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A unique integration of theory and practice, this degree offers you the opportunity to specialise in creative music technology or musicology and analysis. This carefully balanced mix of theoretical and practical study is coupled with vocational experience via LICA’s work placement module, which equips you with the skills you need for your future career in music
You will benefit from LICA’s interdisciplinary environment and we will encourage you to explore music and art forms beyond your previous experience, including those that fall outside of established canons. It’s a challenging and vibrant Department where digital skills go hand in hand with traditional study approaches and music is studied and understood in the context of its relationship with other arts. Our academic tutors, who are also active in music research and/or practice, will support your development into an adaptable and skilled creative practitioner.
You will be taught by world-class musicologists with specialisms in twentieth century French music, jazz, contemporary British composers, computational musicology, and software programming for the arts.
Composition (taught in the core creative music practice and optional creative music technology modules) is supported by practitioners who are also actively working on studio/fixed media composition, computer music, live performance with electronics, theatre and video music production, works for the concert hall, and installations. Your final-year dissertation will provide good preparation for continuing academic work in musicology.
The University is host to the Lancaster International Concert Series, where you will hear renowned professional artists and orchestras on campus. ULMS, the student-run music society, has a range of ensembles including a symphony orchestra, choir, wind band and big band. They perform in weekly lunchtime concerts during term, so you can opt to gain performance experience as a soloist or in chamber groups.
You will have 24/7 access to a recording studio, composition studios and practice rooms in support of your learning. The recording studio comprises a control room and sound-proof live room with lines to a recital room and concert hall. A set of professional microphones is available for live sound reinforcement and field recordings.
We have a consistently high graduate employment record. Our Music graduates possess a wide range of subject-specific and transferable skills and go on to work in the creative industries - in broadcasting, marketing, publishing, music teaching, music production, and arts management. Many also choose to undertake postgraduate study.
In your first year you will study music theory and practice alongside the LICA-wide module on modernism in the arts. The core module on theory and practice re-thinks music and is a foundational course combining elements of classical, popular and experimental music. Modernism in the arts covers the period from Wagner to punk and includes case studies drawn from art, design, film, music and theatre. You’ll also study another subject in your first year, either from another LICA discipline, or from a wide range of options across the University.
In the second year you will study creative music practice (which includes studio composition), and a course in critical theory. In your third year you’ll research and write a dissertation, which may take the form of a software project. While traditional instrumental tuition is not part of the degree, there will be opportunities for you to develop skills in performance and other creative work.
In the second and final years you also study between two to four optional modules, such as: music and the moving image, the psychology of music and musicians, rock and roll, computer music, 1920s Paris (musical modernism), sound and space, and sound synthesis and design.
A work placement in an arts organisation or in music education, and a creative entrepreneurship module provide a vocational focus and valuable experience of the arts sector, which is beneficial to your future employability. You may also opt to study modules from other LICA disciplines.
We welcome applicants who are seeking to expand their creative ideas and cross the boundaries between arts disciplines. We also seek applicants with an open mind and an aptitude for creative and theoretical work in music. Whatever you have done previously, these qualities will help you to sustain a commitment to considering new perspectives on music and new kinds of music. You will need a willingness to learn and an interest in working in a variety of environments using a number of different tools, methods and processes.
BMus, 2007
"The staff are enthusiastic about what they teach, and this comes across through the way they lecture. The department is stimulating, not just because of the lecturers but also the other student’s enthusiasm."
"All societies and sports clubs will have their own socials that are a great way to ‘get away from the subject’ and mix with people of different interests, and year group."
"The music department is like anything in that you get out of it what you put in. You’ve got to be willing to work hard to get the rewards of satisfaction. "
BA (Hons) Music Technology, 2007
"There’s a lot of freedom with regards to study on the course and great artistic opportunities."
"I enjoy studying at Lancaster as I’m left to get on with things although feedback is always available from our lecturers."
"I enjoy hanging out with my friends rather than going clubbing although there is plenty of nightlife on offer."
BA (Hons) Music Technology, 2007
"All the students are passionate about their music and devote lots of time and energy to their coursework. If you ever get stuck the lecturers are always there to help."
"Lancaster has loads of friendly students and lecturers who form a really close community. The nightlife is superb, and going for a drink in one of the on campus bars is always delightful."
"I decided to come to Lancaster as it is very highly ranked as a university, the course was well structured and interesting while the facilities and teaching quality looked superb."
BA (Hons) Music Technology, 2007
"Lancaster has a good nightlife. Obviously we have clubs and bars but there are also plenty of open mic nights and acoustic performances that many of the students are a part of."
"The facilities we have access to are very good. The recording studio and software are resources we are very lucky to have available (24 hour access too)."
"Lancaster has a good reputation for contemporary arts which I found intriguing. It was the only university that focussed more on the compositional aspect of music technology."
BA (Hons) Music, 2006
"The module options are diverse and suit the topics I am interested in. The contemporary emphasis is fantastic!"
"I enjoy how everything is based in one area, as a campus but also as a music community. The facilities are really useful and well equipped for module needs."
BA (Hons) Music Technology, 2008
"The fantastic access to professional facilities along with the friendly, helpful and committed staff really helped in ensuring I come out with the best possible degree."
Yes, you can: modules in composition and technology are available as specializations within the Music programme. Previously, we offered separate programmes in Music and Music Technology. These were integrated into the new BA Music, which is open for admissions in 2012. As before, the modules we offer in composition and technology, emphasize creativity and the application of technology for creative purposes.
There have been some changes to the structure of the BA in Music for entry in 2012 since the publication of the printed prospectus. For a full overview of this scheme, please see the departmental web pages: http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/lica/undergraduate/Music/
No, instrumental tuition is no longer offered. However, we very much encourage performance—some assessed work may include elements of performance—and there is a thriving music scene in Lancaster, both on campus and in the local community. Do have a look at the web pages of our contemporary arts organization live@LICA and the University of Lancaster Music Society. https://www.liveatlica.org/
http://ulms.org.uk
