Music Production and Performance with Foundation Year BA (Hons)

Buckinghamshire New University

If you have a passion for music and want to turn that into a career of composing, performing and recording original pieces, then this course could be for you. It is designed to help you develop a wide range of music production and performance skills, making use of technologies to compose, perform, record and produce original music. Upon graduation you’ll leave with a substantial portfolio of original work in performance, composition and production.

This course is offered as a four-year programme, including an initial Foundation Year. The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate degree.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

As BNU has been delivering courses in the music industry for over 25 years, we have a wealth of expertise from within our network of lecturing staff, guest speakers, and alumni, all with a track record of success in a wide variety of roles in the music business internationally.

You’ll record sound and work on post-production which will give you experience of working with a wide variety of genres to help you perfect your production skills. During your time with us you’ll learn hands-on practical skills to help you stand out to potential employers. You’ll get to grips with industry-standard equipment including in our Dolby Atmos accredited sound lab, helping to prepare you for roles in the industry.

You’ll also benefit from our work-opportunities. Previous students have worked with companies such as Sony, Sennheiser and Universal Music. As well as this our industry advisory group, BIGMusic, regularly reviews our courses.

Opportunity modules are a key part of the BNU curriculum. You’ll choose modules in both your first and second year from a broad selection in areas such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, creativity, digital skills, personal growth, civic engagement, health & wellbeing and employment. Opportunity modules are designed to enable you to develop outside the traditional boundaries of your discipline and help you to further stand out from the crowd to future employers.

All our music degrees at Buckinghamshire New University come with membership of UK Music’s Music Academic Partnership (MAP).

What facilities can I use?

Our state-of-the-art recording studios and Dolby Atmos certified sound lab give you access to the space and technology you need. From individual edit rooms up to large Pro Tools Ultimate studios with attached live rooms and vocal booths, we have it all to help you gain hands-on experience. Studio 1 boasts a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 speaker system and an Avid S6 console. We are one of the first Universities in the UK to adopt Dolby Atmos into a music environment. Studio 2 has an Avid D-Command control surface and 24 channels of Focusrite ISA828 microphone preamps. Studio three and the Electronic Music Studio are based around Avid S3/S4 control surfaces and UAD Apollo x8 audio interfaces. The edit booths are equipped with microphone preamps from Avid.

Visit our course website for full details of our studio equipment.

What will I study?

This course will help you to develop many of the skills required the creative industries, preparing you for life in music environments, including studio-based music production, live sound, composition, performance and music-related entrepreneurial ventures. You’ll study key elements of music production and performance, including studio production, music performance and composition, critical listening and analysis, and live audio production techniques.

By integrating studies in creative music practice, critical listening and audio production our BA (Hons) Music Production and Performance course will help you to understand the connections between these different activities and how they can be integrated into future careers.