Course Catalogue

Develop practical skills, knowledge and understanding of musical composition in different forms/styles/genres/media and of production methods and performance techniques in the context of contemporary music. Develop an individual creative musical style and identity with the ability to create and perform viable work which responds to specific markets and market segments. Acquire knowledge of and undertake learning opportunities in the creative and technical skills of music creation and performance, music production and technology, song writing, and the musical composition skills required for a sustained employment in a broad range of music careers. Acquire a detailed and well-informed understanding of the international music business and a clear understanding of how music is financed, made, distributed and consumed. Develop an informed critical understanding of the cultural, social and political context in which music is produced, performed and consumed. Develop the graduate transferable skills of academic research, creative and divergent thinking, effective communication, problem solving and strategies for collaboration and team working.

Teaching is delivered by means of lectures, practical classes, technology classes, small group teaching workshops/practical activities, individual practice, individual/group tutorials, rehearsals/preparation for live performance and live performance. Teaching incorporates: • Sharing factual knowledge, introducing conceptual frameworks and inspiring discussion activity. • Providing instruction in playing/performing to improve and enhance technique level. • Demonstrating use of technology, applications and the exploration of possibilities. • Explaining how to research, collect and analyse data, structure an academic argument and frame findings. • Providing learning activities to develop interpersonal skills and graduate attributes. • Guiding a rehearsal/creative process, providing constructive feedback to enhance the students’ breadth and depth of learning and providing further feedback after the live/completed event. Visiting lecturers and professional music artists will make a contribution to the programme. Throughout the programme the student is encouraged to read widely to consolidate and supplement that being taught, to network within the industry and to set goals and challenge self. A summary description of the teaching and learning activities by level is: At level 4 – Embedding key understandings, tenets, competent musicianship and technology skills and that the student has an awareness of self-learning strategies and their interpersonal/academic skills. At level 5 – Applying learning and extending further the students’ knowledge, skill base and abilities to create work and rehearse to ensure confident levels of performance. At level 6 – Translation of knowledge and abilities into musicianship for employment in the industry and transferable graduate attributes for employment in different /wider fields of work. Regular, well planned and focused self-directed study is essential for a successful outcome at each level of study. Different students may need to spend different amounts of time on different subjects. Without question the playing of an instrument requires daily practice. The journey from being a guided learner to an autonomous learner, equipped with the necessary skills, intent and curiosity, is integral to the learning partnership fostered between the institution and each individual student. Assessment is geared specifically to learning. As is appropriate in a vocational Music programme, the majority of the assessment tasks are practice based. To provide and enhance the academic underpinning and rigour of the programme traditional types of academic assessment will also be employed. Assessment serves three purposes: 1. To help students learn by highlighting their strengths and weaknesses and working with them to develop their abilities so as to achieve the required learning outcomes. 2. To map students’ skills, knowledge and level of ability against the learning outcomes of their modules of study. 3. To ensure that the module or programme of study is delivering the required learning activities and that the individual teaching and learning strategy is efficient and effective. The types of assessment used are essays and critical evaluations; practical tasks; live performance; studio rehearsal projects; examinations (unseen multichoice/short answer or seen for long answers); technological tests and tasks; presentation of a portfolio of creative/composed pieces of music and business; reports/case studies; small group presentations and project management tasks. Both Formative and Summative Assessments are used within the programme. Formative focuses on guiding, developing and correcting knowledge/ability/skills in preparation for the formal mark-bearing Summative Assessment. Summative assessment marks are reported to the LJMU Board of Examiners and ratified marks then appear on the students’ individual Progress transcript at the end of the academic year. Unratified marks are returned to the students within 15 working d

The programme is vocationally specific and designed to include work-related learning. Industry standard facilities, hardware and software are used throughout the programme. The practical assessment tasks wherever possible are positioned against industry standards and processes in order to replicate ‘real world’ situations. Students will be encouraged to undertake voluntary work in the industry throughout the programme. At Level 5 the Performance Project module is designed to develop understanding and competence with professional working practices and context and at Level 6 the students are expected to work as a professional artist and engage with other professionals in the appropriate manner.