BA (Hons) Music & Sound Production

Develop your audio creation skills by utilising cutting-edge technology and various sound production techniques to create music and sound in a range of contexts.

UCAS Code:
W391
Institution:
B50
Delivery:
Full-time

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Why study BA (Hons) Music & Sound Production at BU?

Hone your skills in the creative, technical and compositional aspects of music production.
Compose, arrange, record, edit, manipulate and produce music and sound to a professional standard.
Apply your learning to real-world scenarios such as music production, music composition, sound recording, and creating music/sound for moving image.
Access to state-of-the-art facilities including fully equipped recording studios with State Solid Logic mixing desk, live room and control room, as well as surround-sound and stereo post-production studios.
Engage with industry professionals through masterclasses, studio visits and industry events.
Take an optional placement year during which you’ll work within the industry.

Find out more about the content of this course.

Course accreditation

Accredited by the Joint Audio Media Education Support (JAMES), a measure of the quality and suitability of this course to meet industry needs. JAMES is a consortium of music, entertainment and media industry organisations collaborating in the support of education and promotion of excellence.

Watch a demonstration and take a look at our facilities

Image description — Poole Gateway Building Critical Listening Room

Next start date:

September 2022, September 2023

Location:

Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus

Duration:

3 years full-time with a 8-week placement, or 4 years full-time with a minimum 30-week placement

Accreditations:

Joint Audio Media Education Support (JAMES)

Required subjects:

All subjects considered

Entry requirements:

For September 2022 and September 2023 entry: 104-120 UCAS tariff points including a minimum of 2 A-levels or equivalent. BTEC Extended Diploma: DMM. For more information check out our full entry requirements.

International entry requirements:

For September 2022 and September 2023 entry: If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with minimum 5.5 in each component, or equivalent. For more information check out our international entry requirements.

Music and Sound Production demonstrator Dan Pierson provides an insight of what you will be able to create on our BA (Hons) Music & Sound Production course. View our on-campus music facilities.

Course details

On this course you will be taught by a range of staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This will include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners, demonstrators, technicians and research students. You will also benefit from regular guest lectures from industry.

Contact hours and assessment

Details of the assessment methods and contact hours for each unit of the course can be found in the programme specification.

Download the programme specification (418kb)

Year 1

Core units

Composition 1: Focus on the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic elements within your track. Learn how tracks are structured in order to elevate your music above that of the competition.
Digital Media Tools: Develop the fundamental technical knowledge and skills to support your creative work and generate content for an online creative portfolio.
Music, Sound & Culture: Develop an understanding of the political, sociological and technological factors that impact upon music by studying contemporary musical genres, histories and associated music subcultures.
Production & Mixing 1: Develop essential music production skills to become a professional producer. This is the first of three units that will enable you to learn how to mix audio from start to finish.
Sound Design: Synthesis: Create your own signature sound to a professional level by learning how to use cutting-edge music software. You will begin building a portfolio of work that you will develop throughout your degree
Studio Techniques: Working in our state-of-the-art studios you will develop the fundamental skills of audio capture, and hardware and software recording.

Year 2

Core units

Composition 2: Develop your capacity to experiment and create through a number of compositional tasks. You will gain skills that can be applied in a range of areas enabling you to produce and compose music for a variety of stylistic briefs.
Creative Studio Production: Working professionally and creatively on a large scale recording you will explore how to get the fullest creative potential from the studio whilst learning how to manage a production project.
Music Industry Awareness: Learn how to navigate through the music industry by developing an awareness of copyright, royalties and intellectual property. Develop an ability to identify and analyse new business models, technological developments and new revenue streams.
Production & Mixing 2: Developing an understanding of the historical, cultural and technical influences on music production, you will work in our studios to explore the creative potential of hardware and software based production practices.
Production Portfolio: Responding to a creative brief, you will collaborate within a team to propose, plan and manage a project, developing skills to reflect on your own creative practice.
Sound Design: Audio: Design and create dynamic, complex and unique sounds. Learn to capture and transform sound and implement sound design strategies for music and visual media.

Optional placement year

Final year

Core units

Interactive Music: Create your own interactive software/hardware system for making music whilst developing an awareness of the historical and technological impacts of creating music live with technology.
Production & Mixing 3: MIx and produce music to a professional standard with a critical understanding of current industry practices. Finish your work for a variety of formats and distribution methods.
Music, Sound & the Moving Image: Learn how to create music and sound for visual media in a surround-sound format. You will develop a range of practical skills in music, sound design and audio post-production.
Individual Music Project: Create a substantial portfolio of work based on a personal area of interest. Develop and demonstrate your professional skills and understanding related to research in your chosen area of the music industry.

Programme specification

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry.

If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Placements

At BU, we recognise that placements are extremely valuable and can give you a head start when it comes to your future career. That’s why we offer every new student the opportunity to undertake a work placement as part of their course.

We will provide a great deal of support to help you find the most appropriate work placement for the subject you’re studying and the career you’re interested in, which means you could be based anywhere in the UK, or even overseas.

Find out about BU students’ experiences on placements All you need to know about placements

How placements benefit you

A placement should be a highly rewarding experience for you and the employing company and we do our best to ensure that everyone involved feels that they have got the most that they can from the experience.

Placements provide a great opportunity to make your first career steps and enhance your employability while you’re completing your studies. You’ll get the opportunity to:

Put the theory learnt throughout the course into professional practice
Enhance your study and help you decide on subject options (where appropriate)
Learn a wide range of skills such as time management, problem-solving and teamwork (all of these are important to succeed in any career)
Make contacts, as it is not uncommon for our students to be offered permanent positions to return to after graduating
Gain a real insight into how the industry operates in roles that would be almost impossible to achieve for an outsider.

Many of our students, during their placement, are given responsibilities normally associated with graduate trainees.

How long will your placement be?

What support will be available?

The faculty running your course will offer the support of a Placement Co-ordinator.

They’ll help you plan your placement so make sure you get the right experience for you. That includes offering help and support if you need to move to another part of the UK – and even another country – to get the most out of your time.

We’ve also built close industry links over the years – so our network of employers that are keen to work with placement students is always growing. Or if you’d prefer to arrange your placement independently, we can offer advice on how to do that too.

Entry requirements

This course requires 104–120 UCAS tariff points including a minimum of 2 A-levels or equivalent. We are happy to consider a combination of qualifications and grades to meet the overall tariff, for example A-levels A*CC, ABC, BBB or BCC, BTECs DDM or DMM. You can use the UCAS calculator to see how your qualifications equate to UCAS tariff points.

Calculate your UCAS tariff points

2022 and 2023 entry
Numeracy and literacy requirements (e.g. GCSEs)	GCSE English Language or English Literature and Mathematics grade 4 (or grade C in the old grading system). We also accept iGCSEs, Key Skills and Functional Skills and other qualifications at Level 2 of the National Qualifications Framework. See all of the equivalencies.
A-level and AS levels	104–120 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of two A-levels.
Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate – Skills Challenge Certificate	We accept this qualification, but it must be accompanied by an A-level sized qualification to meet the overall UCAS tariff.
Access to HE Diploma	102–118 UCAS tariff points with any combination of Distinction, Merit, Pass grades.
BTEC National	Extended Diploma: Distinction, Merit, Merit (112 UCAS tariff points) Diploma: Distinction, Distinction (104 UCAS tariff points) Foundation Diploma/90-credit Diploma:* We accept this qualification, but it must be accompanied by an A-level sized qualification to meet the overall UCAS tariff Extended Certificate/Subsidiary Diploma: We accept this qualification, but it must be accompanied by an A-level sized qualification to meet the overall UCAS tariff.
Cambridge International Pre-U Diploma	104–120 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of two principal subjects.
Cambridge Technical	Extended Diploma: Distinction, Merit, Merit (112 UCAS tariff points) Diploma: Distinction, Distinction (104 UCAS tariff points) Subsidiary Diploma:* We accept this qualification, but it must be accompanied by an A-level sized qualification to meet the overall UCAS tariff Introductory Diploma: We accept this qualification, but it must be accompanied by an A-level sized qualification to meet the overall UCAS tariff.
Extended Project Qualification	We accept this qualification, but it must be accompanied by two A-level sized qualifications to meet the overall UCAS tariff.
International Baccalaureate Certificates	104–120 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of two Higher Level certificates.
International Baccalaureate (Diploma)	An overall score of 28–31 points.
Scottish Highers	104–120 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of four Scottish Highers.
Scottish Advanced Highers	104–120 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of two Scottish Advanced Highers.
T Levels	Merit (120 UCAS tariff points)

International entry requirements

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.	Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry onto Year 1 for September 2022 entry: Chinese Senior High School Graduation Certificate (Huikao) average 80%, or Gaokao 61-71%. Grade depends on the course Hong Kong HKDSE Diploma (4,4,3 to 4,4,4 from three subjects). Grade depends on the course All India Senior School Certificate Examination (Standard XII) 60-70% Italian Esame di Stato with 60-70%. Grade depends on the course Titulo de Bachillerato with 6 or 7. Grade depends on the course English language requirements If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you can understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally: For September 2022 and and September 2023 entry: IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with minimum 5.5 in each component, or equivalent. View further information about our English language requirements. If you do not meet the English language requirement for your degree then why not join our Pre-Sessional English course? Successful completion of our Pre-Sessional English course will meet your English language requirement.

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry onto Year 1 for September 2022 entry:

Chinese Senior High School Graduation Certificate (Huikao) average 80%, or Gaokao 61-71%. Grade depends on the course
Hong Kong HKDSE Diploma (4,4,3 to 4,4,4 from three subjects). Grade depends on the course
All India Senior School Certificate Examination (Standard XII) 60-70%
Italian Esame di Stato with 60-70%. Grade depends on the course
Titulo de Bachillerato with 6 or 7. Grade depends on the course

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you can understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

For September 2022 and and September 2023 entry: IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with minimum 5.5 in each component, or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

If you do not meet the English language requirement for your degree then why not join our Pre-Sessional English course? Successful completion of our Pre-Sessional English course will meet your English language requirement.

Other useful information

AccessBU: AccessBU provides you with the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. This widening access initiative also considers relevant criteria such as being in care or if you live in an area with a low participation rate in Higher Education - if you are eligible, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS tariff points below the published tariff.

Apprenticeships: We recognise the transferable knowledge and skills gained through apprenticeships and welcome applications from students with a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Deferred entry: We are happy to consider eligible applicants for deferred entry. If you have already submitted your application, please submit your deferral request through our website.

Direct entry: We welcome applications from students who have previously studied at degree level at other institutions and wish to transfer onto a BU course. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure enables credit awarded from one institution to contribute to a BU award, subject to an application process. Please visit our RPL webpage for more information.

Mature applicants: We recognise that mature applicants may have a wealth of experience rather than formal qualifications, so we’ll consider your application on these merits if included in your application. You’ll need to apply to BU in the usual way through UCAS and you may be invited to an interview to discuss your suitability for the course based on the experience you tell us about in your application.

Your application

For this course we are looking for applicants who:

Have a strong interest in producing music and sound
Are looking to develop a career in music and sound production
Looking to use sound more creatively.

Selection methods

How we assess your application

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

AccessBU gives you the chance to tell us more about you and your life experiences if you haven’t had the same educational opportunities as other applicants. If you are eligible for AccessBU, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS Tariff Points below the published tariff.

Our offer-making process

Our offer-making will typically be based on your most recent qualifications, including any required subjects where applicable. We'll consider all qualifications when assessing your application, although these may not be part of our offer.

If you do not meet the criteria of your original offer, we may still offer you a place. We will review your whole application and consider all academic qualifications (including those not in the offer) to see if you have the academic potential to succeed on the course. If we feel the answer is yes, we will confirm your place.

Careers

This innovative course is designed to give you all the technical skills and theoretical knowledge you need to succeed in the music and sound production industry. There is growing demand for skilled graduates in this area within the music and entertainment sector, particularly given the expansion of the multimedia environment.

Our music graduates possess a diverse skillset, and have gone on to work in the music industry in a wide variety of roles, both within companies and as freelancers.

Students from our music courses have gone on to work for organisations such as Absolute Music, BBC, Allen and Heath, It's Done Technology, Sound Tree Music and Focusrite.

Typical job roles

Industries worked in

Further study

Costs and fees

All fees are quoted in pounds sterling and are per year. Your tuition fees will be the same for each year of your course. You can find full information about funding your studies and paying your fees in our undergraduate fees and funding section. That’s also where you’ll find information about the scholarships and bursaries on offer.

Fees quoted are for tuition only unless stated otherwise, and we’re committed to ensuring there are no hidden extra costs while you’re at university – that’s why we’re clear about what you can expect us to cover, and what your cost of living will be.

Find out more about budgeting and living expenses

No hidden extras

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

Materials for laboratory and mandatory field-based teaching activity
Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study
A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances.
The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team

Costs of living and other expenses you need to consider

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website
Travel costs for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable)
Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses
Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass can be purchased alongside your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately.
Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study. .Placement year funding information can be found on our website.
Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study.
SportBU membership.

Repeat units

Our staff

On this course you will be taught by staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This could include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners and research students, many of whom are actively engaged in research and/or professional practice which is integrated into the teaching of this course. Please note that staff can change.

Clive Radford - Programme Leader

Clive Radford is the programme leader for BA (Hons) Music and Sound Production. His areas of study include music production, songwriting and performance (guitar), composition and arranging, studio techniques, production techniques, and synthesis and effects. He also researches ethnographic approaches to digital recording and production cultures with a specific focus on popular music in Stockholm.

View Clive Radford's staff profile

Darrell Gibson - Senior Lecturer

Darrell Gibson is currently a Senior Lecturer the Creative Technology Department at Bournemouth University. Darrell has a background in electronic hardware design of Image Processing systems and Audio Programming. Darrell does research in the area of Computing in Arts and Humanities, Computer Graphics and Human-computer Interaction. He is currently working on Graphical Interpolator visualizations for synthesis-based Sound Design. These skills feed into his practice as a computer-based musician, composer, sound designer and audio technologist.

View Darrell Gibson's staff profile

Dr Ambrose Seddon - Senior Lecturer

Dr Ambrose Seddon is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Technology, teaching on BA (Hons) Music & Sound Production. His areas of study include composition, sound for media, creative music technology, studio recording, and music production. Ambrose also supervises PhD students in composition.

Ambrose is an active composer focusing on electroacoustic music, with much of his work receiving prizes and awards in international composition competitions. His practice encompasses acousmatic music composition, interactive multichannel sound installation, collaboration on immersive audiovisual projects, and performing improvised live electronics. Ambrose’s research interests include electroacoustic composition, compositional structuring processes, and music analysis, and he has presented at various international conferences and festivals.

Experienced making electronic music and pop music that has been released through various independent labels, he continually strives to integrate new and varied approaches into his compositional practice

View Dr Ambrose Seddon's staff profile

Dr Tom Davis - Principal Academic

Tom Davis is an improviser, instrument builder and sonic artist. He works mainly in the medium of sound and is interested in lived experience, embodied cognition and perforative understandings of musiking as a temporal act. This feeds into an interest in the relationship we have with technologies as part of the creative process, raising questions such as: how does the technology we use shape the work we create and/or mediate our understandings of that work? Most recently he has been looking at how we can use technology to increase access to music for people with special educational needs.

He has performed at many academic festivals and conferences in Europe and USA, including, NIME 2012, NIME 2010, NIME 2007, Renew 2012, In-Time 2012, ICMC 2008, Fix 2007, SAN Expo & Sonorities 2007. He has exhibited installation work at such venues as Tate Britain London, Aspex Gallery Portsmouth and OVADA Oxford. Documentation of his outputs can be found here.

His writing has been published in journals such as Organised Sound, Performance Research & the International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media.

View Dr Tom Davis' staff profile

Dr Panos Amelidis - Lecturer

Dr Panos Amelidis is a Lecturer in Bournemouth University's Creative Technology Department as well as a member of EMERGE Experimental Media Research Centre and Centre for Games & Music Technology Research here at Bournemouth University. He is a music technologist, composer, sound practitioner, and researcher. He completed a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Music Informatics from Ionian University in Greece, a MusM in Electroacoustic Composition & Interactive Media from The University of Manchester in the UK and a PhD in Music Technology from De Montfort University.

His work and research falls in the area of sensory ethnography with sound and the role of recorded speech, and soundscapes in the way new artistic musical works and narratives can be created. Special importance is placed on the synergy of soundscape recordings, verbal narration, technology and the opportunities provided by the electroacoustic studio.

View Dr Panos Amelidis' staff profile

Dr Michael Cryne - Lecturer

Michael is a British composer and lecturer at Bournemouth University. He did Doctoral study in composition under the supervision of Mark Bowden and Helen Grime at Royal Holloway, University of London. His work includes acoustic and electro-acoustic compositions. He is a graduate of both London Symphony Orchestra Panufnik (2014/5) and London Philharmonic Orchestra Leverhulme (2015/16) young composer schemes.

View Dr Michael Cryne's staff profile

Course changes

Changes for 2022 entry

Date	Changes to this course
01/10/2021	Where the change was made: Fees box Change: Placement fee for September 2022 entry amended to £1,850 Previous text: £850

Changes for 2021

Date	Changes to this course
31/08/2021	Where the change was made: Course details Change: Final year Individual Music Project Previous text: Individual Project

Changes for 2020 entry

Date	Changes to this course
01/04/2020	Where the change was made: Course details and Placements Change: Optional 4-week placement between second and final year. Previous text: Optional 8-week placement.

Statistics shown throughout this page are taken from Unistats and BU institutional data unless otherwise stated.

BA (Hons) Music & Sound Production

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Why study BA (Hons) Music & Sound Production at BU?

Course accreditation

Watch a demonstration and take a look at our facilities

Key information

Next start date:

Location:

Duration:

Accreditations:

Required subjects:

Entry requirements:

International entry requirements:

Scholarships

Get hands-on experience

Words from a Music and Sound Graduate

‘Making the most of your time at BU’ – read Music & Sound Production student Chris’ blog

Clara’s placement at Vibration Design and Production

Chat with a student

Course details

Contact hours and assessment

Year 1

Year 2

Optional placement year

Final year

Programme specification

Placements

How placements benefit you

How long will your placement be?

What support will be available?

Entry requirements

International entry requirements

English language requirements

Other useful information

Your application

Selection methods

How we assess your application

Our offer-making process

Careers

Typical job roles

Industries worked in

Further study

Costs and fees

No hidden extras

Costs of living and other expenses you need to consider

Repeat units

Our staff

Clive Radford - Programme Leader

Darrell Gibson - Senior Lecturer

Dr Ambrose Seddon - Senior Lecturer

Dr Tom Davis - Principal Academic

Dr Panos Amelidis - Lecturer

Dr Michael Cryne - Lecturer

Course changes

Changes for 2022 entry

Changes for 2021

Changes for 2020 entry