BA Music

Undergraduate

BA Music

Unleash your creativity on a course that combines practical, technical and intellectual approaches to music with cutting-edge facilities.

Key information

Study mode

Full-time

Course length

3 years

Typical offer

112 points

A Level grades: BBC

UCAS code

W300

Choose an option

Start date

Course overview

Explore musical cultures and contexts while developing theoretical and technical skills in high-end facilities. 

You'll benefit from partnerships and internships with prestigious organisations like the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hull Truck Theatre and Opera North

You'll develop your skills and knowledge under expert staff, who are themselves active musicians and practitioners. There will be plenty of opportunities to gain paid musical and music-related work. And our employment events will help you to launch your own career in music.

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2020 prospectus

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Six reasons to study Music at Hull

  1. 99% graduate employability rating*
  2. Top-class concert venue
  3. Perform, jam and record with like-minded musicians
  4. 24-hour access to industry-standard studios
  5. Work with top names like the RPO and Opera North
  6. Host of extracurricular musical opportunities

What you'll study

The course consists of 120 credits per year. Most modules are 20 credits, meaning you’ll study six modules each year. Some longer modules, such as a dissertation, are worth more (e.g. 40 credits). In these cases, you’ll study fewer modules - but the number of credits will always add up to 120.

First year modules

  • Compulsory

    Music, Criticism and Culture

    Study musical aesthetics, developing your critical and reasoning skills. Topics include authenticity in cover versions to the political arguments of Adorno, Scruton and Cage.

    Music in Practice 1

    This module introduces concepts in music theory. It covers types of notation, harmony and counterpoint, giving you the tools to practise music during your course - and beyond. 

    Creative Music Skills 1

    Develop skills in performance, technology, songwriting, electronic composition and digital audio. We explore these in practical, creative ways via interactive seminars and workshops.

    Studies in Musical Style (to 1830)

    An overview of Western music history from the 11th century to early Romanticism. You'll examine defining features of salient musical styles, and conduct detailed analysis.

    Music in Practice 2

    Learn to analyse music across a range of styles and genres. You'll discover how to capture and express observations that will be instrumental in subsequent years of study.

    Creative Music Skills 2

    Continue to develop your skills in instrumental composition, music production, electronic composition and digital audio on this highly interactive module.

Second year modules

  • Compulsory

    Studies in Musical Style from 1815

    This module investigates topics and issues in music from Beethoven to Mahler and Sibelius. You'll also examine early modernism and developments in the musical avant-garde up to the early ‘60s.

  • Optional

    Performance 1

    Develop performance skills using your voice or a chosen instrument. You can specialise in solo playing, small-group, accompaniment, conducting or directing.

    Performance 2

    Develop performance skills using your voice or a chosen instrument. You can specialise in solo playing, small-group playing, accompaniment, conducting or directing.

    The Materials of Composition

    Develop your own compositional approach on a module which introduces you to key techniques for manipulating pitch, rhythm and timbre. 

    Songwriting

    This practical module will hone your skills as a songwriter. You'll be expected to write one song per week to a given brief, and then produce an EP of original material. 

    Psychology of Music Performance

    Examine music performance from a psychological point of view. You'll investigate strategies for sight-reading, practising and memorising music, and coping with performance anxiety.

    Film Music

    You'll analyse and discuss how music shapes films and TV shows. You don't need any musical knowledge for this module: it focuses on the interpretation and effects of music. 

    Rock and Popular Musicology

    This module analyses current trends in popular musicology, including gender, race, protest, the canon and theories of influence. You'll also study techniques of rock journalism.

    Electronic Composition

    This module focuses on creative live electronic and electroacoustic music. You'll learn advanced techniques for producing pieces in a stereo context.

    Audio-Visual Composition

    Develop your compositional skills and create original films, exploring the manipulation and generation of visual media, including animation and effects processing. 

    Studio Techniques

    This module introduces the facilities in our Salmon Grove Studios. Through workshops and demonstrations, you'll learn to use industry-standard hardware and software.

    Game Audio

    Explore sound design for games and discover some the challenges faced by sound designers. You'll get insights into industry practice working with interactive audio and game middleware.

    Acoustics and Studio Design

    You'll study the theoretical and practical application of acoustic formulae, speech perception, the fundamentals of music, research methods and design. 

Final year modules

The final year is made up entirely of optional modules so you can specialise in performance, composition, technology, musicology or a combination.

  • Optional

    Advanced Performance 1

    Take your vocal or instrumental skills to the next level. You can specialise in solo playing, small-group playing, accompaniment, conducting or directing.

    Advanced Performance 2

    This advanced module is another opportunity to hone your performance skills, either vocally or on a chosen instrument in popular, jazz or classical traditions. 

    Shakespeare Music

    On this module, you'll gain stylistic and historical insights into a variety of musical works inspired by the plays of Shakespeare. 

    Music, Politics and Contemporary Thought

    Discover a range of approaches to musicology. You'll cover topics including musical analysis, gender studies, music historiography, the sociology of music and music philosophy.

    Global Pop

    Encounter the music traditions of Africa, Brazil, Cuba and India through performance and composition, and explore the influence they exert on today's popular music around the world.

    Psychology of Music and Emotion

    This module gives you an insight into research on the psychology of music and emotion: a fascinating and wide-ranging subject that could lead to many possible future careers.

    Music Industry Careers

    You'll engage with a range of music industry roles while learning about the theory and history that underpin this rapidly evolving professional environment. 

    Composing for Film

    Discover the challenges of film scoring as you explore the tools, approaches and industry conventions. You'll also examine the dramatic and narrative function of film music.

    Composing for Spaces and Places

    Focus on site-specific composition and performance. You'll study interpretations including open-form works, promenade performances, landscape composition and sound installation.

    Live Sound

    Get hands-on instruction in using live sound equipment. By the end of the module, you'll have produced a technical rider for a show and completed a sound-check for a band.

    Individual Project (Music) (T1)

    Study a topic of your choosing with expert supervision. The choice is broad and you could submit a study, a criticism piece, a folio of compositions, or a mixed-media project.

    Special Study (Music)

    Undertake an extended project with a specialist supervisor through one-to-one teaching. Your project could take the form of a dissertation or a creative project, such as an EP.

All modules are subject to availability and this list may change at any time.

How you'll study

Throughout your degree, you’re expected to study for 1,200 hours per year. That’s based on 200 hours per 20 credit module. And it includes scheduled hours, time spent on placement and independent study. How this time’s divided among each of these varies each year and depends on the course and modules you study.

Overall workload

384 hours

Scheduled study Scheduled hours typically include lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops, and supervised laboratory and studio sessions.

816 hours

Independent study Independent study is the time outside your scheduled timetable, where you’ll be expected to study independently.

Indicative assessment proportions

51%
49%
  • Practical

    Practical is an assessment of your skills and competencies. This could include presentations, school experience, work experience or laboratory work.

  • Coursework

    Coursework typically includes essays, written assignments, dissertations, research projects or producing a portfolio of your work.

Overall workload

228 hours

Scheduled study Scheduled hours typically include lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops, and supervised laboratory and studio sessions.

972 hours

Independent study Independent study is the time outside your scheduled timetable, where you’ll be expected to study independently.

Indicative assessment proportions

48%
53%
  • Practical

    Practical is an assessment of your skills and competencies. This could include presentations, school experience, work experience or laboratory work.

  • Coursework

    Coursework typically includes essays, written assignments, dissertations, research projects or producing a portfolio of your work.

Overall workload

216 hours

Scheduled study Scheduled hours typically include lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops, and supervised laboratory and studio sessions.

984 hours

Independent study Independent study is the time outside your scheduled timetable, where you’ll be expected to study independently.

Indicative assessment proportions

62%
38%
  • Practical

    Practical is an assessment of your skills and competencies. This could include presentations, school experience, work experience or laboratory work.

  • Coursework

    Coursework typically includes essays, written assignments, dissertations, research projects or producing a portfolio of your work.

Music BMus Pippa Brazier UNI-2165
Pippa Brazier Music

Why I chose Music at Hull

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Good connections

Benefit from partnerships and internships with organisations like the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hull Truck Theatre and Opera North.

exterior university of hull middleton hall

Cutting edge facilities

24-hour access to our industry-standard 48-track and ambisonic recording studios in the newly transformed Middleton Hall.

Find out more

Entry requirements

Points can be from any qualifications on the UCAS tariff, but must include at least 80 points from

  • A levels
  • BTEC Subsidiary Diploma, Diploma or Extended Diploma
  • OCR Cambridge Technical Introductory Diploma, Diploma or Extended Diploma
  • CACHE Diploma or Extended Diploma
  • Irish Leaving Certificate
  • Scottish Highers
  • Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma
  • or a combination of appropriate Level 3 qualifications 
  • Applicants should have an A level in Music or Music Technology at Grade C or above, or an equivalent Level 3 music qualification
  • Applicants’ instrumental or vocal performance skills should be at a minimum of Grade 6 level. Musicians who can demonstrate performance at this level but who have not taken practical examinations are also encouraged to apply.

Alternative qualifications 

  • IB Diploma: 28 points including 5 at HL Music
  • Access to HE Diploma: Pass with 45 credits at merit

Worried you don’t quite meet our entry requirements?

We consider experience and qualifications from the UK and worldwide which may not exactly match the combinations above.

But it’s not just about the grades – we’ll look at your whole application. We want to know what makes you tick, and about your previous experience, so make sure that you complete your personal statement.

If you have any questions, our admissions team will be happy to help.

If you require a Tier 4 student visa to study or if your first language is not English you will be required to provide acceptable evidence of your English language proficiency level.

This course requires academic IELTS 6.0 overall, with no less than 5.5 in each skill. See other English language proficiency qualifications accepted by this University.

If your English currently does not reach the University's required standard for this programme, you may be interested in one of our English language courses.

Visit your country page to find out more about our entry requirements.

Our teaching staff

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Take a tour of the facilities

Our BA Music students enjoy access to superb facilities including a top-class 400-seater concert venue in Middleton Hall.

Explore the virtual tour

Fees and funding

Home / EU

£9,250 per year*

International

£14,500 per year

*The amount you pay may increase each year, in line with inflation - but capped to the Retail Price Index (RPI).

UK and EU students can take out a tuition fee loan to cover the cost of their course, and UK students can take out a maintenance loan of up to £9,203 to cover living costs.

Substantial discounts are available for International students.  

More information on fees can be found in the Money section of the website.

Music Scholarships

The University of Hull offers music scholarships on the following instruments:

  • Robert Marchant String Scholarship (4 awards, restricted to violin, viola, cello and double bass players only - £250 per year)
  • Ouseley Choral Scholarship (1 award, restricted to male vocalists - £150 per year)

To find out more, see our terms and conditions, and download an application form. 

Your tuition fees will cover most costs associated with your programme (including registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examination).

There are some extra costs that you might have to pay, or choose to pay, depending on your programme of study and the decisions you make. The list below has some examples, and any extra costs will vary.

  • Books (you’ll have access to books from your module reading lists in the library, but you may want to buy your own copies
  • Optional field trips
  • Study abroad (including travel costs, accommodation, visas, immunisation)
  • Placement costs (including travel costs and accommodation)
  • Student visas (international students)
  • Laptop (you’ll have access to laptops and PC’s on campus, but you may want to buy your own)
  • Printing and photocopying
  • Professional-body membership
  • Graduation (gown hire and photography)

Remember, you’ll still need to take into account your living costs. This could include accommodation, travel and food – to name just a few. 

Scholarships

If you achieve

112 UCAS tariff points or above

from 3 A levels or equivalent, you could receive

£1,200 to £2,000

Find out more

An affordable city for students

From bills, to meals, to pints – you’ll find that your money goes a lot further in Hull.

Your future prospects

  • Musician
  • Composer
  • Conductor
  • Music Librarian
  • Journalist
  • Teacher

Our music graduates perform well in the jobs market, taking up a wide variety of careers from performing, songwriting and composing, to producing or working as a sound engineer.

Music graduates find their creativity and transferable skills are also welcomed by employers in non-musical fields, such as the Civil Service, accountancy, insurance and computing.

Open Day at University of Hull

Ready to apply?

You can apply for this course through UCAS. As well as providing your academic qualifications, you’ll be able to showcase your skills, qualities and passion for the subject.

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This. Is. Hull.

A place where we stand up to kings, do deals with the world and take a wrecking ball to the slave trade. A place where culture stands out and the phone boxes are a different colour. A place where we're free-thinking, independent and proud of it.

*Percentage of students in work or further study within six months of graduating: UK domicile full-time first degree leavers; Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey for the academic year 2016/17, published by HESA 2018