Creative Music Technology
Factfile
| Typical Entry Requirements | A level grades BBB (300 points) |
|---|---|
| Required Subjects | A level Music or Music Technology at grade B or above. |
| English Language Requirements | An IELTS score of 6.5 or equivalent for non-native-English-speaking applicants. |
| Other Suitable Qualifications | BTEC National Diploma - DDD-DDM A wide range of other qualifications will be considered on an individual basis such as HND, Irish Leaving Certificate, Scottish qualifications, Access Diplomas and Foundation courses. |
|---|---|
| Selection Process | Offers are usually made in terms of grades. We do not include General Studies in our offers. Suitable candidates will be invited for an interview. During the visit to the University the candidate can find out more about the programme and meet staff and students. Applicants based overseas, who are unable to attend an interview, are assessed via telephone interview and by submitting a portfolio of work. |
As a creative musician, you will work in music of many different styles and for many different purposes. On our programme you will develop an understanding of what is needed in the concert hall and in the film, TV and computer games industries from both the artistic and technical viewpoints. To acquire these skills you will interact with both leading practitioners in the Department and creative specialists from the music industry.
At the end of the degree programme, you will have a strong portfolio of works that will help you in your career, and will have the skills necessary to create new works for a broad range of media.
Further information
Degree Programme
BSc (Hons) Degrees
| Degree | UCAS code | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| BSc (Hons) Creative Music Technology | W3G5 | 3 years |
Our Degree
The Creative Music Technology programme is a new and innovative degree, carefully designed to meet the needs of music graduates going into the broad range of careers available in the contemporary and computer-based music industry.
During the programme you will work with creative artists and academics to acquire the skills and understanding needed for employment and/or further study. Your practical work will be strengthened through analysis, theory, history and repertoire study to help you create your own works and build a professional practice portfolio to bid for work when you leave. Since the music industry is a difficult one to understand, you will receive training from your first year in all aspects of business, from contracts to entrepreneurship, and will also develop personal skills in communication and professional practice.
You will have the opportunity to choose your specialist topics (from modules including film, dance, multimedia, rock and pop). Our programme is geared towards your creative practice and our modules are supported by a strong performance ethic within the Department that means your works will be played and recorded to professional standards.
At Surrey you will join a thriving community of musicians actively involved, as performers and composers, in music across a broad range of historical periods and contemporary styles.
Programme Overview
Your chosen degree should afford you the opportunity to study a wide range of topics within an academically strong yet creative environment. This programme offers you this in an area of music that is growing, vibrant and challenging.
You may shape parts of your study by choosing options that fit with your personal interests. Each of the three years offers you a variety of modules covering topics that will benefit you, whether you are a performer, composer, analyst or sound designer.
In Level 1 you focus on the essentials of creativity, technique and industry skills, writing pieces that are immediately relevant and engaging. You will acquire a good understanding of how to unlock creative processes and how music works emotionally and functionally, learn about sound design and be taught industry and professional skills.
During Level 2 you will continue to develop core skills such as composition, sound synthesis and knowledge of the music industry. However, you can specialise in different musical genres, including film music, dance music, digital multimedia, jazz and pop song analysis, depending on your preferences.
At Level 3 you will focus on building your professional portfolio, including writing and presentation skills, but you will still be offered a wide range of options including commercial music, music for TV, adverts and computer games.
If you wish to keep up your high-level performing skills, instrumental lessons are included, and you will have the opportunity to perform in choirs, orchestras, recitals and recording sessions. Many of our students form their own ensembles and rock/ pop groups.
Programme Structure
Level 1
Modules include:
- Creating Music with Computers 1
- Composition Technologies
- Music Industry 1
- Popular Music Harmony
- Electronic Music: Theory and Practice
- Sound Design
Optional modules include:
- Understanding Music
- Performance 1
- Orchestration and Arrangement
- Knowledge of Instruments
Level 2
Modules include:
- Creating Music with Computers 2
- Synthesis and Sampling
- Music Industry 2
Optional modules include:
- Advanced Popular Music Harmony
- Creative Applications of Digital Multimedia 1
- Performance 2
- Research Project
- Film Music
- Jazz Studies 1
- World Music
- Electronic and Experimental Music
- Free Improvisation
Level 3
Modules include:
- Creating Music with Computers Portfolio
- Oral Presentation
Optional modules include:
- Dissertation
- Creative Applications of Digital Multimedia 2
- Jazz Studies 2
- Performance 3
- African-American Music
- Pluralism in Western Music
- Music Therapy
- Anglo-Celtic Song Traditions
- Music and Politics in the Cold War
- Progressive Issues in Rock
Professional Training
Your professional training is integrated into the degree programme, rather than being a separate period of study or work placement. From the first week, we help you acquire presentation and writing skills, teamwork and analytical skills. Professional standards of creating and delivering projects are covered in the first semester and reinforced through all your projects.
Industry modules include copyright, contracts, payment methods, entrepreneurship and skills required for running a small business. You will also benefit from a programme of visiting speakers and lecturers that includes award-winning composers, music editors and film specialists. Additionally, all lecturers leading the creative modules are themselves working practitioners.
For many musicians, work is a vibrant collection of separate projects covering many disciplines and industry strands. Building a portfolio of works or a showreel is an important part of preparing yourself for the professional world. We will help you build a professional portfolio using material from this practice-based programme.
Ten reasons to study Creative Music Technology at Surrey
- An emphasis on creative practice for composers and performers alike
- The modular structure allows you to specialise in your chosen areas
- Compositional modules cover composing for TV, film, adverts, computer games and more
- You will leave with a composition and sound design portfolio for professional work
- All forms of music-making are encouraged and supported
- First-rate teaching leading to exceptionally high history of professional employment
- Qualifying applicants receive free instrumental lessons
- You will learn from leading industry practitioners including Oscar, Emmy and BAFTA winners
- Outstanding preparation for a variety of music career paths
- Excellent technical facilities
Top for Jobs
Graduates of this programme have gone on to become successful film and TV sound designers and composers, have found employment in music education, business and marketing and have also achieved higher degrees and qualifications.
Career Opportunities
As a musician, your working life will be highly varied. You will not have a single job but many different threads to your creative practice, and it is important that your training supports the challenges of such a broad career.
By the end of our programme, you will have acquired creative, industry and personal skills to enable you to work in a wide variety of jobs including composer, sound designer and performer, and across diverse industries such as creative arts, film, TV, advertising and computer games.
Your skill set will be attractive to both large production houses, such as studios and television companies, and to smaller independent producers, many of whom treat music and sound design as a single creative entity. Whether collaborating on a TV programme, a radio play, a theatrical production or a video game, you will have gained the experience to contribute to the design both aesthetically and technically, while those interested in the creative arts will have had opportunities for installation and soundscape production.
Your final portfolio will include project work, professionally recorded live performances, sound designs for multimedia pieces and stand-alone compositions. Creating and updating such a portfolio is essential if you wish to bid for work in an increasingly commercial market.
Teaching
You will acquire your skills though a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials. Appropriate teaching materials are made available to you through the University’s online e-learning system, ULearn. Practice rooms, audio labs and self-study areas are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Whether your classes are practical or theoretical, you will develop your skills through a combination of academic, theoretical and creative practice led by teaching staff who are qualified to approach topics from all points of view.
Facilities
We have an enviable set of facilities for you to use, including performing spaces, professional recording studios, a good selection of practice rooms (exclusively for use by Department of Music and Sound Recording students), a Steinway concert grand piano and a collection of instruments, some of which may be loaned to students. You will have access to a well-stocked audiovisual room, with scores, CDs, DVDs, cassettes and LPs located in the nearby University Library.
Of immediate relevance to you will be the newly created Mac Labs with a wide range of industry standard hardware and software. Separate areas for teaching, self-study and monitoring your work are well equipped with Apple Mac hardware, sequencing and notation software, sample libraries, synthesis tools, video editing software and specialist music utilities. In addition to the taught curriculum, you will also have the opportunity to take part in group workshops where unfamiliar items of software will be explained, so as to develop both technical competency and professional standards in your projects.
The Mac Labs will form a major part of your creative work and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as are the University’s other computing labs.
Assessment
Studying by module allows you to be assessed on elements as the programme develops and you can expect most of the assessments to be spread throughout the academic year. More than two thirds of the work you submit will be coursework rather than examination.
Your degree classification does not take into account the marks for your first year and is weighted to take most account of the more detailed work in your third year. You will receive written confirmation of marks as you move through the programme so that you can monitor your own progress.
Contact Details
T: 0800 980 3200 or +44 (0)1483 681681
What our students say
Student Profile: Andy Flowers
BSc Creative Music Technology
I chose to come to Surrey because of its unique course, its campus and its location. The facilities available to music students are fantastic. There is a dedicated music block where you can practise, a Mac Lab where you can use the latest audio software, and studios where you can record.
The course allows me to choose a huge range of modules that interest me, whether it be dance music, jazz, sound art or film music. They are all taught by academic staff who are experts in their area, and most are available for one-to-one tutorials where you can get feedback on projects you have been working on. The class sizes are also small so it really feels like they are providing you with a personalised teaching experience.
Once I graduate I wish to work as a functional music composer, writing music for film, television and advertising. I like the fact that the course has fully prepared me for the real world through the fusion of composition, production and sound design. From the very first lecture you are taught how to present your work to the highest professional standards, where actively working composers show you what you really need to know to succeed. You are also taught music industry skills where you learn about every aspect of the music business.
Surrey has provided me with the tools I need to be a successful working composer, wrapped in a great student experience.
Student Profile: Jenny Morgan
BSc Creative Music Technology
I chose to study at the University of Surrey because of the course content. The module choice offered so many things I wanted to learn and practise. Also, the University campus itself is one of the prettiest and most friendly I have visited.
The best thing about my course is its flexibility. You can study a wide range of modules, focus on a specific area of music, learn about the more traditional and historical side of music or learn about the technological side. The facilities available to produce my compositions are plentiful and regularly updated. Anyone interested in making music, in any style, would be happy at Surrey.
Throughout my time here I have developed musical skills in composition and using software. I have also gained confidence, can manage my time well and have learnt to budget.
After I graduate, I would like to write music for children’s media. I’m also currently applying to do a PGCE as I hope to teach music and/or music technology to secondary and AS/A level.
I enjoy cooking, playing piano and exercising, and I also work in the Students' Union bar. It’s really fun, friendly and a great place to meet people. I stayed in Surrey Court in my first year and had a really good time and I’m still living with some of those people now.
The location of campus couldn’t be better as it is close to town and supermarkets, as well as only being a short train ride into London.
