BMus (Hons) Songwriting Bachelor's degree at BIMM University

The first Creative Industries module will introduce you to the strategies and tools to set you on the right path toward pursuing a successful career. Whether focused on a particular career goal or considering several future possibilities, you will broaden your knowledge of the opportunities available to you as a future creative industry professional.

The techniques module enables you to explore songwriting through a carefully constructed programme of practical creative tasks. The course is delivered by a teaching team of established, published contemporary songwriters. Career planning, research and freelance skills are embedded in the curriculum, and you will also benefit from opportunities to collaborate with production and performance students. Further study will be the building blocks of songwriting: chord theory, melody, harmony, lyrics

Developing arranging skills as a songwriter can bring many benefits to your music. Firstly, it can enhance your creativity by exposing you to new ideas and perspectives. Collaborating with other musicians can bring in different musical influences and styles, resulting in a more diverse and unique sound for your music. Secondly, it can improve your musicianship as you work with other musicians who may possess different skills and techniques. This can help you expand your musical knowledge and imp

Music theory is the language and building blocks of all compositions and is a powerful creative tool that established composers and artists/songwriters use to convey their artistic vision. Gaining a foundational level of music theory can help songwriters become more versatile composers and can enhance their ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with musicians and industry professionals. It can enhance creativity by providing essential knowledge on how music is created, allowing for

In this module, you will further develop your investigative skills, exploring relevant underlying concepts and principles and interpreting these within the context of your area of study. You will explore the nature of creativity, the wider context of the industry and practice reflective techniques. You will also evaluate sources and consider issues such as potential biases and cultural diversity. This evaluation will contribute to developing an enhanced awareness of your creative identity and gr

In this module, you will explore performance in its many forms, drawing not only on classic and contemporary musical performances but also taking inspiration from the broader arts such as theatre and contemporary art to create your own artistic vision. You'll go from simply playing your songs, to researching ideas for inspiration, to collaborating through improvisation and planning a unique ensemble performance either as a songwriter/performer or as a songwriter/musical director. In either insta

Styles and Genres is concerned with the deconstruction of musical and non-musical elements that create successful popular songs. This module will analyse the historical, social and biographical contexts that may have had a bearing on specific musical genres and notable songwriters, as well as examining external influences on these styles. The module will require you to employ critical listening and aural perception to analyse music and lyrics objectively in order to understand how songs may work

Developing skills in Digital Audio Workstation recording, arrangement and mixing techniques are essential for songwriters to create polished and professional-sounding compositions. Additionally, arrangement techniques are crucial for songwriters to give shape and structure to their musical ideas and to create a cohesive and compelling musical expression. By developing these skills, songwriters can effectively express their creative ideas and communicate a creative vision with greater precision.

This module will build on the skills you developed in your first year. In The Creative Industries and You module, you utilised concepts and principles to explore the nature of creativity, developing a short and longer-term plan for your personal and professional practice. In this module you will carry out an individual investigation, utilising secondary research to investigate the lineage of your creative practice. You will directly apply ideas to your own discipline and development, selecting a

In Songwriting & Arrangement, you will study established musical arrangement aesthetics, approaches and techniques in order to inform and inspire your own artistic exploration in the creation of original musical arrangements. Classes will be a combination of the stylistic and technical analysis of existing artistic and aesthetic approaches, and a process of experimentation through creative arrangement workshopping. You will reflect on your artistic exploration of arrangement approaches, culminat

Lyricism and Aesthetics are concerned with the methodologies used by songwriters to generate original, imaginative lyrics. It aims to provide a detailed study of the creative and technical processes underpinning effective lyric writing and to consider the cultural and artistic influences that inspire the compositional process, as well as the impact this has on the construction of a creative identity. You will explore the prosodic relationship between lyrics and melody, harmony, arrangement, rhyt

In the Defining Your Practice in Context module, you evaluated the lineage and traditions of your creative practice, investigating how it connects to artistic and industry practices. This module will require you to utilise your acquired knowledge to plan and create