BA (Hons) Music: Popular Music and Recording Bachelor's degree at the University of Salford

Students will engage with a range of different activities and taught sessions, designed to develop a broad range of performance skills. There will be a focus on Ensemble rehearsal and Individual performance preparation. Contact time will be divided into the following areas of focus: Instrumental tuition, Directed rehearsals in Ensembles, Associated Musicianship Skills – Conducting, Participation in performance workshops, masterclasses and concerts

The core aim of this module is to provide you with the skills and knowledge necessary for composing and arranging music in a variety of styles. You will gain a working knowledge of the key aspects of instrumental voicing, score layout, formal design and the manipulation of texture. The module also provides an introduction to location recording techniques, appropriate sequencing software, musical acoustics and their relationship to music technology.

This module provides an overview of the history of English-language popular music and interrogates and problematises the concept of genre in popular music. You will develop an understanding of music style analysis and improve aural skills.

This module builds the work undertaken in Musicianship skills during Trimester 1, consisting of Individual Performance (instrumental tuition), and Ensemble Musicianship where you will write and rehearse original material to be performed in a concert at the end of the semester.

This module will provide you with a strong understanding of advanced diatonic harmony, melodic writing, and technical skills concerned with rhythm as applied to the broad field of composition. You will explore the creative uses of a range of microphones in relation to musical instruments and acoustic environments and be introduced to techniques of sound synthesis using a range of hardware and software-based synthesisers.

This module explores the social, political, and economic contexts impacting upon the production of popular music. It presents key ideas from Culture Theory, Critical Theory, and Postmodernism in order to understand popular music in these various cultural contexts. You will be introduced to a systematic and rigorous method by which to critically examine popular music and develop abstract thinking.

Focusing on current economic structures and potential development, this module provides an in-depth examination of the UK creative economy. You will explore concepts of copyright, authorship and ownership and gain an understanding of the processes involved in successful personal development planning.

This module consolidates and expands your performance development within the three assessed areas of Individual Performance, Ensemble Musicianship, and Session Musicianship. The Ensemble component allows you to form your own Popular Music group. The Session Musicianship component now places the emphasis on you leading the band through the arrangement, guided by your tutor.

During this module, you will examine theoretical issues and practical skills concerned with the manipulation and control of modal harmony and melody within composition. This will introduce you to the principles of contrapuntal composition as well as provide you with the opportunity to explore and experiment with harmonic and melodic processes.

Studio Composition allows you to compose directly with studio-based technology, moving away from the need to represent compositional material through a traditional score. The technology investigated will have a direct influence on compositional output, and although human performances on traditional instruments can be integrated into the composition, there is an expectation that much of the work will be constructed within a Digital Audio Workstation. The module investigates synthesis deeply and r

This module will encourage you to use your unique skillset as a musician to create soundtracks for film and audio drama productions. You will be introduced to sound design, foley, scoring for film and recording dialogue and sound effects in the studio environment. You will also apply and develop digital audio editing, synchronisation and mixing techniques to refine your final stereo soundtrack.

This module is designed to give you a solid foundation in studio engineering and production practice. Particular attention will be given to microphone technique, signal flow and an investigation of strategies by which the needs of both engineer and performer(s) can be reconciled in the studio environment. Students will gain an understanding of historical developments in the field, exploring many musical genres. As aspiring producers, students will be guided through the process of developing a cl

This module introduces a range of methods currently employed in the analysis of popular music, such as formal analyses, historical analyses and discourse analysis. These methods will be used to examine themes such as gender, sexuality, ethnicity and cultural identity

This module encourages more specialised forms of composition and arrangement through the introduction of theoretical and analytical issues concerned with the articulation of form and structure, and an advanced study of harmony. It also explores the ways in which the colouristic, formal, harmonic, textural and rhythmic aspects of a given work may be reconsidered within the context of the creative arrangement.

This module prepares students for elective Performance study at third year level. The Individual Performance aspect (weekly one-to-one tuition) requires students to undertake an exam based on their instrumental syllabus. The ensemble aspect provides the opportunity to develop specialist skills in either Latin Percussion, Group Improvisation, or Vocal Group Harmony.

This module is designed to build upon the techniques explored in the level 5 module Studio Composition (sequencing, synthesis and sampling / editing) and introduce students to composing for and within a 5.1 / 7.1 surround environment. There will be an exploration of electroacoustic compositional techniques around the themes of spectromorphology, abstract and abstracted synthesis, landscape and narrative and a historical analysis of how this practice relates to popular electronic music compositio

This module is designed to develop existing skills in the studio environment (building on the L5 module Studio Recording and Production), working towards the completion of ambitious multitrack projects of a releasable quality. The module includes an investigation of mastering processes and places emphasis on the engineer / producer nurturing the best possible performances from the musicians involved. The module will also introduce the practice of recording live public performances, covering a wi

This module provides an overview of journalistic methodologies as applied to the fields of music and the music industry. You will examine and construct a variety of forms of journalistic output as related to music as well as develop a critical understanding of the interrelationship between market, industry and culture.

This module will equip you with the practical and conceptual tools to design and implement a small research project in response to the deliberately open-ended prompt to "describe a sonic moment". You will be introduced to a range of theories and methods for analysing sonic worlds, ranging from filmmaking and field recording to digital ethnography and textual analysis. Core theories will be drawn from ethnomusicology, sound studies, sociology and anthropology, and you will be encouraged to explor

This module enables you to undertake a comprehensive project encompassing two areas of specialist study (choose from: Performance, Composition, Studio Recording & Production, Studio Composition, Audio for Media, Arranging, Dissertation, Arts Administration, Collection of Writings, Collaborative Practice). It assists the realisation of creative work (practical and/or written), encourages the development of a personal style within the chosen fields of study, and hones your artistic and academic sk

By broadening your work experience in areas requiring a leadership and/or team role, this module gives you the opportunity to further develop your own professional practices. You will gain experience in one of the following areas of professional practice: music events management, sound reinforcement, business enterprise, and community music in its broadest sense.

This module enables you to undertake a comprehensive project encompassing two areas of specialist study (choose from: Performance, Composition, Studio Recording & Production, Studio Composition, Audio for Media, Arranging, Dissertation, Arts Administration, Collection of Writings, Collaborative Practice). It assists the realisation of creative work (practical and/or written), encourages the development of a personal style within the chosen fields of study, and hones your artistic and academic sk