Music (Songwriting) (with Foundation Year) BA

Course Overview

Career-focus

Through our well-established Popular Music course, we have over 10 years of preparing our students for a successful career as a writer in the modern music industry. You will gain valuable experience in writing on your own and as a collaborator; crafting songs for yourself, bands, projects and other artists. In tandem with developing your proficiency on industry standard recording software, these solo and collaborative skills will prepare you for a career as a songwriter. You will also attend masterclasses from professional performers, songwriters, producers, managers and promoters, supporting your artistic development as well as sharpening your creative voice.

Industry links

Strong links with the music industry mean that we are in constant contact with major publishing companies and record labels such as Universal, Polydor, Decca, and Kobalt as well as local labels like Hide and Seek and Leaf Label to name a few. Our students receive regular advice on their portfolios from visiting Industry guests, and often live briefs to work on. Recent guests have included Saul Fitton, Warner Chappell publishing; Fiona Bevan, Singer/Songwriter; John Beck, Songwriter/Producer; Dani Sawyer, Universal Music Publishing; Jez Ashurst, Songwriter/Producer; Mark Wood, Songwriter/Manager.

Our partnerships with European conservatoires mean that you could be working on songwriting projects with students in Mannheim, Rotterdam or Copenhagen.

Creative Freedom

During the songwriting degree you’ll get weekly one-to-one tuition with experienced songwriters and regular timetabled sessions in band practice rooms where you’ll have the creative freedom to craft and perfect your own songs. With access to our Apple Mac Labs, you will learn how to bring those songs to life using industry-standard software like Logic Pro.