Music Composition, Arranging and Analysis

POSTGRADUATE COURSES

2nd Sep - 2019

ENQUIRE ABOUT A COURSE

COURSE OVERVIEW

Study Mode	Full-time & Termly
Duration	1 year
Fees	Full time (Level 6): £2,700 Full time (Level 5):£1,200 Termly (Level 5) Jazz Horn: £400 Film: £400 String: £400
Academic partner	The Open University
Awarding Body	Open University
Credits	Level 5: 20 Level 6: 40
Start Date	January, April & October 2019
Funding	Self-funding
Application	Apply directly to us

Offered at levels 4, 5 and 6 in this pathway students gain the facility to write for all instrumental line ups. So whether arranging for horns, strings or bands students get to hear their arrangements played in real time by live musicians.

What Will I Experience?

This course is designed to give you a good grounding in all aspects of the music industry. Bass, Drums, Guitar, Keyboards or Vocals. You will develop your technical skills on your chosen instrument.

Performance

You will perform both your own music and covers at a music venue in a range of bands and ensembles.

Theory and Notation

You will develop essential skills including theory, ear training and working with notation.

Music Business

you will explore the music business including the key roles, players and functions every music professional needs to understand.

Music Programming

Learn to produce your own music using Logic Pro.

Aims of the module

Level 5

Building on the knowledge gained in Composition, Arranging and Analysis 1, this module aims to further develop students’ specialised skills and critical understanding of music’s language.

Level 6

This module aims to extend students’ arrangement skills and poses new challenges to demonstrate a highly developed command of the language of music.

Who Is This Course For?

The course is aimed at people who want to develop a career in the music industry as a musician, songwriter, artist, band member, producer, arranger, manager, music business executive or music industry entrepreneur.

Our students also develop skills that can enable them to establish careers in a wide range of other related industries such as in the Arts, in the Media, in technology or Education.

Why Take This Course?

We specialise in providing a friendly, creative environment in which every student is supported to reach their artistic potential. This course will connect you to a network of industry professionals and help you find colleagues and collaborators for your own future musical projects.

LEARNING OUTCOME

Knowledge and understanding Cognitive skills Practical and professional skills Key transferable skills Performance and Applied Theory Music Programming Music in Context Instrumental Development Collaborative Project Aural Training

Entry Requirements

Pre-Requisites

Pre-requisites for taking the module

At level 4:

While no previous arranging for different line instrumental line ups is required some essential harmony knowledge is needed such as:

Key Signatures
Major Scale Formula
Understanding the difference between 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8
To be able to clap simple 8^th and 16^th note rhythms in 4/4
Knowing the difference between Major, Minor, Augmented and Diminished Triads
Understanding intervals, for example the difference between and a Major and Minor 3rd, or a Perfect 5^th and diminished 5^th.
Knowing the difference between Major 7^th, Minor 7^th and dominant 7^th chord types
Understanding how to harmonise a Major Scale with triads and 7^th chords
Understanding relative Minors
Pentatonic Scales

At level 5

A solid understanding of the key composition and arranging principles in of Blues, and contemporary popular music.
A basic prior–knowledge of instrumental ranges and part writing, for horns and rhythm sections.
A good understanding of 7^th and extended chords.

At Level 6

A good prior–knowledge of instrumental ranges, for example horns, strings.
The ability to write functional parts for rhythm sections.
The harmonic skills required to be able to write for a number of different line-ups, for example a good knowledge of Major and minor harmony is needed along with the ability to voice extended chords in open and closed position.
Functional keyboard skills