent development of a five-year route incorporating BMus (Hons) and PGCE qualifications is an important and unique step in this area. The five-year route allows you to take the final year of the BMus over two years and combine it with a part-time PGCE, taught through the University’s Faculty of Education. After five years, you would graduate with a BMus (Hons) degree and Qualified Teacher Status, allowing you to teach music in classrooms or to earn more working as a peripatetic teacher for a Music Service. Both courses are spread evenly over Years 4 and 5, which means you can maintain your instrumental or compositional skills at the highest level through individual specialist lessons, while studying education and pedagogy. Applications for this scheme are made at the beginning of the third year.
A distinguishing feature of our BMus(Hons) course has always been the number and diversity of electives available,
5-year route with integrated PGCE
The recent development of a five-year route incorporating BMus (Hons) and PGCE qualifications is an important and unique step in this area. The five-year route allows you to take the final year of the BMus over two years and combine it with a part-time PGCE, taught through the University’s Faculty of Education. After five years, you would graduate with a BMus (Hons) degree and Qualified Teacher Status, allowing you to teach music in classrooms or to earn more working as a peripatetic teacher for a Music Service. Both courses are spread evenly over Years 4 and 5, which means you can maintain your instrumental or compositional skills at the highest level through individual specialist lessons, while studying education and pedagogy. Applications for this scheme are made at the beginning of the third year.
A distinguishing feature of our BMus(Hons) course has always been the number and diversity of electives available,
“Having transferred from the Royal Academy, I can thoroughly recommend the teaching in the Organ Department at the Conservatoire. The attention to detail and historical awareness of the staff,
combined with a significant amount of individual freedom and unbiased assessment created for me a positive atmosphere in which I could continue my development as an informed and confident musician.”
Karl Dorman, organ
Tutors: Marcus Huxley, Daniel Moult, Henry Fairs
Tutors: Marcus Huxley, Daniel Moult, Henry Fairs
through which you can tailor the course to your own interests and needs. Following revalidation in 2006, this substantial range of elective activities – including conducting, choral singing, community music, Indian music, folk, jazz, free improvisation, Kodály method, second study, music technology etc – has been segmented into three categories: first study support, first study
activities and musicianship electives. This will help to ensure you get the support you need in your first study area, as well as the related skills and broadly-based musical experience needed in the profession today.
As you progress through the course, you will be encouraged to experiment and think imaginatively about your own musical growth, to articulate your professional aspirations and to develop a realistic career plan. The recent introduction of peer- and self-assessment will give you a chance to reflect on your progress and you will also benefit from the further embedding of Personal Development Planning (PDP) into the course, and greater use of our virtual learning environment Moodle. Opportunities for professional placements and external engagements are integrated into the course via Professional Development modules.
Practical Work
Throughout the course, great emphasis is placed upon developing strong practical skills. Intensive individual tuition is complemented by an array of activities designed to develop individual artistry and musical fluency:
Academic studies are delivered from a predominantly practical viewpoint. Musicianship skills are taught through workshops which relate theory to practice and always involve student performances. Other contextual studies contribute to the broad framework of musical understanding required by both performers and composers.
Years 1 & 2 concentrate on providing a thorough grounding in technical and performance skills, plus contextual knowledge, including an emphasis on harmony training. Professional development, embedded into your core modules, focuses on increasing your self-awareness, covering areas such as time management and analysis of your individual learning style. You will be encouraged to experiment through a variety of performance options.
Year 3 offers the opportunity to begin specialising through the choice of advanced studies in each area, plus enhanced professional development activities. The Conservatoire participates in a number of international exchange schemes with both European and US conservatoires. Provided you have attained an appropriate level of skill, you will be encouraged to spend a term or semester abroad during Year 3, studying at one of our partner institutions.
Year 3 and ‘Year 4’ (whether studied part-time over two years or full-time) determine the final honours degree classification. In Year 4 you will be assessed in performance or composition (as appropriate), two projects and a range of professional skills electives. From early on in the course, you will work towards a Major Project, which forms an important component of the final year. Allowing for the fact that your ambitions may change during the course of your studies, the Major Project offers a flexible platform for you to explore a specialism and format appropriate to your professional aspirations. Examples of Projects include chamber music, accompaniment, recorded performance and dissertation.
As you progress through the course, you will be encouraged to experiment and think imaginatively about your own musical growth, to articulate your professional aspirations and to develop a realistic career plan. The recent introduction of peer- and self-assessment will give you a chance to reflect on your progress and you will also benefit from the further embedding of Personal Development Planning (PDP) into the course, and greater use of our virtual learning environment Moodle. Opportunities for professional placements and external engagements are integrated into the course via Professional Development modules.
Practical Work
Throughout the course, great emphasis is placed upon developing strong practical skills. Intensive individual tuition is complemented by an array of activities designed to develop individual artistry and musical fluency:
- 40 hours of individual specialist tuition per year
- Masterclasses
- Individual or Ensemble Coaching
- Performance/Composition Workshops
- Ensemble Playing
- Teaching Techniques
- Specialist activities in chosen area (please see our Departmental pages for details)
- Option of 2 years additional Second Study tuition
Academic studies are delivered from a predominantly practical viewpoint. Musicianship skills are taught through workshops which relate theory to practice and always involve student performances. Other contextual studies contribute to the broad framework of musical understanding required by both performers and composers.
- Musicianship (Harmony, Aural, Improvisation, Composition)
- Music History
- Analysis
- Performance Practice
- Professional Development
Years 1 & 2 concentrate on providing a thorough grounding in technical and performance skills, plus contextual knowledge, including an emphasis on harmony training. Professional development, embedded into your core modules, focuses on increasing your self-awareness, covering areas such as time management and analysis of your individual learning style. You will be encouraged to experiment through a variety of performance options.
Year 3 offers the opportunity to begin specialising through the choice of advanced studies in each area, plus enhanced professional development activities. The Conservatoire participates in a number of international exchange schemes with both European and US conservatoires. Provided you have attained an appropriate level of skill, you will be encouraged to spend a term or semester abroad during Year 3, studying at one of our partner institutions.
Year 3 and ‘Year 4’ (whether studied part-time over two years or full-time) determine the final honours degree classification. In Year 4 you will be assessed in performance or composition (as appropriate), two projects and a range of professional skills electives. From early on in the course, you will work towards a Major Project, which forms an important component of the final year. Allowing for the fact that your ambitions may change during the course of your studies, the Major Project offers a flexible platform for you to explore a specialism and format appropriate to your professional aspirations. Examples of Projects include chamber music, accompaniment, recorded performance and dissertation.