Bath Spa University

B.A (Hons) - MUSIC (COMMUNITY MUSIC)

Campus:- Newton Park

 

Overview 

You'll learn the skills you need to become a professional community music leader. You'll understand the importance of reflective practice, together with the ideologies of inclusive and accessible music-making in a non-formal setting.

You'll study approaches from music psychology and music therapy that support community music practice, and design and create a community music project. You'll identify the aims and outcomes, understand the importance of partnerships, and learn to evaluate and budget accordingly.

You'll understand the community music "marketplace" in terms of the competitive process of obtaining funding for your projects.

Course Structure

Year one
The first year provides a grounding in all aspects of music. One-to-one lessons in performance focus on instrumental/vocal technique, and you'll also benefit from workshops in rhythm and improvisation, jazz, classical theory and harmony classes, and aural analysis. You'll study composition - notation, arranging, free composition and music technology, and musicology - history, style and context. You'll also benefit from a study of the music of other cultures in our Global Music module.

Year two
The second year introduces you to the world of community music across a range of situations, age groups and abilities. You'll study Music Psychology, gaining an overview of recent research on the subject, and Performance - one-to-one lessons, solo and group performance workshops.

Optional modules include: Jazz Studies  (focusing on critical listening, transcription and arranging), Composition, and Music Research, where you'll focus on music in its cultural contexts and undertake fieldwork in the area of community practice. There's the option to take a work placement related to community music, enhancing your industry awareness and employability. You'll also be given the opportunity to study abroad in the first semester.

Year three
Next, you'll advance your skills working in a real community music environment through the Professional Music Leader module together with Music Psychology (applied and experimental) where you'll run an experimental project related to community music environments and/or music therapy. Independent Study will comprise a creative/practical research project or a dissertation in community music.

In Performance, you'll learn in advanced solo and group performance workshops, plus public performances. In Jazz Studies (optional) you'll investigate issues in jazz and jazz performance, as well as undertaking independent jazz research in your chosen area. In Composition (optional), you'll undertake project-based composition for ensembles.