Musical Composition BMus

About the Course

This programme is aimed at students who wish to study musical composition to an advanced level. It provides a grounding in the main compositional techniques of the 20th and 21st centuries, and helps you to use this understanding in your original work.

You will also gain an understanding of significant developments in music from Modernism onwards, and of the broader currents in music history which led to these developments. There are regular opportunities to hear your work played, and options in performance and music technology are available.

Practical Music-making

Brunel’s School of Arts and Arts Centre have a strong tradition of practical music-making and there are a number of ensembles that you can participate in, including the New Music Ensemble, Jazzbridge, Brunel Vox and New Noise. The Arts Centre holds regular lunchtime and evening concerts featuring visiting performers, music students and staff.

Music at Brunel also has associations with the London Contemporary Orchestra and Piano Circus.

About the School of Arts at Brunel

The School of Arts at Brunel includes single and joint honours degree courses in English, Journalism, Music and Sonic Arts, Film and Television Studies and Modern Drama. This is a vibrant, friendly and creative place to study. Research conducted by staff provides the basis for much of our teaching, ensuring that modules are connected to debates and issues that are current within these interdisciplinary areas.

Each programme develops basic skills within its discipline but allows you to explore your own particular interests through a range of optional modules.

We also benefit from the activities of the Arts Centre, which organises tuition, performances and exhibitions across a range of arts.

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Aims

The skills and experience gained during this course will be useful to anyone wishing to become a composer, whether of concert music or for broadcast, theatre or education.

Enquiries

Colin Riley
Admissions Tutor
School of Arts
Brunel University
Uxbridge
Middlesex UB8 3PH

Tel +44 (0)1895 266582
Email music-admissions@brunel.ac.uk

Related Courses

• Music BA
• Musical Performance BMus
• Sonic Arts BA

Special Features

• Facilities include a computer suite fully equipped for sound design and notation, studios for individual work, individual practice rooms and larger spaces for group rehearsals.
  
  
• There is a vibrant student performance culture on campus comprising several ensembles performing contemporary and classical music, improvisation, jazz, and live electronics.
  
  
• You will be part of a highly dynamic music department with a strong profile in the Greater London area. The University hosts weekly recitals and concerts, and our new Arts@Artaud series showcases new performance work by students, staff and visiting artists in the newly refurbished surroundings of the Antonin Artaud building.
  

Facts and Figures

Brunel has an unequalled concentration of contemporary music practitioners of national and international reputation, including the composers John Croft, Carl Faia, Christopher Fox, Harald Muenz, Colin Riley, Jennifer Walshe and Peter Wiegold, the pianist Sarah Kingdom, the jazz musician Frank Griffith, and the musicologist Bob Gilmore. The presence of associate artists and ensembles including Piano Circus and the London Contemporary Orchestra provides an incomparable resource that few institutions can match.

Course Content

The degree course is modular. Each module is worth 20 credits and you must complete 120 credits for each year of your degree programme. You will have a wide range of modules from which to choose and you can specialise in areas that particularly interest you. The final year project requires you to carry out in-depth research on any related topic of particular interest to you.

Typical Modules

Level 1 Core

• Academic Practice
• Musicianship
• Principles of Musical Composition
• Music since 1900: Themes and Contexts

Level 1 Options

• Introduction to Sonic Arts
• Principles of Performance Practice
• Sonic Arts Computing I
• Currents in Electronic Music

Level 2 Core

• Music and Perception
• Music since 1900: Experiment and Tradition
• Conducting and Realisation

Level 2 Options

• Sonic Arts Project
• Improvisation
• Instrumentation and Orchestration
• Composition for Soloist(s)
• Contemporary Performance II  
• Popular Music Practice
• Live Performance and Electronics

Level 3 Core

• Music since 1900: Modernism and Postmodernism
• Special Project
• Orchestral and Ensemble Composition

Level 3 Options

• Special Topic
• Advanced Improvisation
• Exploring Popular Music
• Music Journalism

Teaching and Learning

The music staff includes some of the country’s leading composers and performers, with teaching and research strengths in composition (both acoustic and studio-based), performance, musicology and socio-critical musicology. Modules on the course reflect the expertise of the staff and focus on technique and interpretation in contemporary music performance, as well as relevant cultural and historical issues.

Assessment

Each subject employs a wide range of assessment methods including coursework, individual and group projects, oral presentations, practical work and some written examinations.

Employability

Brunel’s music courses help develop a wide range of vocational, collaborative and transferable skills that are highly attractive to employers in industry and commerce. Students have the opportunity, for example, to develop IT ability and highly sought-after presentation and communications skills during the course.

Our undergraduate programmes are designed to sharpen creative and analytical skills and develop confidence in working in teams and in problem-solving techniques.

Careers

A high proportion of our Music graduates have either progressed to postgraduate study at a university or conservatoire or have entered the music profession as performers, composers, teachers and technicians. Others have entered arts administration, publishing, the media and management.

Graduates have gone on to work for prestigious companies such as Universal (Decca) and the English National Opera.

Fees for 2013/14 entry

UK/EU students: £9,000 full-time; £6,750 part-time

International students: £12,000 full-time

We are introducing over 700 scholarships for 2013, meaning that one in five applicants who join Brunel next year will receive financial support from the University. See our fees and funding page for full details

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements for 2013 Entry

• GCE A-level BBB, including A-level Music at grade B (General Studies/Critical Thinking accepted).
• Irish Leaving Certificate ABBBB, including Music.
• Scottish Advanced Highers BBB, including Music.
• Advanced Diploma Progression Diploma grade B in Creative and Media plus grade B in Music at A-level for Additional and Specialist Learning.
• BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma DDM in a related subject.
• IBDP 32 points in Higher Level 5 in Music.
• Access Complete and pass a related subject Access course with 45 credits at level 3 and 15 credits at level 2 with Merits in all units. Applicants who are not taking A level music or grade 7/8 music but are musically inclined may be asked to take a short test.

All candidates without A-level Music at grade B or equivalent or Grade 8 ABRSM, LCMM or Trinity College will be required to pass a brief entrance test, details of which will be provided upon application.

For all of the above, 5 GCSEs or equivalent at Grade C or above are also required, to include English and Maths (please note that these must have been gained by the time you submit your UCAS application).

English Language Requirements

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.