Popular Music Performance and Songwriting BA (Hons)

Course overview

This course is a practice-based, ‘outward-facing’ course that seeks to prepare you to be a versatile, flexible, and adaptable operator within the twenty-first-century music industry.

• We are looking to produce critically astute musicians who are confident performers and songwriters, working with today’s technologies to make, reproduce, and disseminate music, and who understand the potential income streams available to them in the profession.
• Unleash your skills in our Steinberg Certified Training centre where you can build your practical talents and emerge industry-ready⁴.

What you'll study

This course has a common first year.

The common first year enables you to work alongside students doing similar courses to you, to widen your knowledge and exposure to other subject areas and professions. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with other students, so you can share your insights and experience which will help you to develop and learn.

If you discover an interest in a specific subject you have studied, upon successful completion of your first year, you could swap degrees with another course in your common first year (subject to meeting progression requirements).

Common first year courses

• Music and Audio Production BA (Hons)
• Popular Music Performance and Songwriting BA (Hons)

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.

How you'll learn

We seek to provide you with the opportunity to develop a solid foundation of knowledge, practical experience and a professional portfolio with which you can launch a career within the global field of popular music, related industries, or postgraduate study.

Teaching contact hours

We understand that everyone learns differently, so each of our courses will consist of structured teaching sessions, which can include:  

• On campus lectures, seminars and workshops
• Group work
• Self-directed learning
• Work placement opportunities²

The number of full-time contact hours may vary from semester to semester, however, on average, it is likely to be around 12 contact hours per week in the first and second year dropping to around 10-12 contact hours per week in the third and final year as you become a more independent learner. As an integral element of the popular music course, we offer small group instrumental lessons on your chosen instrument from one of the following: keyboards, voice, guitar, bass or drums.

Additionally, you will be expected to undertake significant self-directed study of approximately 15 hours each week, depending on the demands of individual modules.

Part of university life is undertaking self-directed learning. During a typical week you will have time that allows you to work independently to apply the skills and knowledge you have learnt in taught or facilitated sessions to your projects or assignment briefs. This self-directed learning allows you to use your research skills, consolidate your knowledge or undertake collaborative group work.

As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.

Since COVID-19, we have delivered our courses in a variety of forms, in line with public authority guidance, decisions, or orders and we will continue to adapt our delivery as appropriate. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.

Assessment

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module. Assessment methods include:

• Coursework
• Tests
• Essays
• Practical or project work
• Presentations/posters

This course is predominantly assessed by coursework.

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards the achieving the intended learning outcomes. Assessments may include exams, individual assignments or group work elements.

International experience opportunities

Music is an international industry. We explore a diverse range of musicians, musical styles and cultures. We have also been fortunate enough to attract a number of guest speakers, including the New York ‘cello innovator’ (Time Out NY) Madeleine Shapiro and Martin Atkins of cult band, Public Image Ltd. (Guest speakers are subject to availability).

Students have previously travelled abroad for a year in Cyprus, Spain, Finland, South Korea and Canada. We also try to organise an optional annual overseas fieldtrip (which may be subject to additional costs, availability, application and meeting any applicable visa requirements). Recent students were able to go on a three-day music cultural trip to Vienna, where students took in concerts and the Mozart and Schoenberg museums. We have previously visited Prague and New York, which included seeing the Broadway show Chicago plus a workshop with some of the cast, as well as going to Carnegie Hall².

Facilities

At Coventry, students benefit from superb facilities so they can build on their practical talent⁴.

Facilities include:

• Several recording studios (including SSL and Neve mixing desks)
• Various live rooms and performance spaces
• An iMac music tech suite plus further state-of-the-art recording studios running Pro Tools, Logic, Live, Max and Sibelius on Apple macs