Music, BA (Hons)

Course summary

Music surrounds us. It has a profound effect on us as individuals and shapes wider society. It's used for personal pleasure, intellectual stimulation, celebration, mourning, and political propaganda. At Nottingham you’ll explore both how music does this and how your creativity can produce music that people will remember.All of our students get a common introduction to the basic building blocks of music across styles, genres, cultures and traditions. You'll then have the freedom to choose. If you want to specialise in musicology, performance, composition or technology you can. Alternatively, explore widely across our diverse mix of modules. Combine Early Music with Race and Musical Theatre or Conducting with Studio Recording. You can build your degree to suit your interests. We encourage collaboration between students, joining up work across modules and getting involved in staff projects. Our facilities support your choices. We have purpose-built spaces to compose, rehearse, perform, record and experiment!The opportunities to perform are extensive:

• student ensembles

• on-course groups

• university-wide orchestra and choir

• as part of the city's dynamic music scene

In year one you will consolidate and deepen your knowledge of music with core modules in theory, history, repertoire, world music and popular music. You can also start exploring your special interests with optional music modules. Alternatively, widen your horizons with a module from another subject or building language skills. In year two you get a totally free choice to build on existing interests and/or explore new ones. You can also gain professional experience with our Work Placement module. Many year two modules are also offered as year three options. You can specialise further with pathways in musicology, performance, composition and music technology. The optional dissertation module allows you write a longer piece of work on a topic of your own choosing, supported by a member of staff.